System and Method for Leveling Toilet Flanges

Abstract

The present invention comprises a shim formed from a circular disc that transitions uniformly in thickness from a first point having a first thickness to a second point having a second thickness on the opposite side of the shim from the first point. The shim further comprises a central opening formed therethrough to allow communication between the toilet drain opening and the opening of the closet flange. The shim additional includes one or more arcuate slots formed therethrough for permitting hold-down bolts to be attached through the shim and into a closet flange positioned below the shim.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to plumbing equipment and, more specifically, to a system for leveling closet flanges.

2. Description of the Related Art

A typical toilet installation involves the use of a pipe fitting called a closet flange or toilet flange that mounts a toilet to the floor and connects it to a drain pipe. A typical closet flange is composed of an ABS or PVC hub with a round mounting flange attached to the top. Closet flanges may be made from various materials, including copper, brass, cast iron, or stainless steel. The drain pipe and closet flange are dimensioned and configured so that the top of the flange is at the same height as the floor and so the flange is level. Thus, a properly installed closet flange will support a toilet in a fully upright and level position and consequently the level closet flange and toilet installation meet the requirements of most building codes.

Unfortunately, many closet flanges and drain pipes are not properly installed or shift at some point during or after the construction process so that they are no longer level. As a result, when a toilet is mounted to such an unlevel flange, the toilet will not be level. The only current solution for this problem that meets most building codes is to remove and reinstall the drain pipe so that the closet flange is level. This process can be extremely cumbersome and expensive, particularly if the drain pipe and closet flange are set in concrete, such as in the case of a finished basement. In order to re-level a closet flange set in concrete, the entire area must be jack-hammered to remove the concrete and thus expose the closet flange and drain pipe. The closet flange and drain pipe must then be fixed and new concrete poured to reset the fixture. Obviously, this is an expensive, time-consuming, and costly process. As a result, there is a need in the art for an inexpensive and quick means to correct closet flanges that are out-of-level.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a shim formed from an annulus shaped disk that transitions uniformly in thickness from a first point having a first thickness to a second point having a second thickness on the opposite side of the shim from the first point. The central opening of the annulus is positioned to match the opening in the closet flange and to allow communication between the toilet drain opening and the throughbore of the closet flange. The shim additionally includes one of more arcuate slots formed therethrough for permitting hold-down bolts to be attached through the shim and into a closet flange positioned below the shim. The degree of taper between the first point and the second point may be varied to address out-of-level closet flanges, or a modestly tapered shim may be used in combination with similar shims to correct significantly out-of-level installations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by reading the following Detailed Description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 a schematic of a conventional closet flange and drain pipe installed in a floor;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a shim according to the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a side view of a shim according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a shim installation on a closet flange according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, there is seen in FIG. 1 a conventional closet flange 10 and drain pipe 12 installed in a floor 14. It should be recognized by those of skill in the art that a toilet (not shown) is mounted to flange 10 and affixed thereto by hold-down bolts that engage slots formed in the upper surface of closer flange. When properly installed, flange 10 is nearly continuous with floor 14 and level so that any toilet mounted thereon is also level. However, those of skill in the art will recognize that, in many cases, flange 10 will not be level when a toilet is installed, whether as a result of improper fitting or drain pipe 12, improper attachment of flange 10 to floor 14, or floor 14 itself is out-of-level.

Referring to FIG. 2, the present invention comprises a shim 16 formed from an annular disk 18 having an outer diameter D₁ and an inner diameter D₂. Outer diameter D₁ corresponds to the outer diameter of closet flange 10 and may thus be dimensioned to match conventional flanges 14. For example, most flanges 14 have an outer diameter of seven inches. Inner diameter D₂ corresponds to the inner diameter of flange 10 and defines a passage 20 through shim 16 that allows for fluid communication between the drain of a toilet positioned over shim 16 and drain pipe 12. As the upper shoulder of standard flanges 14 have an inner diameter of four and one-half inches, the present invention is preferably dimensioned accordingly so that it rests squarely on the top of flange 14.

As further seen in FIG. 1, shim 16 further comprises at least one arcuate slot 22 formed therethrough. Arcuate slot 22 is configured to permit passage of conventional hold-down bolts through shim 16 so that a toilet may be mounted onto flange 10, albeit with shim 16 interposed therebetween. Preferably, shim 16 includes three slots, each of which extends slightly less than one third of the way around the annulus of shim 16. Arcuate slots 22 may be omitted from shim 16, however, holes would likely need to be drilled in the appropriate locations prior to installation so that shim 16 could accept the toilet hold-down bolts. Shim 16 may optionally comprise one or more adhesive portions 24 positioned therein to maintain shim 16 in place on flange 14 during the installation of a toilet, or to hold multiple shims 16 together during installation operations. For example, adhesive portion 24 may comprise a peel-and-stick adhesive dot, double sided tape square, mounting putty, fugitive glue, or other low tack glue.

