Comodes for my Abode! 🚽 Need advice...

[Goss92]

OK! Here we go. I have 3 toilets. They have been repaired by various plumbers multiple times. They continue to flush poorly, clog, and leak. I am tired of this.

Recently I made it to Home Depot and was graced with three toilets that are normally very pricy for only $160 a toilet. I would like to buy them, but I want the communities opinion! You may ask...why am I going single piece? Well, I have found that I and others have leaned on the tanks and separated them from the bowl in the past, they are easier to clean, I like how they look, and I have the space for them. Here are my concerns:

1. I'm allowed to open and inspect the toilets but I am not eligible to return them. Should I get them anyways?
2. My rough-in is 12" for all bathrooms except one. The one bathroom that does not have a 12" rough-in seems to have more space between the wall and the toilet than normal (2.25" vs 1") and I see a metal bar(?) sticking out of the unusually thick caulking on the bottom of this toilet. Is this toilet able to be replaced with a 12" rough in anyways? What is this metal bar?
   1. 
3. I would like to install these myself, but I have only done this once before. What do I need in your opinion?

Please go easy on me. I just bought my first house and my prior home improvement experience is for my grandma about 12 years ago. lo!


Normal Toilet (Upstairs Guest Bathroom)

Bottom of tank on Normal Toilet (Upstairs Guest Bathroom)

Rough in of upstairs bathroom

Powder room tank distance from the wall/crookedness.

Powder Room Rough In

Master bath (unusual rough in size 10.5")



Wall distance 2.5"

 

[breplum]

That 10.5" rough toilet will not work with a 12" model.
Metal bar might have been some slug's idea to keep it from rocking.
Santa Rosa is a 1,000 MaP scoring toilet, so go for 2.

 

[Goss92]

That 10.5" rough toilet will not work with a 12" model.
Metal bar might have been some slug's idea to keep it from rocking.
Santa Rosa is a 1,000 MaP scoring toilet, so go for 2.

Yikes. Ok! I will try to find a 10.5” rough in model then. That seems like a very strange size. What would you get instead? An 11” or 10”.

 

[Rickyman]

Yikes. Ok! I will try to find a 10.5” rough in model then. That seems like a very strange size. What would you get instead? An 11” or 10”.

They don’t make 11” rough, you’ll have to go with 10”

 

[Goss92]

What does everyone think of this VS Kohlers?

Your friend has shared a link to a Home Depot product they think you would be interested in seeing: Glacier Bay 1-piece 1.1 GPF/1.6 GPF High Efficiency Dual Flush Elongated Toilet in White Slow-Close, Seat Included N2420 - The Home Depot

 

[Rickyman]

Definitely Kohler over Glacier Bay

 

[dmmsr]

Kohler/American standard.

Go to a supply house is my main advice. Never liked buying second line products at the big box stores. Even if it's a name brand it's not the same quality. Built cheaper for the do-it-yourselfer. Spend your money wiser.

 

[Zanne]

Glacier Bay is garbage.

I know it is more expensive, but I like Toto toilets. I particularly like the Drake (original models) and the Entrada. Drake is more expensive. Both have a 3" drain between tank and bowl so they flush very well. They use a tower flush instead of flappers now. The Entrada can come in chair height. The Drake II has a 2.5" drain between tank and bowl, but supposedly has a better bowl wash (the way the water flows into it and rinses stuff) than the original. I've never seen a Drake II in person. The original Drake is nice. It comes in standard height and ADA height.

I don't think I've ever had a Kohler toilet. Wish I could give more input.

 

[BlueSkyHigh]

If push came to shove and you could do it all over again, would you choose a one-piece or a two-piece?? I meant toilets silly and not bathing suit styles!

 

[Goss92]

Kohler/American standard.

Go to a supply house is my main advice. Never liked buying second line products at the big box stores. Even if it's a name brand it's not the same quality. Built cheaper for the do-it-yourselfer. Spend your money wiser.

Very well. What are some companies you would suggest then? I’m especially new to this part of the country.

