James wrote:
Hello -- first post here after reading for a long time and picking up
lots of valuable advice.

I'm going to completely replace our bathroom over the next few weeks.
Before doing anything internally I was planning to replace the soil
stack. The connection to the toilet is a mess -- years of bodging and
putty and a cheap loo that wobbles and leaks because it hasn't been
screwed to the wall. Here's a picture. Note that I didn't install
this!
http://tinypic.com/r/250htp1/6

But... now I find myself thinking how much easier it would be if I
didn't have to get rid of the whole thing. The external pipework is
old but sound.

I don't want to fit a new toilet to a knackered pipe -- but does
anyone have any thoughts about reusing what's there already?

If I could saw/grind off the collar on the pipe and clean up the end
then would a flexible pan connector make a decent seal? Would it help
to use a long connector and push it further down the pipe than normal?

The current (badly fitted) toilet is on a wooden plinth which will
come out before the new toilet goes in. Is there likely to be a
problem with the angle of the connector? Clearly the new one will
need to be closer to the wall so it can be fixed in place. I'd rather
not have to have a bit of wood between the back of the cistern and
the wall.
Any advice would be much appreciated. Two small children in the house
mean that the quicker I can finish the project the better -- but if
I'm going to have to bite the bullet and replace the whole thing then
I might as well get on with it.

Thanks in advance.

Is that a lead waste pipe to a cast iron soil stack?


--
Adam