On 2/22/2011 3:20 PM, yo wrote:
When a new toilet was installed, the plumber reported that the opening
in the toilet wasn't big enough to set over the flange, which rises
slightly over the floor height. So he had to shim, using wood shims,
so that the toilet is almost an inch off the floor. Plus level is off
a quarter of an inch front to back and side to side. The mounting
bolts apparently lined up properly. The toilet that was replaced fit
over the flange and sat directly on the floor with no shimming.

Isn't the opening where the toilet meets the flange a standardized
measure? This is an American Standard "Saver" from Lowe's and a
Lowe's installer did the job. I'm thinking that this thing sitting on
shims, especially wood shims, and not the floor is not going to work
out in the long run.

I've contacted Lowe's about the situation and they say they are going
to research the matter.

I think i know what may have happened. Is this an old house with cast
iron sewer pipes? If so, the bell end of the 4" may be above the floor,
and they typically would set the (old style) toilets down over that with
a big old wax ring. But the more modern toilets don't have enough
"cavity" in the casting to accomodate this tall of a piece under them.
The only choice is to space the toilet up a bit (i've done this once, a
lot neater than they did) or remove the bell end from the pipe. That
proves to be a little harder, although not impossible. Once the bell
end is removed, THEN you can take a piece of 3" PVC several inches long,
and a normal PVC flange, glue them together. Drop the three inch into
the cast iron, using copious amounts of silicone sealer right UNDER the
flange, then screw the flange to the surrounding wood. Then proceed as
usual. The hard part is removing that bell end or at least lowering it.
A grinder with a wafer wheel and attention to where sparks are going
is usually the quickest way with the best results.

--
Steve Barker
remove the "not" from my address to email