AAB wrote:

Found a alternative to wax seals at home depot that seems to be designed
to meet my needs -- looking to see if anyone has had good/bad
experiences with this.

From the manufacturers web site:
http://www.fernco.com/fts.html

This appears to meet my needs because I am raising the floor 5/8" and
this states "seals on raised floors, wood, tile, linoleum, and carpet"
and "no need for flange risers or stacked wax rings".

Thanks in advance!
Alan

I have no experience with the alternative, but you might consider the
following:

http://www.plumbingstore.com/toiletrings.html

Here's an excerpt:

QUESTION: "On my regular toilet I've replaced the 'bad' wax gaskets a
few times and my toilet still leaks!!??"

ANSWER: Generally wax doesn't "go bad" on a standard floor-mounted
toilet, as its function is not to prevent leaks. Wax on a floor-mounted
toilet is there to prevent odors. If you are experiencing a leak coming
from underneath the floor-mounted toilet, you probably have a partial
(or full blown) toilet stoppage down the drain line (or the toilet is
cracked in the bowl). Also, make sure the leak isn't coming from above
and dribbling down the back of the toilet, as this is a "typical"
undetected problem. If you aren't sure where the leak is coming, from
try putting a few drops of food coloring in the tank and waiting a few
hours.


QUESTION: "I've seen expensive, sliding type of flanges/gaskets that
attach to the bottom of a toilet and then slide into the drain. What's
your opinion of them?"

ANSWER: We don't wish to offer them (although we certainly would make
more profit doing so) because: 1) They are much more complicated than a
simple wax or sponge ring. 2) The toilet bowl must be totally. perfectly
clean and spotless. That is never the case with a used toilet and even
with a new toilet a lot of times it will have some grease or dirt on
them. The toilet bowl must be cleaned very well. 3) The water closet
flange, by design, tends to be more susceptible to damage during
construction and the basic wax, wax with gasket and sponge take up most
problem flanges while many of the "new" type (read "expensive") toilet
to flange connectors need to generally have a "perfect" flange and a
"perfect" toilet bowl. 4) If a toilet flange is leaking the problem
needs to be addressed. That problem is not the wax or sponge. We see it
as a case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and so, we prefer to pass
on offering these "new" type of connectors. We strive for total customer
satisfaction and our fear is that installing these new connectors will
produce a lot of frustration.