Have you ever had to discuss something so personal…so private, yet something anyone remodeling a bathroom must talk about? Some even feel the need to talk about it in depth….It’s where you learn who your friends are…who has your back(side). Yes, I am talking about the noble toilet…the throne, the porcelain god, that of many other exotic namesakes. Well, whatever you want to call it, and whether you want to talk about it or not, we all need one…and if you can believe it, it really is pretty simple to specify…IF you know the proper questions to ask.
So you ask, what’s there to know? You sit, you go, you flush…so easy a two year old can do it. Not so fast. This toilet needs to be installed first. Did you know that there are at least seven types of toilet installations out there (not including some really funky European types I won’t discuss here…) You have three different dimensions for floor evacuated roughs..10”, 12” (the industry standard), and 14”. As a general rule, but not always, anything built after 1963 will utilize the 12” rough. So you ask…”how do I know what my rough is?” The simple way to check your rough dimension is simple. Measure from the bolt cap in the floor to the back wall.
That is your toilets rough dimension. What makes life a bit simpler is that certain manufacturers have created rough adaptors for their toilets. Toto created their unifit rough adaptor just to solve such dilemmas as wanting a certain toilet that wasn’t initially designed to fit you bathroom. Also good to know in advance is the fact that moving a toilet rough is a nasty dirty job that most plumbers just don’t want to do and will charge you for accordingly if you become adamant about it.
Well that’s simple enough you say…yes, but what about rear outlet toilets? Huh? Yes, there are those commodes that due to certain building constraints evacuate horizontally. Just to make things more interesting on top of that, there are different heights in which they evacuate. A lot of loft buildings use back outlet toilets because the floors are big slabs of concrete and chiseling channels to run waste lines is no one’s idea of fun. American rear outlet toilets evacuate at about 4” above the floor.
However, most of these models are big bulky commercial models, not quite suited to the delicate aesthetic sensibilities of your typical toilet buyer. So here come the European powerhouses like Duravit, Villeroy & Boch, and Laufen with sleek elegant back outlet models.
“Woo Hoo!” you exclaim. If it were only so easy….these toilets evacuate three inches higher than the standard American rear outlet waste pipe. Thank goodness for the plumber you hired…and the fact that there are now companies out there making adaptors that preclude the need to have the waste pipe moved up or down in the wall.
Are we done yet? Not quite…we haven’t touched upon a popular new trend in residential toiletry. The visually appealing wall hung toilet. These toilets actually are quite practical. They need a standard 12” rough, the tank is hidden in the wall between the studs, and most times the toilet is off the floor making for easy cleaning. These tanks, also called carriers are made by an American company called Geberit.
There are other companies that make carriers but they generally are not designed for American plumbing, don’t meet most building codes, and replacement parts become an issue. The good news is that most of the companies making the bowls know this and design their toilets to work with the Geberit carrier. Since the plumbing is in the wall, they don’t extend into the bathroom too far. This becomes especially handy if you have a bathroom with severe space constraints. The variety of flush plates available for these toilets has also become much broader (with finishes and price points to match).
Richard K. Segal
Prince Segal Design
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