To offset flange or not to offset flange in a apartment?

[Andrew in Toronto]

My AS toilet is broken and needs to be replaced -- its 30 years old. I live in an condo apartment building (located in Toronto and built in 1975 if that makes a difference) and the existing toilet has a rough-in of 10 3/8 inches measured to the tile on the wall. If I understand correctly my options are either: (1) get a toilet with a 10 inch rough-in, or (2) get a standard toilet with a 12-inch rough-in plus offset flange. There are a lot more 12 inch toilets from which to choose vs. 10 inch so option 2 would be nice.

My question is: for an apartment bathroom is an offset flange a realistic option? I will be hiring a professional plumber for this.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Sylvan]

I used a lot of off set brass flanges never a problem when soldered to a lead bend or straight lead pipe

The reason I resorted to the offset type is the CG moved the all more then 10" from the soil line so I had no choice

https://express.google.com/u/0/prod...YmStN6YLgums2GkWMyR5N34oIT5pljHhoCI3wQAvD_BwE

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Andrew in Toronto]

I used a lot of off set brass flanges never a problem when soldered to a lead bend or straight lead pipe

The reason I resorted to the offset type is the CG moved the all more then 10" from the soil line so I had no choice

https://express.google.com/u/0/prod...YmStN6YLgums2GkWMyR5N34oIT5pljHhoCI3wQAvD_BwE

Hmm. That's interesting. I was expecting something more like this (maybe not exactly):

https://terrylove.com/wc/unifit.htm

The one you posted doesn't look like it would cover the 2 inch difference between the 10 3/8 rough-in of the drain and a 12 inch rough-in toilet. Am I missing something?

 

[Terry]

Expecting the plumber to change the rough-in at an apartment isn't realistic.

A standard 12" TOTO Drake installs at 10-7/8" CST744E, CST743E, CST744EL
The horn on that bowl is 2-5/8"
By shifting the closet bolts a little bit, it's likely you can set the standard 12" rough without doing anything at the floor except for slightly locating the bolts just a little further out.

Or pretty much all brands have 10" options. Most do that by having a smaller tank, TOTO has a 10" bowl, The C744EF.10 and also the Unifit adapter in 10" for their II series bowls.

The American Standard Cadet series has a 10" tank that fits their round, elongated and ADA bowl.

 

[Andrew in Toronto]

Terry:

A standard TOTO Drake installs at 10-7/8"

Standard meaning 12 inch or 10 inch?

The horn on that bowl is 2-5/8"

I'm not sure how this factors in. Would you be able to elaborate?

By shifting the closet bolts a little bit, it's likely you can set the standard 12" rough without doing anything at the floor except for slightly locating the bolts just a little further out.

It sounds like this advice is predicated on there being enough wiggle room to make a 12 inch toilet fit a 10 3/8 inch rough-in, correct? I'm not sure where this wiggle would come from as there is no gap between the existing tank and the tiled wall.

Or pretty much all brands have 10" options.

One model I was contemplating was the UltraMax II which doesn't seem to have a 10 inch model and is the reason for posting this question.

Most do that by having a smaller tank, TOTO has a 10" bowl, The C744EF.10 and also the Unifit adapter in 10" for their II series bowls.

It looks like the CST744EF.10 is only available for the Eco Drake® Close Coupled Toilet, 1.28GPF, 10" Rough-In (CST744EF(R).10) and Drake® Close Coupled Toilet, 1.6GPF, 10" Rough-In (CST744SF(R).10) which would mean picking based on flush volume. The only other 10 inch models are the
Aquia which is skirted which I have read elsewhere can complicate installation or Aimes which is way expensive.

The American Standard Cadet series has a 10" tank that fits their round, elongated and ADA bowl.

Based on another of your posts (https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/kohler-vs-american-standard-toilets.32604) and reviews on other sites AS doesn't fill me with a lot of confidence unless the Cadet series is an exception.

With regards to 10 inch vs 12 inch I am holding out hope that maybe there is still an option for the later. However, I am rather risk adverse when it comes to this kind of stuff. I just want this to go quick and painless and not have to think about it again for a long time.

Thanks for your input.

 

[Terry]

On the 12" CST744 models, you can move the bolts to 10-7/8" and it will fit.
The Ultramax II will not fit. It needs 11.5" to the wall.
The CST744EF.10 or CST744SF.10 with the 10" bowl will fit with plenty of room to spare.
The TOTO models do work better than the Cadet.

 

[Reach4]

If I understand correctly my options are either: (1) get a toilet with a 10 inch rough-in, or (2) get a standard toilet with a 12-inch rough-in plus offset flange. There are a lot more 12 inch toilets from which to choose vs. 10 inch so option 2 would be nice.

Any of the Toto Unifit toilets plus a 10-inch Unifit adapter would fit. So if you want a skirted toilet and are less sensitive to cost, that could be a good option. I modified a Unifit to fit an in-between rough-in distance. You could just use the 10.

 

[Andrew in Toronto]

On the 12" CST744 models, you can move the bolts to 10-7/8" and it will fit.
The Ultramax II will not fit. It needs 11.5" to the wall.
The CST744EF.10 or CST744SF.10 with the 10" bowl will fit with plenty of room to spare.
The TOTO models do work better than the Cadet.

Terry:

I ordered the Drake Two-Piece Elongated 1.6 GPF Universal Height Toilet for 10 Inch Rough-In, Cotton White from Home Depot. It should arrive in 2 to 3 weeks. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Thank-you for your help.

 

[Terry]

Terry:

I ordered the Drake Two-Piece Elongated 1.6 GPF Universal Height Toilet for 10 Inch Rough-In, Cotton White from Home Depot. It should arrive in 2 to 3 weeks. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Thank-you for your help.

Cool, thanks for the update.

 

[Terry]

I looked at this old 10" rough toilet on Thursday. We're looking at a new water heater and toilet here. The toilet is going to be pulled anyway during the water heater replacement. The tank bolts are covered in rust, the handle sticks, the ballcock is spraying and the flapper is disgusting. A seven gallon flush and wasting dimes and nickels every time you look at it.

Update: The water heater failed a week later. I guess twenty years is all it had left in it.

 

[Andrew in Toronto]

I finally got some time to post this update. I ordered a TOTO Drake 2-Piece Elongated 1.6 GPF Universal Height Toilet for 10 Inch Rough-In, Cotton White (CST744SF.10#01) from Home Depot Canada (CA$$483.64 incl taxes) and had it installed by a professional plumber in March. I was thinking I could use the seat from the old toilet on the new toilet -- no joy. Thankfully the plumber just happen to have a brand new seat of the right size. Having used the new toilet for a few months I am thankful that everything worked out.

I would like to give a shout-out to Jeff from The Great Plumbing Co for doing a great job.

Thanks Terry for the advice.


Now some pics.

Before.



After.

 

[Jadnashua]

WIth a few exceptions, there are only two common toilet bowl shapes...round and elongated. On each respective toilet, you can generally interchange seats, but not across the two shapes. Your colors may not match as well if you go with a generic versus an OEM one, but sometimes, it's really hard to tell.