14" toilet replacement help needed

We have, what I think it's the original two piece toilet from when the house was built in 1930.

The tank leaks - we've had the guts replaced, a plumber was here for over an hour, but it continues to leak - somehow the rubber stopper doesn't fall properly into the opening so unless we adjust by hand, it just continues to fill. What's weird is that sometimes it work right five or six times in a row (closes and doesn't leak) - and then for some unknown reason, it doesn't work again. Even if it does fill, it seems there is a small leak as every so often I can hear the water filling into the tank.

We've looked at replacement toilets - the problem is that the

- distance from the wall to the bathtub in the room is only 50"
- the current toilet is 25" in depth (measured from the wall) so it protrudes half the distance to the tub wall
- the new toilets we have found are all 5" longer - i.e. they would end at 30" - leaving only 20" between the end of the seat and the wall of the tub, which is really quite short
- most of the tanks are about 2" from the wall too, so not attached to the wall leaving a gap - I don't know what condition the tile wall is behind the tank
- we also require a 14" rough-in

Is it possible to only replace the tank on the wall (who would make one?)

Are there ANY SUGGESTIONS, SOLUTIONS you or your experts might come up with.

I am hesitant to spend another $100+ to have yet another plumber come out to take a look at the insides only not to be able to fix them AGAIN.....

So anything you could suggest would be most helpful.

Thanks for your much anticipated response.

You need a tank AND bowl but I'm not sure where you can find one that only protrudes 25" out. I looked at a 14" rounds as well and found the same thing you did, 30".

Remodel out of the question??

The shortest 14" toilet is going to be a Toto

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

Sometimes a bathroom has a non-standard dimension for the toilet rough-in. Standard is 12"
Sometimes you will see a toilet roughed in at 14".
You can always use a standard 12" rough toilet for this, but the bowl sets out from the wall an extra 2"
You can order thicker tanks from some manufacturers, that hide the fact that the bowl is setting 2" farther out, but the end of the bowl will still be out in the room.

There is one manufacturer that "moves" the bowl back 2".
You pay more though for this advantage.
Models from Toto that allow you to move the bowl back 2" with their Unifit adapter are:
Vespin
Carlyle
Carrollton
Carolina
Lloyd
Pacifica
Soiree
Guinevere

With the Vespin and Carlyle, the shutoff can be 7" to the left of center.
With the Soiree and the Guinevere, the shutoff can be 5-1/2" to the left of center.

Most of these are 28" long and set off from the wall 3/4"
So on a standard 12" rough, the end of the bowl would be 28-3/4"
If you have a 14" rough, you can switch for a 14" Unifit and keep the distance to 28-3/4"
The 14" Unifit needs to be ordered in addition to the toilet.
They come with the standard 12" Unifit, which winds up being an extra part.
And no. I don't need anymore 12" Unifit adapters.

So to explain how this works:
Cadet 3 14" rough "round bowl" is 30-1/4" from the wall.
Cadet 3 14" rough "elongated bowl" is 32-1/4" from the wall.
Any of the Toto toilets above will be about 28-3/4" from the wall with the elongated bowl. Shorter then most other round bowls, and much shorter then the other elongated bowls.

You pay more, but get a better toilet, and more usable space in the bathroom.

Your call.

Hi, new member here,

I've got a similar problem. I need a 14" rough and I'm looking for an efficient flush toilet, elongated bowl. Supply line is only about 6 - 6 1/2" off center and I really don't want to move it. The styles of the Guinevere and Soiree, which would fit, aren't what we are looking for. Any other options from Toto? The others mentioned in this thread don't have 1.28gpf options that I could find.

We are getting a Drake II for our other bathroom.

George

thank you - but unfortunately, remodeling is out of the question - the bathroom is quite small and I wouldn't know how else to arrange it. Sigrid

Thank you - my husband already looked into the unifit adaptor - but apparently found some comments that they have a tendency to clog up. I just cannot believe that there are no toilets that a) would have a tank that attaches to the wall and b) would be shorter and fit a 14" rough in.

