Toto Vespin - Is this right?

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Daigneault

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I'm about to buy a house from a spec builder - who has agreed to let me make upgrades to the house he's building. I spec'd Toto Vespin toilets, and the plumber he uses is obviously not experienced installing anything other than builder grade toilets.

I'm attaching two pictures - one is what the toilet looks like now installed in one bathroom. The other is the only picture I could find that I have of a bathroom without the toilet installed. Do you think that this plumber just doesn't know what he's doing? Or will I need to choose a different toilet?

(Communications has been terrible w/ the builder and plumber - and have free time this weekend to research/choose alternative toilets if it looks like the water supply line and outflow (?) hole is installed in a way that means I need to find a different toilet. If I do need to find another toilet - would another toto work?)

floor.jpg
toto.jpg


Wondering if anyone can tell what the problem is here...
 
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Terry

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You plumber installed the water supply from the floor, which they do in some Northern Climates. You can't say it's wrong, but you can say it's different than what you were expecting. Since the water supply is in the floor, I would just roll with it. Some home builders don't allow any changes, just in case something like this happens. They often work on a 5 to 10 percent margin, and it doesn't take much for that to disappear.
The one not set yet, it may make sense to go non-skirted with that. The skirt does take a lot of space.
 

Daigneault

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Wow, thanks for the response, Terry!

I think they're willing to return these toilets for something else that would work w/ how the water supply line is setup. (I'm paying for upgrades and changes so I'm willing to cover this - I think it looks pretty bad).

Are there any Toto toilets that would work with the water supply coming from the floor? Do I just need a non-skirter toilet or a toilet made for a floor water supply line? (I was hoping I could use a Toto but I'm open to other high quality toilets that would work w/ this setup).

I'm assuming changing the toilet is cheaper than moving the water supply line - but if not - let me know. Really appreciate the expertise!! (I'm so clueless on this!)
 

Daigneault

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By the way, I'm in ATL GA - so we rarely if ever get freezing temps - not sure why they installed the water supply in the floor. Sounds like this is not ideal - if there's any benefit to moving the supply line apart from getting the toilets we want - let me know. May be worth the expense.
 

Reach4

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if there's any benefit to moving the supply line apart from getting the toilets we want - let me know.
Cleaning around a floor pipe is harder-- especially one where you cannot lift the escutcheon.

Slab, I presume.
 

Daigneault

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OK, I think I'm learning. Basically - any toilet that uses a water supply from the floor will have something coming up from the floor that needs to be cleaned. So a new toilet isn't going to fix the cosmetic issues I have with that. The only way to do that is to move the water supply line - am I right?

They actually had to move some water supply lines last week for wall mounted faucets so the drywall already got hacked open in a few places and hasn't been repaired. I'm going to see if they can move the water supply line to the wall...
 

Reach4

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A non-standard idea would be to bring the supply thru the sink cabinet. Considering the layout, that might be worth considering. But certainly the wall is the common way. Maybe also have an electrical outlet there to power your bidet attachment in the future.

The Dahl mini-ball stop valves are nice if looking for somewhat premium stuff.
 

Daigneault

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Just heard from builder - he agreed to move the supply line to the wall - so thank you for suggesting this!

Regarding the Dahl mini-ball stop valves - is that something I can do later easily? Or will it require drywall getting cut? (I'm trying to minimize how much I ask of the builder - and pushing things off to after closing that I can get help with easily)

Relatedly... can the supply lines for this sink be replaced with something nicer (brass?) after I close - or will it require cutting the tile? The supply line for the toilet will get moved in this same bathroom - and that may require re-tiling - so if tiling needs to happen for the sink supply lines to get changed I should do it now.

powder.jpg
 

Jadnashua

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One thing that I can't tell from the picture is whether the toilet actually has enough room to pass plumbing codes...code requires a MINIMUM of 15" either side of the toilet to any obstructions (so at least 30"). It looks like that space may not pass code.

The Drake is essentially a Vespin without the skirt. A little less expensive, and MIGHT fit with the supply where it is. The Vespin, without the extra curves, is easier to keep clean.
 

WJcandee

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That's a beautiful sink. Elegant. Love the use of the metal. If you're thinking that the half-assed plastic connectors on the end of PEX sticking through the floor and attached to cheesy white hose detracts from the overall appearance, you are correct. A good plumber could give you something that looks nice, but maybe, once again, not having potable water supply coming through the floor where it's gonna get floor cleaning chemicals sloshed on it (yecch) might be better if the builder is used to putting the supply in the wall, where, frankly, it should go.

Even if the hoses are not supposed to be affected by chemicals sloshed on them, I'm here to tell you that when I was a partner in a restaurant in Atlanta, Coke ran our soda lines through a below-floor plastic pipe that they then didn't seal properly, and floor washing water accumulated in the hose-filled pipe. It wasn't too long before our soda started smelling and tasting horrible, because the chemical/stagnant wash water in which the hoses were now soaking was permeating into the hoses. Coke (to their credit) figured out the problem and spent hours removing all the lines, flushing the pipe, drying it, rerunning the lines, and sealing it properly. After that, no problem. But the idea of the water that I'm gonna use to brush my teeth coming out of hoses positioned like those are is really-concerning.
 

Daigneault

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Thanks, everyone. Yeh, my suspicions have been confirmed - this plumber is terrible. We actually failed inspection points 3x over the course of the build b/c of plumbing issues. I talked to the builder and he agrees that the water lines need to be moved to the wall for the toilets and the console sink - and that we should be using brass fittings for the supply line/p trap on that same sink. I called a few other plumbers that were well rated in the area to see if they'd be up for taking over and finishing the job but no one really wants to get involved in this situation w/ the builder. So I have to push the builder to get this plumber to do it right - or to find another plumber. Meanwhile, we've been trying to close since early November. Sigh. Here's hoping they can move the water lines this week!
 
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