The toilet serves as a crucial part of your home and its infrastructure. That is why you need to make sure that it is up to par with your standards. Everybody wants their toilets to be maintained in the right structural state. So getting the correct height for your toilet flange could be everything you’ll need to establish the difference between a leaky toilet and one that provides optimal service.
In essence, nobody wants to live with continuous headaches because of an improperly installed toilet. This explains why you must pay attention to detail when you are setting your toilet flange height. A correctly done flange height will grant you the freedom to choose suitable toilet materials and allow you to cut down on the installation and maintenance costs.
Here is what you must know about toilet flange heights.
What Is A Toilet Flange?
It would be a little strange to continue without clearly describing what a toilet flange is. A toilet flange is a round disk (made of plastic) that bears the sleeve that attaches your toilet to the manhole/ sewer line. While toilet flanges are readily available in local hardware stores, they are usually PVC-made.
Most toilet flange brands are a little inexpensive compared to other toilet structures and will come with a series of pre-drilled holes. The holes are meant to secure your flange with bolts. It will only take a few hours to install a new flange through DIY procedures readily available over the internet.
Though small, the flange plays a crucial role. It connects your toilet to your home’s sewer line. This aspect explains why you must always ensure that the flange is at the recommended level.
What Is The Right Height For A Toilet Flange?
Now, it would make no sense to start discussing how to set the right height of a toilet flange before looking at the recommended height of a standard toilet flange. Remember, your toilet is most likely to face challenges like leaking and wobbling when its flange is not at the right height or is unlevel.
This notes why you must ensure that your toilet flange is set at the right height or replaced when you notice a breakage. For audiences who are not already aware, the standard height of your toilet flange should be when it flushes with your finished floor. By implication, it is always easier to get the right flange height when it is installed after you’ve completed your toilet flooring.
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How To Set Your Toilet Flange Height
As stated earlier, it is easy to get the right height of your toilet flange if you do the installation after you have completed the floor. However, something can still be done if you installed your toilet flange before completing the floor.
Installing A New Toilet Flange
Installing a new toilet flange starts with ensuring that the toilet is skillfully removed and the flange underneath is exposed. In essence, the toilet flange will come with a series of bolts that hold your toilet in the right place when attached to the wax seal. Therefore, you need to ensure that the bolts are loosened first. You may store the hardware safely if you intend to reuse it at a later date.
You will hit a flange (if you are dealing with a toilet with an improperly installed flange) firmly held with bolts just below the toilet. If you want to make a few adjustments to your toilet’s flange height, then it will be a great idea to have the previous flange removed to make the necessary repairs and flange height adjustments.
There’s a possibility that you are dealing with one of those old flanges (metallic and not PVC) if you are making your height adjustments at this moment. Remember, modern PVC-based toilet flanges will present you with excellent results and come at a minimal cost.
It is also important to note that there are different types and styles of flanges. However, your selection should greatly depend on how high you want your toilet flange to reach. Even with your height in mind, you must never forget that the optimum height of a toilet flange is roughly ¼ inch above the toilet floor. Therefore, you will always attain the best overall fit and seal when you use the recommended measurements.
What If The Previous Toilet Flange Is Too Low?
It could be time to purchase a new toilet flange if the one you are currently using is too low. However, you need to ensure that the new flange is designed to sit on your finished floor and offer you the maximum recommended height. Current models tend to feature a different metal or plastic ring that fits on your polished floors.
It would be best if you did not worry about the possibility of getting an awkward outcome since the toilet will hide the ring after the installation process.
What If Your Toilet Flange Is Too High?
Remember, raising your toilet flange too high could cause you serious plumbing challenges and may limit your toilet’s ability to provide complete coverage of the hardware underneath and its ability to sit correctly on the flow.
Nonetheless, you may fix this by trimming the PVC pipe underneath. In essence, trimming will grant you the opportunity to lower the toilet flange to the recommended height.
You need to be extra careful when trimming the PVC pipe since it will be very difficult to make revisions any moment you get rid of anything more than what is required.
Instead, you should work to ensure that only a modest amount of the PVC pipe is removed. You’ll never go wrong if you do the job keenly by double-checking to ensure that the flange has an adequate resting and leaves a good seal.
Always remember that you will need the right expertise, the correct parts, and the recommended procedures and measurements to set your toilet flange height. A rightly installed flange is an explicit guarantee that your toilet serves you for years without regular maintenance.
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Reach Out To Us At Prospector Plumbing
If you need help with the seal, the closet flange, the pipe, wax, or other plumbing matters, remember that the Prospector Plumbing team is here for you. Whether you are dealing with the wax ring or several wax rings for projects within your home, remember that we are here for you.
We have years of experience in these projects and will properly provide you with the help of an expert plumber with the right material.
If you are looking for help to replace or fix this issue in your house to add to your home improvement, reach out to us today. We will make sure to create and present a solution that meets your needs.