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This seems like a silly question but there's some toilet flange spacer kits that include rubber gaskets and I'm wondering if the top gasket needs to contact the toilet on the outside of the closet horn. I would think that it needs to as you wouldn't want any sewer gas leaking out.

The kit I have is below. The very limited directions suggest you don't need to use wax. And by wax I'm assuming that meens a wax ring.

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My settup only uses one spacer sandwiched between two gaskets and placed on the toilet flange. Currently there is slightly less than 1/4" gap between the top of the gasket and the surface of the toilet.

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Adding a second spacer causes the back of the toilet to lift up off the floor slightly.

It seems that a normal wax ring will get compressed too much and will extrude into the drainage pipe causing an obstruction.

How do I rectify this gap?

  1. Different extension kit?
  2. Larger wax ring?
  3. Remove gasket and add wax ring?

Also, if I remove the rubber gaskets and just use the spacer, do I need to use some sort of sealant between the toilet flange and spacer? If so, what should I use?

  1. Silicone sealant?
  2. Wax?
  3. Plumber's putty?
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Plumber's trick...A toilet flange can be level with your finished floor or sit directly on top of the finished floor, but never higher. Use a wax seal to make up the difference. They make "jumbo" wax seals for flanges that are flush with the new finished floor. On a flange that sits directly on top of your new finished floor, use one standard height wax seal. Do not use wax seals with the plastic horn. You only use those in certain situations which I am not going into right now. Also, NEVER stack two wax seals, one on top of the other! One will slide off the other and you a waxy mess under your toilet!

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personally, any time we have a gap bigger than an inch to fill, we just cut out the flange and put in an extension to bring it up to the right height.

however, if its less than 1", just stack up #1 and #3 wax gaskets (we always use the ones with the inner plastic funnel) and make sure its about an inch higher than necessary. then put the toilet in place, push down gently and tighten the bolts.

i have done a couple of hundred toilets over the years and have never had one callback.

dont overthink it - its just a drain pipe. there is no pressure on the pipe, it just needs to seal to the toilet.

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  • So you're suggesting stacking two wax rings instead of placing one on top of the rubber gaskets and spacer that I have? Though my quick illustration might suggest otherwise the gap is probably a little under an inch between the original toilet flange and the toilet.
    – hungerstar
    Nov 11, 2016 at 17:30
  • yes - basically the spacer kits work fine, but their design is predicated on the existing closet flange matching their kits face dimensions, everything being perfectly clean and flat, and everything being in good order. why bother? just stack wax gaskets up until they are high enough to seal when compressed. as long as the flange bolts are long enough to compress the seal, you need nothing else. there is no load on the pipe from the toilet (as long as your toilet is sitting securely on the floor - which it is supposed to be)
    – personal privacy advocate
    Nov 12, 2016 at 14:33

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