Referring to FIG. 3, the upper and lower surfaces of shim 16 extend along non-parallel planes so that they taper from a first thickness T₁ to a second thickness T₂. The thicknesses, and thus the degree of taper, may be selected to provide a predetermined amount of correction. For example, first thickness T₁ may be one sixteenth of an inch and second thickness T₂ may be three sixteenths of an inch, thereby providing a correction of one eighth of an inch. Although the first and second thicknesses may be varied to provide individuals shims 16 that provide various amounts of correction, in a preferred embodiment the invention comprises a kit having multiple shims 16, such as four, where each shim 16 has the same taper, such as one eighth of an inch. It should be recognized by those of skill in the art that virtually any angle of taper may be provided within the scope of the present invention because one or more shims may be rotated upon the closet flange or, when stacked, upon one-another. Regardless of the particular angle, multiple shims 16 may then be stacked and combined to correct from one eighth of an inch, by using one shim 16, all the way up to one half inch, by using all four shims 16, including shims 16 having different thicknesses or tapers. As explained above, the optional use of adhesive portions 24 can assist with positioning multiple shims 16.

Shim 16 is preferably manufactured from plastic due to the fact that shim 16 will likely be exposed to moisture on a regular basis. Shim 16 may also be manufactured from any material suitable for manufacturing flange 14, such as copper, brass, cast iron, or stainless steel.

Referring to FIG. 4, installation of shim 16 may be accomplished by positioning one or more shims 16 over flange 14 so that arcuate slots permit the hold-down bolts 26 to pass therethrough and connect to the receiving structure of flange 14. Shim 16 may then be rotated so that the taper corrects the improper alignment or lack of level in flange 14. If one shim 16 is insufficient to completely correct for the lack of alignment, several similar shims 16, either of identical or varying degrees of taper or thickness may be positioned as needed. A toilet may then be mounted over shim 16 and onto flange 14 by attaching the toilet to hold-down bolts 26 in the conventional manner. The present invention will also work with conventional spacers applied over flange 14 or even repair rings and the like used to repair broken flanges 14.

Claims

1. An apparatus for leveling a toilet on a closet flange, comprising: a disk having a central hole formed therethrough to form an inner diameter dimensioned to correspond to the inner diameter of said closet flange and an outer diameter dimensioned to correspond to the outer diameter of said closet flange, thereby defining an annular region therebetween; andwherein said disk is defined by an upper surface and a lower surface that extend along non-parallel planes so that said disk tapers uniformly from a first thickness to a second thickness that is different than said first thickness.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one slot formed in said annular region dimensioned to accept at least one hold-down bolt.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising at least one adhesive surface positioned on said annulus.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said disk includes at least two slots formed in the annular region and positioned to be in alignment with one or more corresponding hold-down bolts associated with said closet flange and said toilet.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said at least one slot formed in said annular region comprises a single slot formed in said annular region.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising at least one adhesive surface positioned on said annulus between any two of said three annular slots.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said first thickness is one sixteenth of an inch and said second thickness is three sixteenths of an inch.

8. A system for leveling a toilet on a closet flange, comprising: a set of at least two disks, each of which has a central hole formed therethrough to form an inner diameter dimensioned to correspond to the inner diameter of said closet flange and an outer diameter dimensioned to correspond to the outer diameter of said closet flange, thereby defining an annular region therebetween;at least one slot formed in and extending around a portion said annular region of each disk; andwherein each of said disks is defined by an upper surface and a lower surface that extend along non-parallel planes so that each said disk tapers uniformly from a first thickness to a second thickness that is different than said first thickness.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein each of said slots are dimensioned to accept at least one hold-down bolt.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising at least one adhesive surface positioned on each said annulus of each of said disks.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said first thickness of each of said disks is one sixteenth of an inch and said second thickness of each of said disks is three sixteenths of an inch.

12. A method of leveling a toilet onto a closet flange having at least one hold-down bolt when said closet flange is out of level, comprising the steps of: positioning a disk onto said closet flange and said hold-down bolts, wherein said disk comprises: a central hole formed through said disk to form an inner diameter dimensioned to correspond to the inner diameter of said closet flange and an outer diameter dimensioned to correspond to the outer diameter of said closet flange, thereby defining an annular region;at least one slot formed through said annular region dimensioned to accept said hold-down bolts;wherein said disk is defined by an upper surface and a lower surface that extend along non-parallel planes so that said disk tapes uniformly from a first thickness to a second thickness that is different than said first thickness;allowing said central hole to align with the inner diameter of said closet flange and each of said hold-down bolts to extend through a corresponding one of said slots;rotating said disk upon said closet flange so that said taper at least partially corrects for said closet flange being out of level; andsecuring said toilet onto said disk and said closet flange using said hold-down bolts.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of positioning a second disk onto said closet flange and said hold-down bolts if said first flange does not fully correct for said closet flange being out of level prior to securing said toilet.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of positioning a second disk includes rotating said second disk upon said first disk so that said taper at least partially corrects for said closet flange being out of level and adhering said second disk to said first disk via an adhesive portion positioned on an annular region of said first disk.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of positioning additional disks on first and second disks until said flange being out of level is fully corrected prior to the step of securing said toilet.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one hole formed through said annular region and dimensioned to accept at least one hold-down bolt.

17. The system of claim 8, wherein said slot extends around said portion of said annular region of each disk to define a hole dimensioned to accept at least one hold-down bolt.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein said slot formed through said annular region of said disk defines a hole dimensioned to accept at least one hold-down bolt.