Old 1960's Crane Toilet with 15" rough in - Help!

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JoeDY41

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Need some advice from those here much more knowledgeable that I am. Have a small bathroom downstairs (original construction 1964), top portion home extended and rebuilt 1995. The toilet is an old crane round toilet and the ROUGH IN is exactly 15". Here are other dimensions, if it helps:

From back wall to front of existing toilet 30"
Side wall to the left side of toilet to trim edge of door 30"
Width between end of small vanity to the left side wall 25 1/2"

I checked in basement to see, if it would be possible to maybe relocate the rough in and unfortunately, no room to move it from where it is. Please excuse the sketch with the measurements. This is what I'm dealing with. Should I just reuse the toilet. I am taking up the tiles and may raise the floor about 1/2" adding cement board and retiling in order for hallway to come flush with bathroom floor. Assume cast iron ring and who knows what shape it will be in. Should I just reuse the same toilet or is there another option like the Toto system which confuses me. Any and all help/explanation/advice would be much appreciated. Thank you all in advance for the help.

IMG_4681.jpg
 

Reach4

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Just looking at the 15 inch rough thing, consider a Toto Vespin II or other Unifit toilet. Get the 14 inch unifit too.

Now you are thinking, just an extra inch of gap. However you may be able to put the toilet closer to the wall. I had a 13 or so inch rough, and used a 12 inch Unifit. With the 14 inch Unifit you could use similar methods to hit 15.

What I did:
Initially, using the bolt method, I thought I had a 13-7/16 rough.

showed what I did...

It turned out that my rough was less than I initially thought based on external bolt measurements. The bolts were not in long slots which would have provided some easy adjustability; they were in side slots. The bolts were not the exact same distance to the wall.

has marked-up unifit photo showing the concept. The drywall screws (green arrows) would not have been necessary. I do overkill at times.

cst474_angle.jpg


CST474CEFG Vespin II on a 1920 14" rough with the 14" Unifit.
 
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Terry

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The old round toilet leaves you at 30" to end of bowl, and the elongated TOTO with 14" Unifit leaves you will 30" to end of bowl.
The only change would be that the TOTO sits you back 2" more inches, the end of the bowls will be the same. And it's elongated which many men consider a plus.
 

JoeDY41

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Just looking at the 15 inch rough thing, consider a Toto Vespin II or other Unifit toilet. Get the 14 inch unifit too.

Now you are thinking, just an extra inch of gap. However you may be able to put the toilet closer to the wall. I had a 13 or so inch rough, and used a 12 inch Unifit. With the 14 inch Unifit you could use similar methods to hit 15.

What I did:
Initially, using the bolt method, I thought I had a 13-7/16 rough.

showed what I did...

It turned out that my rough was less than I initially thought based on external bolt measurements. The bolts were not in long slots which would have provided some easy adjustability; they were in side slots. The bolts were not the exact same distance to the wall.

has marked-up unifit photo showing the concept. The drywall screws (green arrows) would not have been necessary. I do overkill at times.
Extremely helpful!!! interesting fact about the bolt being where it was. Guess I will know once I have the courage to move ahead, which will be soon. That would be fantastic if I ended up having some play with the bolt if not in the standard groove where they go. In the event the rough in is truly 15", you're saying the Toto Vespin II with the 14" unfit piece is the way to go., Frankly it is close to the all, that makes no difference, as long as I can add a new toilet and it does not exceed 30" from the wall. Thank you again so much for the information!!!!
 

JoeDY41

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The old round toilet leaves you at 30" to end of bowl, and the elongated TOTO with 14" Unifit leaves you will 30" to end of bowl.
The only change would be that the TOTO sits you back 2" more inches, the end of the bowls will be the same. And it's elongated which many men consider a plus.
Thank you Terry for taking the time. Would you agree that if once I remove the toilet and the rough in is truly 15", a Toto Vespin II with a 14" Unfit would allow me to replace the existing toilet? It is is near or flush to the back wall, that makes no difference to me, as long as it does not exceed 30" all will be fine. Thank you again Terry for the response. Very helpful!!!
 

Reach4

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There are other Toto Unifit toilets, but Vespin is the cheapest of them. Flushes well. If you look at Totousa.com and find any that have 14 rough, they have Unifits . Not all Unifits for 14 inches are the same. The prices on that site are list.

I just looked there. The site is harder to use than it used to be.
 

JoeDY41

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There are other Toto Unifit toilets, but Vespin is the cheapest of them. Flushes well. If you look at Totousa.com and find any that have 14 rough, they have Unifits . Not all Unifits for 14 inches are the same. The prices on that site are list.

I just looked there. The site is harder to use than it used to be.
Been looking and maybe this one - Vespin® II Close Coupled High-Efficiency Toilet, 1.28GPF with the 14" unfit. Turns out this one is 25 1/2" total toilet length from back wall.
 

JoeDY41

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That is the one I was suggesting. It is going to be more than 25 1/2" total toilet length, but it is still pretty good at not sticking out excessively.

https://www.totousa.com/filemanager_uploads/product_assets/SpecSheet/SS-01789_MS474124CEFRG.pdf

Then you also have to buy the 14 inch Unifit: TSU01W.14R
Click Inbox, above.
Thanks so much again!! Now I am much more confident with starting this project. Final question. Since I am removing the tile and likely adding cement board to raise the floor a bit, then adding tile, Is it better to sue a metal flange (old cast iron pipe I assume) which would be flush to the tile with a wax ring on top before installing the 14' unfit piece or should I use one of those PVC flanges which extends slightly into the cast iron pipe and sits on top of the new tile?
 

Reach4

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When I did mine, I molded the wax ring to the shape I wanted. I think I used 2 wax rings as a source for wax. I packed my wax even into the inside corners of the Unifit. I think a thicker wax cross-section will be more resistant to plunging pressure. But blowout due to plunging would only be if the pipe below the toilet was at least partially clogged. My cast iron flange sat proud of the floor surface.

Until you pull the toilet, you don't know what you will have. But I would not think that adding a PVC flange would be useful. Depending on what I saw, I might consider a Danco Hydroseat.

Figuring out just where you would like the Unifit to be, with respect to the wall, is something I would put some effort into. Then you will decide how to get close to your ideal.

Note ceramic tile is hard to drill, but porcelain tile is really really hard to drill. Maybe you can saw clearance notches, or omit some penny tiles.
 
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JoeDY41

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When I did mine, I molded the wax ring to the shape I wanted. I think I used 2 wax rings as a source for wax. I packed my wax even into the inside corners of the Unifit. I think a thicker wax cross-section will be more resistant to plunging pressure. But blowout due to plunging would only be if the pipe below the toilet was at least partially clogged. My cast iron flange sat proud of the floor surface.

Until you pull the toilet, you don't know what you will have. But I would not think that adding a PVC flange would be useful. Depending on what I saw, I might consider a Danco Hydroseat.

Figuring out just where you would like the Unifit to be, with respect to the wall, is something I would put some effort into. Then you will decide how to get close to your ideal.

Note ceramic tile is hard to drill, but porcelain tile is really really hard to drill. Maybe you can saw clearance notches, or omit some penny tiles.
Reach4 - you rock! Truly appreciate your help. I will post a follow up when I start the project. Still in planning stage but will happen. Thank you and we will be in touch via this thread again.
 
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