Advice to first time DIYer replacing 14" rough-in toilet?

[Plumbs Away]

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[dosstx]

The BEST value is the AquaSource ADA height white elongated at Lowes for $99. I have one and it holds its own with any competing brand.

But what about legroom as mentioned a few posts up in this thread? 28" vs 30"?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Plumbs Away]

But what about legroom as mentioned a few posts up in this thread? 28" vs 30"?

It's 28" from front edge of bowl to back of tank. It includes the seat, which is not of the heaviest duty plastic, if that matters to you. I didn't like the fill valve that it came with so I replaced mine with a standard universal Fluidmaster. Some on here prefer Korky Quiet Fill. Either will do the job very well. I upgraded to a seat I liked and added the Fluidmaster valve and spent less than $150 for a superb toilet.

 

[Reach4]

But what about legroom as mentioned a few posts up in this thread? 28" vs 30"?

What about it?

 

[Plumbs Away]

Then there's the pricey Kohler San Raphael one-piece ADA-height elongated 1.0 GPF with Sloan Flushmate pressure assisted flush. It's 21.5 inches from floor to top of tank cover. It's very expensive and Kohler seems to be more concerned with looks than function these days. Thought I'd put it out there....

 

[Plumbs Away]

Well that's great info! I may get two...an AS for the big master bathroom and then the Vespin II for the small bathroom. Wow, I had no idea I'd be spending my Memorial Weekend learning about all kinds of toilets. When my soon-to-be-wife asks me what I am doing, I say "not much"...and she says..."you're not reading about toilets again, are you??"

It's worthwhile research. LOTS of people think a toilet's a toilet. What difference does it make? That may have been true 25 years ago (except for Mansfield's junk), but with Lowe's $99 AquaSource being the one exception, you're not going to get reliable service from the $54 special at The Home Depot. You have to accept that you're going to have to pay for a toilet that works and will last. People don't mind spending $2,000+ for a refrigerator that MIGHT be good for 15 years, but balk at spending $250 for a toilet that will last a lifetime if used and maintained properly. HINT: DO NOT flush a bucket of golf balls down your new toilet.

 

[MartyJ]

If it were I, I would order the Vespin II, which is the cheapest Toto with a Unifit Adapter, and get the 14" adapter. Yeah it's a little more work to install, but that makes a big difference in a small space, and you have a small space.

Here's how Terry illustrates it. Here is the space where Terry installed a 12" toilet on the spot and another where he installed at Toto with Unifit and the 14" adapter. Same space, just mirror-image photos. You can see what a difference the Unifit makes in positioning the toilet; it actually pulls it back, so you have more legroom and standing room.

I'm replacing a quirky American Std offset bowl/tank setup and doing research because it's the one toilet in the house and I can't afford to not be prepared for everything... (it was offset because of a box-out of the vent stack in the room- I opened that up and slimmed it down and gained about 2-1/2"- enough to get an inline tank to work and not have to relocate the waste outlet in the floor - old tile) I found the vintage bowl on a website and it has it listed as a 14" rough-in, as I suspected and seemed to have mathed from under floor. I will see if I can get a Unifit Toto set-up at a good price after reading here. The photos and description illustrating the Unifit Toto system as opposed to the 14" roughs with no offset/compensation (essentially a 12" with some extra filler at the back) are helpful, but I have to say as to the seated photo examples, remember folks it's about two inches difference, the legs are further out beyond the bowl edge on the right side photo, which overemphasizes the difference somewhat- not to be troublesome, because I really do appreciate everything I read and learned here. Good luck all! (and to me...)