Options for moving toilet water supply

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DanMc

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I am nearing the end of a major bathroom renovation. One of the last things was put a new toilet in. My wife picked a skirted toto toilet. I read the 12" rough-in bit, checked that my drain was set in 12" and said ok. My big screw up was I didn't notice until I was about to set the toilet in place that the water line is *way* too close to the drain center line. Grrrr!

I'm looking for suggestions on how to recover for this screw up. The options I see so far are:


- The bathroom is on the 2nd floor and the toilet is on an interior wall so I could go to the room on the other side of the wall, pull up the carpet, cut a hole in the subfloor to get access underneath and then move the water supply over. The existing hole in the sub floor and new tile floor would be hidden by the toilet. But considering I thought I was 2 toilet mounting bolts away from finishing this project I have a hard time facing holes in subfloors again!

- Use copper pipe on the surface of the tile to jog over by about 5 inches. Then cover the pipe with tile to make it look better.

- Use some sort of decorative pipe to jog over the pipe and don't worry about covering it. Mostly I'm worried about how this would look, but it sounds better than the pain associated with moving the line.

Any other better ideas or comments (other than be more careful with reading product drawings before spending a lot of money on a toilet or maybe work out all details for the entire project before getting started).

Thanks
-Dan
 

Gary Swart

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Assuming the bathroom wall is sheet rock, this is really not too difficult. Sheet rock is very easy to patch, so just cut a panel out from stud to stud and from the floor to about 12" high. The hole obviously needs to expose the existing supply line as well as the space the change needs to go and be large enough to allow access to work. Do the necessary plumbing inside the wall, bringing the extension over to where you want it to be. Sometimes it's easier to patch the sheet rock if you sister 2x4 blocks on the studs to act as a nailer for the patch. I find2-1/2" or 3" deck screws and a power driver superior to nails when mounting these blocks. Tape and mud the joints and your done.
 

Gardner

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I am reading in the OP that the supply is coming up through the floor. There is limited or no access from the bottom and and the floor is ceramic tile. Did I get this right?

What route does the supply line take to reach the point where it penetrates the floor?
If it comes down/across the wall, you may be able to do what Gary suggests.

What is below? Is there a drywall ceiling you can cut a patch out of and re-patch?

I don't understand your proposals to "jog over". If the toilet will cover the hole in the floor where the pipe currently penetrates, then that pipe will have to be gone to make way for the toilet, won't it?. Are you saying that the toilet skirt has room inside to route the supply around?

Have you considered switching toilets?
 
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hj

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Your real first screw up might have been installing the water line in the floor instead of the wall. But at this stage, you have listed your options so YOU have to decide which one you can do the easiest and still live with its appearance.
 

DanMc

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I am reading in the OP that the supply is coming up through the floor. There is limited or no access from the bottom and and the floor is ceramic tile. Did I get this right?

What route does the supply line take to reach the point where it penetrates the floor?
If it comes down/across the wall, you may be able to do what Gary suggests.

What is below? Is there a drywall ceiling you can cut a patch out of and re-patch?

I don't understand your proposals to "jog over". If the toilet will cover the hole in the floor where the pipe currently penetrates, then that pipe will have to be gone to make way for the toilet, won't it?. Are you saying that the toilet skirt has room inside to route the supply around?

Have you considered switching toilets?

The bathroom is on the second floor. The water pipe runs under the floor and then up through the tile floor right next to the wall. So unfortunately, opening the drywall in the wall won't help because the pipes are not in the wall at all.

As far as what is below, it is a drywall ceiling with that popcorn texture stuff. I've patched drywall before, but have no experience with popcorn texture. The ceiling that would get a hole is the living room ceiling. Too bad it isn't a closet ceiling!

As far as clearance, it is the shutoff valve that prevents the toilet from being able to sit in place. If I were to take off the shutoff valve but leave the pipe that is sticking up, there would just barely be enough room to put the toilet in. So I believe there is enough room to add a 90 degree elbow to the top of the existing pipe (where the shutoff valve sits right now), run to the left by 5 inches or so, and then add a 2nd elbow to make it go up again.


Changing toilets is not really an option. In fact that's part of what got me where I am today. The old toilet (which went out in the trash) fit, no problem. The new toilet (very expensive toilet -- toto soiree) is here and the shipping box broken down.

-Dan
 

DanMc

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Your real first screw up might have been installing the water line in the floor instead of the wall. But at this stage, you have listed your options so YOU have to decide which one you can do the easiest and still live with its appearance.

Actually, I think my screw up was not picking the toilet and carefully reading the instructions much earlier in the project. I didn't actually install the water line. I just left it where it was. It never crossed my mind that it might not work with a new toilet. Guess that's where lack of experience bit me.

I do have a 3rd option now that gardner has suggested. Go in through the ceiling below.
 

Ladiesman271

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As far as clearance, it is the shutoff valve that prevents the toilet from being able to sit in place. If I were to take off the shutoff valve but leave the pipe that is sticking up, there would just barely be enough room to put the toilet in. So I believe there is enough room to add a 90 degree elbow to the top of the existing pipe (where the shutoff valve sits right now), run to the left by 5 inches or so, and then add a 2nd elbow to make it go up again.


-Dan


Is the shutoff valve a screw on type of valve, or a solder on valve?
 

DanMc

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The pipe coming up through the floor is copper pipe. The shutoff valve is a compression fit screw on type on the end that attaches to the pipe. The output end of the shutoff valve is threaded and goes to the flexible line that attaches to the toilet.
 

Terry

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If the pipe fits behind the bowl, you can 90 it over.

But first look at the back of the bowl.
There is some space behind the bowl a little higher up that may allow the shut off to be without touching.

In the worst case, a 90 over to just beyound the bowl, and an angle stop may be all that is needed.
You shouldn't need the second 90.

For those others with the Soiree or Guinivere bowl, if the shutoff comes from the wall, you need 5-1/2" center to center.
If it's coming from the floor, you will need something like 8" center to center.

If it were on the wall and it needed moving a little bit, we have these
dahl_stop.jpg
 

Gardner

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non-professional opinion

So I think you want to take off the existing stop, sweat on a 90 to the left, a short stub and a 90 angle stop like the left one in Terry's picture (only a sweat or compression one).
 

SteveW

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I had a similar problem with installing a Toto Soiree (except in my case the pipe was in the wall). I used a couple of Sharkbite ells and about 3-4" of 1/2" copper pipe to "jog" the supply over to the side. I think it looks fine, and is really not visible to the casual toilet user (you can see it if on your hands and knees).
 

hj

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I cannot never imagine any revision to the toilet supply that used Sharkbite elbows being "acceptable" in appearance. But in this case a Sharkbite elbow will be MUCH wider than a compession valve and he says that is already the problem.
 

Winston Wolf

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The pipe coming up through the floor is copper pipe. The shutoff valve is a compression fit screw on type on the end that attaches to the pipe. The output end of the shutoff valve is threaded and goes to the flexible line that attaches to the toilet.

I have the same exact problem: second floor, water supply comes up from a tile floor with just enough clearance for CPVC line to come up by the skirt but not the with the shutoff valve attached, and also - already purchased the TOTO toilet. Do you mind sharing with me what you did and how it has worked out?
 
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