Sigrid

Who makes the Drake? I'd like to check it out too - Sigrid

The Drake/Drake II are also Toto but does not come in a 14" rough-in. 14" rough in is a problem if you are picky about your toilet from what I've found. We ended up that way because of a pesky floor joist.

George

I've had two Toto's with the Unifit for nearly 10-years...believe me, they don't clog up!

the Drake is also a good Toto toilet, I put two of those in my mother's house...they don't clog either.

For a 14", a Toto with the Unifit adapter will be the shortest toilet wall to front. All the others just put a bigger tank on, so they stick out more. You can use any 12" toilet, but you'll have anywhere from 2"-3"+ inches behind it, which means it will also project more into the room. If your rough-in is exactly at 14", a Toto with a unifit will be 3/4" from the wall, and be the same depth as the toilet when used with any Unifit (10, 12, or 14"). As noted, they only work on toilets specifically designed for them. If anything, the Unifit toilets, because the adapter is likely smoother than the porcelain and can be manufacturerd to closer tolerance, would have less chance of clogging than one without. It's really hard to get one to leak, too. You have to do something really dumb.

The only toilets that will come close to fitting in your limited space are the toilets Terry listed that use the Unifit adapter. As Jim states in his reply above, they do not clog. With this adapter, you can fit the toilet tank right up to the wall and that will keep the front of the toilet back as far as possible. As you of course realize, the real problem is the size and configuration of the room, and since altering that apparently is not an option, then compromises have to be made. The good news is, Toto makes the best toilet in the world so one of the compromises is not performance. The bad news is, the workable models with the adapter will cost you more than other models that also perform extremely well but do not use the adapter.

Why is it not possible to just replace the tank on the wall?
Why is it necessary to get a whole new toilet?
Does anyone still make tanks that hang on the wall or does anyone know of "salvage stores" that may have such items?

Sigrid

Why is it not possible to just replace the tank on the wall?

Click to expand...

You can repair the old toilet.


Finding a new toilet that is like the one from the 20's?
Good luck finding that.
If you can find 90 year old toilets that are still working for sale, please post the link.


TOTO Vespin II CST474CEFG with SS114 softclose seat.
The water shutoff can be 5.5" to the left of center using a 1/4 valve.


Toto Vespin II CST474CEFG with SS114 Softclose seat.
This bowl was installed on a 13-1/2" rough-in using the 14" Unifit adapter.
The water shutoff can be as close as 5-1/2" to the left of center, unless it's higher off the floor, and then it can be even closer to center.
This shutoff had been replaced with a new 1/4 turn valve with brass nipple through the wall.
Installation was by James Love of Love Plumbing & Remodel 206-949-5683
In some of the older Seattle homes, the old toilets had been wall mounted tank toilets.
Those typically are 14" rough-in and need a flange repair to use standard closet bolt connections at the flange.
Everything is on the truck for that.
The Vespin comes with a standard 12" adapter or you can order a 10" or 14" adapter depending on your rough-in distance.

It seems the Toto Guinevere is the best choice with 14" Unifit. And our water supply is 6.5" left of center. But the water supply is 13.5" up from the floor.
Will that impact the ability to install the Guinevere. And...
we have relatively low water pressure. Is the Guinevere at 1.28Gal going to be sufficient to perform adequately?

Water pressure is (nearly) irrelevant when it comes to flushing a gravity fed toilet. The only thing low pressure will do is take it longer to refill the tank...gravity does the flushing work, not the water pressure. The spec sheet is available on the www.totousa.com website. You can get an idea of where the valve would be relative to the toilet from that. Terry may be able to measure, but I'm pretty sure you can find it also by using the search function as to whether it would work without being moved; I've only seen pictures.

If you are at 13.5" off the floor you're dialed.

Plenty of room behind the bowl there.
I just took a tape measure to the one I have.