Cast Iron Flange for Toilet

[I`m Your Handy Man]

Hello Specialists

I removed an old toilet and want to tile the bathroom,
with 1/4 in backerboard and 1/4 in ceramic tile, I had to remove
about a 4 ft by 3 ft section of 1/2 in particle board that was rotten
there is a 3/4 in hardwood base still in good shape, so what I need to do is remove the cast iron toilet flange from the cast iron pipe I`m guessing a six inch pipe, it appears to be soldered on, I would rather not cut the pipe and go to plastic cause the cast Iron is in such good shape, so
how do I remove the solder and flange ? do I use a small butane torch ?
do I need to buy an Acetalene torch ? and how do I resolder the flange ?
I can't pry up on the pipes for the extra 1/2 in, and I don't want to break the pipes, so someone suggested just putting backerboard and tile on the base hardwood as a quick fix but that don't set right with me. and I don't want to tear up the rest of the particle board. Also the flange was originally tied to the particle board, how do you attach the flange to tile? any suggestions would be appreciated.

sincerely I`m your Handy man

[LazyPup]

THE BAD NEWS IS: it is nearly impossible to remove a leaded cast iron flange without damaging it.

THE GOOD NEWS IS: you don't need to remove it.

Whenever it is necessary to raise the height of the closet flange because the flooring is built up you can get a "Build-up flange" which is a flat plate of PVC material made in the same shape as the top of a closet flange.

To install a build-up flange you begin by inserting your closet bolts into the existing cast iron flange and secure them in place with "fainstock clips". The build-up flange is then laid on top of the existing flange with the rubber gasket side down so the gasket seals between the buildup flange and the existing closet flange. You then use a wax ring and attach the toilet bowl in the normal manner and when you tighten the closet bolts it is all held together.

See attached illustration.

[I`m Your Handy Man]

I just removed the flange

Thanks for your help
I was a day late in reading your post though, and can see it as a better alternative, I actually went and bought one of the Mappe Torches for $50, I don't think the Butane $19 Torch used for copper sweating would remove the lead, in retrospect I should have just bought a small acetylene torch the Mappe Torch was far to hard to adjust, I almost burnt down the house, blue flame, yellow flame, blue flame, yellow flame quite a sycadelic experience.
anyway after scaring my wife and waking the neighbors
I was able to heat the flange enough to pull it straight up with two claw hammers.
The guy at the store recommended using a flange with a rubberboot to attach to the cast iron it looks like it will work nicely,
the only problem is he said I would have to drill through the tile and attach to the subfloor with some screws, but if you look at the underside of the new flange it is not cirular but some funky design, so I will have to cut this funky design in the tile.
Is there another way to mount the flange on tile without cutting the Funky Design or running the tile ?

Sincerely I`m Your Handy Man

[HayZee518]

check with lazypup but I recall that the flange should sit [above] the tile or finish floor.

[LazyPup]

I am very glad to hear that you got through removing the flange without incident however I cannot caution you enough, ABSOLUTELY DO NOT use a torch or any spark producing device, or for that matter smoking cigarettes when working on an active sewer line.

One of the key components of sewer gas is methane, which is highly flammable and under some circumstances in relatively low concentrations it can be explosive, not to mention that there have been many instances of people disposing of raw gasoline or other highly flammable liquids in the sewer system.

Do not take this lightly, by example, on Feb.13, 1981 a sewer exploded in Louisville, Kentucky and it destroyed 3km of streets.

Now in regards to your tile; keep in mind that once the tile is finished the footprint of the closet bowel is going to be covering a relatively large area in relation to the size of the closet flange. You can run your tile up to the edge of the closet flange and allow two or three corners of the tile to support the outer edge of the flange or you can cut some small pieces of the tile that you install under the flange as shim spacers to insure the underside of the flange is at the same height above the sub-floor. You then install the screws through the flange and into the sub-floor in the normal manner.

[pushkins]

What exactly is the installation height of a toilet flange in relation to finished floor?

[LazyPup]

The wax gasket surface of a closet bowl is 1/2" above the base of the bowl.

The top of the closet flange should be not less than 1/4" nor more than 3/8" above the finished floor, which then leaves 1/8" to 1/4" to be made up by the wax ring.