 

[Goss92]

Glacier Bay is garbage.

I know it is more expensive, but I like Toto toilets. I particularly like the Drake (original models) and the Entrada. Drake is more expensive. Both have a 3" drain between tank and bowl so they flush very well. They use a tower flush instead of flappers now. The Entrada can come in chair height. The Drake II has a 2.5" drain between tank and bowl, but supposedly has a better bowl wash (the way the water flows into it and rinses stuff) than the original. I've never seen a Drake II in person. The original Drake is nice. It comes in standard height and ADA height.

I don't think I've ever had a Kohler toilet. Wish I could give more input.

I have a pretty tight budget. Millennial with a fixed income. Lol. It’s not that I don’t want the best, it’s that I really can’t afford it and I’m down to 1.5 working toilets. I’ll look into some other models.

I keep getting such mixed opinions on the Koehler. Today is my last day to buy them. My flipper friend is pressuring me to buy the Glacier Bay 2 Piece but I don’t want that haha.

It’s chaos.

 

[tailgunner]

I have a Mansfield 160, which I just re-installed after a remodel. Had to use an offset flange because of the new toilet location. It has worked flawlessly before and after the remodel. I did install a Fluidmaster Flush valve. Reused this unit mainly for its compact size. I have it set for highest water level and for a "cheap lousy " toilet it works great !

 

[Goss92]

Alright, everyone, here are some additional photos. The weird toilet has a distance of 18.5” inches between the wall and the center of the bowl. The 15” mark is right at the back edge of the bowl. For accuracy I used a level with the tape measurer and a laser to ensure I had it in the right spot. (Unless the center means the entire bottom piece?)

Then if you look at the caulking you can see the metal bar I’m referencing.

Lastly, some of you are questioning the position of the tape measurer in my initial photos. Let me make it simple. The tiles are 12” X 12”. The trim on the baseboard is 1”. This means from the wall to the edge of the tile is 12”. As you can see the bolt cap is sitting behind the 12” mark of the toilet (just barely). That’s the other logic behind 11in.

From what everyone is saying here. I should NOT buy the KOEHLER $160 toilets that are normally $400+ OR the Glacier Bay. I also can’t tell if I can put a 12” rough in toilet either from the different responses. I just want the gap behind the wall to be smaller.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[Zanne]

What is your budget for a toilet? The Entrada is around $240 from Home Depot. Lowes has it for more but will price match if its the same model number.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/TOTO-En...White-Seat-Not-Included-cst244ef-01/205613679https://www.lowes.com/pd/TOTO-Toto-Entrada-Elongated-Toilet-CST244EF-01-Cotton-White/5005322515
Both of those have options to ship to store. They come in 2 separate boxes but I highly recommend opening them at the store to inspect. We had a tank (for another toilet) arrive broken and it cut my brother's hand when he tried to lift the box. HD gave us a discount on it as an apology and sent one that was packed better.

Amazon has it for about $230 & free shipping for prime members. https://www.amazon.com/TOTO-CST244EF-01-Two-Piece-Elongated/dp/B00H2Y52A0/

If you can show that to Lowes they will sometimes price match.

We got the Entrada when it was on a sale for just under $200 but that was a couple of years ago. Not sure if there will be a sale again.

If you're really on a budget, it might not be the toilet itself and it could just be a busted wax ring and the pipes might need some auguring. If you can take the toilet off, you can run a pipe auger (aka snake) down the pipes and check for any wax that may have fallen into the drains. Although, the toilet itself might have a weak flush. I'm guessing the leak is from water coming back up from a clog further down or from plunging to clear a stopped up toilet.

We ended up having to replace the toilet at my friend's house when his grandfather clogged it so badly it overflowed. We were all evacuated to his house due to a hurricane-- a tree had fallen on the grandfather's house-- and the grandfather kept flushing wet wipes and leaving such large deposits that they came up over the level of the bowl. We could not get it to flush properly after that and ended up getting the Entrada.

I personally like the Better Than Wax rings but I know some of the plumbers prefer wax. I've not had any problems with the better than wax rings though.

