Toilets are not especially fun to deal with. This week I’ve been tiling a couple bathroom floors for one of my favorite clients and was ready to reinstall the toilet. Everything was moving smoothly until I noticed that the PVC toilet flange was cracked and broken.
Not cool.
This is a problem because the flange holds the bolts that, in turn, hold the toilet down. If I were to ignore the crack in the flange the bolt would not tighten down enough resulting in a toilet that will likely rock back-and-forth and possibly leak wastewater…
So, how to fix it?!
You don’t have to replace the entire flange. Instead, head to the home store and get a repair flange. You’ll probably find it next to where the normal toilet flanges are sold, somewhere on a top shelf where it’s hard to locate. It’s a fairly simple metal disc that is the size of the flange. It slips right over the old broken flange. You screw it down to the subfloor and it’s ready to go.
By the way, make sure you use some kind of moisture resistant screws that won’t rust and eventually break. (No drywall screws allowed here. 
It’s not a difficult fix, but can be frustrating if you’re unsure what to do about it. So, be frustrated no longer…
-Peter
