Plumbers crack

sandworms

Need help my fellow polkies! My wife was introduced to a nice flood of water after flushing yesterday, so I take the throne off and find the possible cause ( see pics ). Now I consider myself handy, but not a master plumber by any means, so I need a second opinion or two. I called a couple plumbers who gave me crazy estimates, telling me they have to rip the floor up and yada yada ( one guy did this w/o even looking at the issue ) $1100 bucks and that's w/o replacing the tile!? so if you guys can lead me to a cure and a happy wife I'd be thrilled. All I see is replacing the flange but maybe I'm dreaming

Rivrrat

I think ultimately you're going to need to fix that, but I'd do it myself. In the meantime, I'd try to use some marine epoxy and fiberglass mesh and see if that'll hold it off for a while.

zane77

I would try replacing the wax gasket but try using the one the has kind of a wide mouth funnel kind of thing on one end (the end that goes down the pipe). I would at the very least try this first the gaskets are cheap and if that doesn't fix it I would say that flange needs to be replaced. That would require ripping up the tile and the subfloor to cut off the old one and install a new one. Hope a new gasket works, good luck

amulford

check for rot in the subfloor. you'll want to fix that, and that may mean some tile repair, too. the flange will need to be replaced, probably with a coupling in the lateral. support it properly when you are done.

rpf65

That flnge needs to be replaced. Problem is that there is no way to remove just the flange. you have to go to whever you have straight piping in order to re-glue everything properly. The only way you're going to able to get to that point is removing tile and sub-flooring. You may be able to get extremely lucky, and remove the grout, cut the tiles, and sub-floot, and remove everything as one assembly. I've done it a few times, with about a 50/50 sucess rate.

A plumber won't be that careful, but even if you crack the tiles, and have to replace half the floor, you could do the repairs yourself for a lot less than $1100. If your handy enough, you could do the repairs and retile the bathroom for about that price.

mrbiron

Yeah...that's no good. If you're handy, then you might want to do all the demo first to expose the pipe below your slab (i assume this is a basement toilet based on what i see around your flange). Dig out plenty of room around the pipe as plumbers tend to be premadana's. (Or at least the ones i deal with on a daily basis :rolleyes:.) Then call for an estimate...

ken brydson

Is it accessable from below in the crawlspace if you have one?

amulford

Need help my fellow polkies! My wife was introduced to a nice flood of water after flushing yesterday, so I take the throne off and find the possible cause ( see pics ).

Do you people read?

halo71

Dang....I thought this thread was about something else....

ken brydson

sandworms

I FORGOT to mention it is a concrete basement floor, another thing that worries me is I wonder how all that water would come out if the toilet is wax ringed and semi funneled into the drain, I would think gravity would disperse all the water down the pipe. I'm thinking their might be an issue with the toilet itself? Thanks for the input guys, some good suggestions for people who can't physically see the issue

ken brydson

That to me would suggest a drain blockage in the line.

rpf65

Back flush from you toilet wouldn't be caused by that crack. That would be more of a long term seeping type thing. Being in the basement, I'd guess you probably have a tree root growing into the sewage line somewhere. A plumber can run a camera down it to find out.

Most of your repair cost will be in demoing the cement, if you can do that yourself, you'll probably save $500, if not more. Don't know what the price of a camera would be in your area, but plan on at least $200.

ken brydson

Sewer or septic?

mrbiron

Get a drain snake and go exploring. It's a cheap first attempt...
Either you will free up the blockage, or hit something solid that did not come from your wife's butt.

All i know is when i'm in the mood for a power dump, i go to the basement bath...just sayin...

ken brydson

mrbiron wrote: »

Get a drain snake and go exploring. It's a cheap first attempt...
Either you will free up the blockage, or hit something solid that did not come from your wife's butt.

All i know is when i'm in the mood for a power dump, i go to the basement bath...just sayin...

Wrong on so many levels but I agree....

mrbigbluelight

Good suggestions above ^^^

I might also recommend your wife cut back on her daily intake of cheese.

mrbiron

I hanker for a hunk of cheese.....

Maybe she pooped a hammer??

Upstatemax

I'm afraid they are right. The flange is a **** to replace.

You can save a lot of money removing the tile around the flange yourself and exposing the line. If you're handy enough, PVC is VERY easy to handle.

As for what caused it. My guess is someone cranked on those bolts too tight... People like to crank on them and there is zero reason for it.

Did the toilet rock at all?

If the toilet had any rock/sway it can cause a lot of pressure on the flange. On most toilets installed on tile you need to use shims to stop any sway.

jeremymarcinko

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Wax-Free-Toilet-Bowl-Gasket-7500P5/100139961/

zane77

I like that I would definitely give it a try

sandworms

quick update, see pics

, having been away from the computer all night I missed some good input from everyone, but I'm sure you understand I've been busy. The good news is no leaks ( yet ) the bad news is I dropped the toilet, ( porcelain slides easy on tile ) and broke the tank!! DOH! But I got the new one in and all is well. Wish I saw that last part you posted Jeremy, that thing would surely make me feel more comfortable.
I'll update tomorrow if I'm still dry : )

zane77

Glad to,see you used primer before you glued this I think you've got it fixed. Good job

ken brydson

jeremymarcinko wrote: »

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Wax-Free-Toilet-Bowl-Gasket-7500P5/100139961/

Thanks for the link. That looks promising. I've got one I need to replace but I've been putting it off because the wax rings are a PITA.

pitdogg2

I have used these they come in different sizes 3"-4" glue to the toilet and are VERY HARD TO GET OFF. You can pull the toilet if you need with no harm to the boot. You do need a new or very clean toilet to make sure you get good adhesion.
I'll never go back to wax

http://www.amazon.com/Fernco-Inc-FTS-3-3-Inch-Toilet/dp/B000BQUJEA

zingo

Looks great, but toilet work is no fun. Recent replaced the wax ring on the one in my master bath as it looked like there was a leak, but luckily no.

sandworms

So day 2 and still dry! Thanks again for everyone's input, I really appreciate your going out of your way and taking time to help. If I could buy you all a drink I would! Again, a testament to this club and the people in it, it's not just an audio forum, more like family and friends. I tried to multi quote to give input to everyone but I need to work on my computer skills
Thank you, sincerely

This is the end result, nothing fancy cause it's a basement my wife uses for a daycare


The bathroom leads out to the 2nd kitchen


Which leads to a living area and a walk out to the back yard

mrbiron

If I could buy you all a drink I would!

Rochester eh.....i'll be there in 5 hours!

sandworms

mrbiron wrote: »

Rochester eh.....i'll be there in 5 hours!

Come on over, Sabre man