Converting Floor mounted toilet to wall hung

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Igman

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I am aware of the in wall flushing units required to install, but am wanting information on moving the drain to the "wall" to be connected to the in wall unit. I am planning on hiring a professional plumber to do this, but would like to have as much information prior to 1. understand what is involved, 2. not get taken to the cleaners on the cost of moving this drain.

Thanks
 

hj

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1. remove and seal the underfloor opening.
2. open the wall and cut the riser pipe.
3. install the wall carrier
4. brace wall if necessary to secure the carrier.
5. expensive.
 

Igman

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1. remove and seal the underfloor opening.
2. open the wall and cut the riser pipe.
3. install the wall carrier
4. brace wall if necessary to secure the carrier.
5. expensive.

Thanks for the information! Stupid question- I assume the drain is in line with the back wall closest to the existing drain? So the main work is installing the in wall Gerberit unit? Lastly, Expensive= $500-$700? I know cost varies, but is the cost typically more or a less than my range? Thanks again.
 

Jadnashua

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To make room for the drain, vent, in-wall tank, and carrier, it's not uncommon that the wall needs to be thicker than a stock 2x4" wall. That in itself could be a difficult issue, at least time-wise, and labor is the more expensive issue than parts.
 

Gary Swart

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As well as the MAJOR expense, be aware that your future choice of toilets will be extremely limited. There are far more floor mounted toilets to choose from than wall mount. Just sayin'.
 

WJcandee

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Stupid question- I assume the drain is in line with the back wall closest to the existing drain?

Ummm...no.

It is not safe to assume that the drain pipe just runs directly to the wall closest to the toilet. There certainly is no reason to assume that the riser (i.e. the pipe running from floor to floor) is right there in that wall directly behind the toilet. It might run there, and it might be in that wall, but it's not uncommon to find that the pipe from the floor-mounted closet flange takes a route that you wouldn't imagine.

Second, as I read HJ's description, putting the Geberit (or Toto) kit in the wall is NOT the most expensive part. That's a DIY job. Locating and cutting the riser and connecting to it, particularly if the riser is cast iron, strikes me as a much more iffy and expensive part of the job. Removing and sealing up the floor piping isn't a small task either.
 

Terry

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I have considered installing one in my master to save room.
I've been considering it as a pretty major undertaking, knowing that in that location I will be moving vents for the other fixtures, rearranging wall studs to fit around a carrier and making the connections in the level below.
It will wind up affecting the bathroom on the back side of the wall, and the room below.
Until the wallboard is removed, things are pretty much an educated guess. If there is no wiring to be moved, even better. I do think that it would really add something worthwhile though. I love the look of it.

wt151m_zoom.jpg
 
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Igman

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Helpful and insightful information, thanks everyone. While I am a loyal guy, my long time plumber doesn't have experience with installing these, so I have a company that does who I am trying to schedule for an estimate...
 

WJcandee

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For what it's worth, you might look for contractors or plumbers that do a lot of commercial work or new construction. For example, our neighbor has a construction company. The guy is brilliant and creative. He has done amazing work on his own house, and, for a good price, he has done some things to our home, with taste and quality. He is talented enough that he could spend all day every day working on zillion dollar or historical homes in the Hamptons if he could market his services there.

However, his highly-profitable business, because few people can do it as reliably as he, is to renovate existing/open franchises of a certain big chain restaurant. Requires meticulous organization and preparation b/c they can only close the restaurant for, say, 36 hours. In the course of doing those jobs, he installs a lot of wall-hung toilets, albeit usually the commercial flushometer kind.

He recently redid our community beach house and insisted (correctly) on replacing the floor model toilets with in-wall Duravits with the Geberit tank system. Piece of cake for him and his guys because they do that kind of work all the time.

Just a thought. Good luck!!
 

DougB

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I have the Toto carrier. I'm in the process of remodeling our master bath. It's completely gutted.

You will have to bump the wall out with an additional 2x4 wall. Also the carrier is 24 inches wide so the wall needs to be framed differently than the normal 16" spacing.
 
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