toilet removal/replacement

[gastan]

This is a plumbing question but first some preliminaries. My Minilite has developed several soft spots in the floor. (It has that 1/4" luan/styrofoam sandwich construction.) One spot straddles the doorway into the bathroom. The other is right in front of the sink (seriously soft - you feel as if you are going right thru the floor to the ground and watching someone step there, you can see a +1/2 inch deflection.)

I will fix it this winter. My plan is to overlay the existing flooring with 1/2" plywood and new sheet vinyl. I will pull the dinette, the sink/stove cabinet, the toilet and the bathroom cabinet but work around the refrigerator cabinet and bed base.

The plumbing question.

The toilet is a Thetford Aqua-Magic foot pedal model. Will the existing toilet flange be able to accommodate the 1/2" higher floor? If not, does anyone know if the flange is a screw-in type or is it glued in? If it is glued in, does anyone have any tips on removing/replacing it?

And finally, does anyone have contact info for someone at Rockwood who would be able to give some advice on how to go about replacing and raising the flange? (Not warranty. I am well past the warranty and know this is all on my dime.)

Thanks for any guidance.

[Bama Rambler]

The toilet flange is going to be a glue in flange. You may get lucky and the stack and/or top of the black tank may have enough give to allow you to raise the flange and insert the plywood under it. Also those closet flange gaskets are about 3/4" thick so it may seal even if you don't raise it. If you do have to remove it you can cut the stack and then use a Fernco coupling to reattach the piping.

I'd suggest that you look at 3/8" plywood instead of 1/2". It's not much thinner, but it'll save a little weight.

[rk06382]

Originally Posted by Bama Rambler

The toilet flange is going to be a glue in flange. You may get lucky and the stack and/or top of the black tank may have enough give to allow you to raise the flange and insert the plywood under it. Also those closet flange gaskets are about 3/4" thick so it may seal even if you don't raise it. If you do have to remove it you can cut the stack and then use a Fernco coupling to reattach the piping.

I'd suggest that you look at 3/8" plywood instead of 1/2". It's not much thinner, but it'll save a little weight.

I like to use SurePly 1/4-in Whitewood Plywood 4 X 4 for use as underlayment.

[gastan]

Sorry about the late reply. I wrote that question as I was loading the TT for our last trip of the season and meant to check back before we left for five days but - well,I forgot. Thanks for the tips and suggestions.

I may consider 3/8" plywood but only in 7 or more plys. Around here that means Baltic (Russian) Birch plywood. Problem there is that it only comes 5'x 5' - which would mean many more joints to biscuit or spline. Will need to check prices.

I never thought of checking the flex in the black tank to see if the flange could be raised. Excellent tip. Thanks. (and the amount of doable flex could influence the thickness of the overlay flooring)