To Jackhammer or Not To Jackhammer

After taking a vacation from my projects, I decided I was ready to tackle one of the more difficult and least pleasant items on my to-do list – the master bathroom toilet. I have fixed several different vent pipe issues in that bathroom and had narrowed down the final foul smell to the toilet. Once before, when I was a mere junior plumber, I took the toilet off, decided nothing was wrong, then put it back (with a new wax ring, of course, I wasn’t *that* junior).


But, oh, have I grown in my wisdom and knowledge of toilet flanges since …

As soon as I removed the toilet this time, I noticed that the flange was not only not level, but it was also not on top of the finished floor. Worse, I recognized it as a replacement flange. Someone else had attempted to fix this, but they didn’t do it right. I was unaware of any products to fix the fix. It was “unlevel” enough to be too high on one side and too low on the other.

Thank goodness for the Internet.

A few suggestions later and I was on my way back to HD for the second time that day. I never did find the PVC pipe cutting attachment for my drill, but I did get a better chisel.

As I chipped away around the flange, I soon realized that tile grout was the only thing holding it in place. Pop, off it came. No glue, no silicone, no bolts to the slab. Nothin’. Um, people, grout is not an adhesive material. Furthermore, it is POROUS. And sewer gas SMELLS BAD!!!

That is a picture of where the stuff goes when you flush the toilet in my master bathroom. Lovely, isn't it?

Now, can I assume that the pieces of PVC on either end of that bend are properly glued and sealed (not always a valid assumption in this house)? Do I rent a jackhammer and replace all of it, just to be sure?

Incidentally, the space between the outside of the pipe and the concrete slab was full of dirt. WTF?