Rough-in distance from wall for setting toilet

I bought a Toto that has a 12" rough-in. Does this mean 12" from the finished wall to the center of the toilet flange? How much clearance should this give me from the back edge of the tank/lid to the finished wall?

Michael

 

Yes, the rough-in spec for a toilet refers to the distance from the finished wall surface ( not including baseboards) to the centerline of the waste flange. You can go online to any manufacturer and check the specs on their models. Typically, a toilet installed exactly at 12" would have anywhere between 1/4" and 3/4" clearance. The reason for some clearance is that the manufacturing tolerances on a large porcelain piece like a toilet are significant; and generally accepted industry tolerances on wall bow and plumb also come into play.

 

if you have the toilet in hand why don't you just measure it?

best be careful about that "finished wall" part - especially with Toto as the base tends to be very long on some models. I put a new Toto Drake in back in April and measured the rough at 12" - give or take a little. The Toto shop said "no problem, these rough-in dimensions aren't that precise. Easy for him to say - I was the one who had to trim out part of the baseboard to get the Drake to fit. I think my rough ended up being about 11-3/4".

-art-