My toilet flange cracked on a Saturday night, and I almost called a plumber

Last weekend in my 1970s house in Portland, the wax ring let go and water seeped into the bathroom floor. I was this close to paying a plumber $300 for a Sunday callout, but then I watched a 10 minute video about using a repair ring instead of replacing the whole flange. Took me 45 minutes with a $12 tool from Home Depot and it sealed up perfect. Has anyone here tried those silicone repair rings, or do you always replace the whole flange?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray_patel276h ago

Hold up, you watched a 10 minute video and fixed a cracked toilet flange in 45 minutes on a Saturday night? No way. I've done like 6 different toilet repairs in my life and every single one turned into a 3 hour nightmare with a trip back to the store for parts I forgot. I can't believe you pulled that off without water spraying everywhere or the whole thing breaking apart. Those silicone repair rings sound too good to be true. I'm half convinced you just got lucky or the crack was barely there.

sarah_hart6h ago

Ray took the words right out of my mouth honestly. That timeline is ridiculous for a toilet flange fix unless the crack was literally a hairline and the video was some 10 minute miracle guide. I've had a toilet repair turn into a full weekend project before because the old flange was corroded to the point it crumbled when I touched it. Those silicone rings might hold up in theory but I've seen them fail after a few months when the toilet shifts slightly. Plus the water shutoff valve on the toilet is usually seized or leaking too by the time you do a flange repair, so that's another trip to the store right there.