I hope I'm making sense. Still getting over some food poisoning so my brain is not totally with it today.

 

[dmmsr]

Very well. What are some companies you would suggest then? I’m especially new to this part of the country.

Not sure your area. Ferguson is country wide. You can Google plumbing supplies and fond out what is near you as well. There is also supplyhouse.com. they have warehouses all around.

 

[Zanne]

Another supply store is Coburn's. But they tend to be pricey from my recollection.

 

[Rickyman]

Alright, everyone, here are some additional photos. The weird toilet has a distance of 18.5” inches between the wall and the center of the bowl. The 15” mark is right at the back edge of the bowl. For accuracy I used a level with the tape measurer and a laser to ensure I had it in the right spot. (Unless the center means the entire bottom piece?)

Then if you look at the caulking you can see the metal bar I’m referencing.

Lastly, some of you are questioning the position of the tape measurer in my initial photos. Let me make it simple. The tiles are 12” X 12”. The trim on the baseboard is 1”. This means from the wall to the edge of the tile is 12”. As you can see the bolt cap is sitting behind the 12” mark of the toilet (just barely). That’s the other logic behind 11in.

From what everyone is saying here. I should NOT buy the KOEHLER $160 toilets that are normally $400+ OR the Glacier Bay. I also can’t tell if I can put a 12” rough in toilet either from the different responses. I just want the gap behind the wall to be smaller.

Thanks again everyone!

The “metal bar” you are referencing is a toilet shim. They make them in plastic or you make your own with whatever you have on hand. Some people used to use pennies or a thin piece of brass supply tubing pounded down.

 

[Goss92]

What is your budget for a toilet? The Entrada is around $240 from Home Depot. Lowes has it for more but will price match if its the same model number.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/TOTO-En...White-Seat-Not-Included-cst244ef-01/205613679https://www.lowes.com/pd/TOTO-Toto-Entrada-Elongated-Toilet-CST244EF-01-Cotton-White/5005322515
Both of those have options to ship to store. They come in 2 separate boxes but I highly recommend opening them at the store to inspect. We had a tank (for another toilet) arrive broken and it cut my brother's hand when he tried to lift the box. HD gave us a discount on it as an apology and sent one that was packed better.

Amazon has it for about $230 & free shipping for prime members. https://www.amazon.com/TOTO-CST244EF-01-Two-Piece-Elongated/dp/B00H2Y52A0/

If you can show that to Lowes they will sometimes price match.

We got the Entrada when it was on a sale for just under $200 but that was a couple of years ago. Not sure if there will be a sale again.

If you're really on a budget, it might not be the toilet itself and it could just be a busted wax ring and the pipes might need some auguring. If you can take the toilet off, you can run a pipe auger (aka snake) down the pipes and check for any wax that may have fallen into the drains. Although, the toilet itself might have a weak flush. I'm guessing the leak is from water coming back up from a clog further down or from plunging to clear a stopped up toilet.

We ended up having to replace the toilet at my friend's house when his grandfather clogged it so badly it overflowed. We were all evacuated to his house due to a hurricane-- a tree had fallen on the grandfather's house-- and the grandfather kept flushing wet wipes and leaving such large deposits that they came up over the level of the bowl. We could not get it to flush properly after that and ended up getting the Entrada.

I personally like the Better Than Wax rings but I know some of the plumbers prefer wax. I've not had any problems with the better than wax rings though.

I hope I'm making sense. Still getting over some food poisoning so my brain is not totally with it today.

Thanks for all the great info. I TOO AM GETTING OVER FOOD POISONING. lol. ANOTHER reason for an elongated bowl...among other things...

 

[Goss92]

Not sure your area. Ferguson is country wide. You can Google plumbing supplies and fond out what is near you as well. There is also supplyhouse.com. they have warehouses all around.

Noted! I looked up a few things but they didn't seem to have toilets. Lol! They had composting toilets, toilet parts, but no toilets. I will keep digging!

 

[Goss92]

Interesting! So it's to stop the toilet from wobbling.