How to remove a broken toilet flange yourself
Removing a stuck or broken toilet flange is difficult because it anchors the toilet firmly to the floor and often breaks during removal, leaving homeowners unsure whether to patch it with epoxy or attempt a full replacement. This uncertainty leaves the bathroom out of commission and forces a decision between continuing a tricky DIY repair or calling a professional plumber.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Researching plumbing subreddits and guides
- 2Attempting the repair independently
- 3Using epoxy to patch the broken flange
- 4Installing a metal flange repair kit or ring over the old one
- 5Rotating the toilet 90 degrees
- 6Cutting the pipe and using a flush-fit floor flange
- 7Grinding down interior high spots with a carbide rasp bit
- 8Cutting the top neck internally and using an expansion or Twist-N-Set flange
- 9Replacing the old lead bend and transitioning to PVC below the slab
- 10Used silicone to glue the toilet to the floor
- 11Used a green foam and wax ring
- 12Using a sawzall to cut the bottom of the flange
- 13Using an inside pipe cutting tool with a drill to remove the flange
- 14Shimming the toilet
- 15replacing the part entirely instead of cleaning or repairing it
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Should I replace the toilet mount or use epoxy to patch it?”source ↗
“I noticed some rocking on the toilet and decided to pull it out think the wax ring was getting unseated. Pulled the toilet and flange broken.”source ↗
“Toilet fills, swirls weakly, slows down, and rises without pulling a proper siphon flush.”source ↗
“Looking down the open flange, the throat underneath is severely deformed/restricted into a tight, keyhole shape (choked down to under 2 inches in spots).”source ↗
“New homeowner here. I was cleaning the toilet and the screws were free spinning. I investigated further and i found that they have completely snapped off.”source ↗
“Google is telling me to install a flange repair ring, screw it in and follow it up with a fluidmaster extra thicc wax. Is that correct? I’m confused as to how the ring is supposed to screw in, if the extra thick ring is appropriate for my flush hole, and if the broken tiles are gonna mess anything up.”source ↗
“Most obvious is my flange is too high.”source ↗
“The flange is not level, and I miscalculated the bolt positions when putting in the replacement steel ring.”source ↗
“When I went to dry fit the toilet, it was hitting the flange.”source ↗
“I’m having a hard time removing the old flange, and I want to make sure a new one fits in that same.”source ↗
“Does this look like something for a pro or can I still fix it myself?”source ↗
“the round (male?) part is stuck and won't budge, what pliers do i use? how do i remove?”source ↗