turing a toilet 90 degrees

we are doing a remodel in our bathroom and I am wondering how hard is it to turn a toilet 90 degrees. Or is it maybe something to hire a plumber for?
we have already taken the old toilet off and the flange there is pvc, glued to the pvc pipe that goes down from it. it seems the only way is to somehow get the flange off but it is glued on pretty good I am afraid to damage the pipe under it while trying to get the flange off. or is there another way to do it?
thank you

Code requires 15" side-to-side for a toilet to any obstructions, so assuming you don't have a huge gap behind the toilet, the flange (normally 12" from the wall) and drain needs to be moved at least a few inches. If you have access from below, this isn't too hard. If you don't, it means tearing off the subflooring. If you are lucky, there isn't a joist in the way. If it is under concrete, it means breaking some up.

well I went and measured. we already have the toilet we want to put in and it fits fine on all sides with the tank. there would be a little extra room behind the toilet, so between the back of it and the wall, but to me it looks fine, unless its a code issue.

Code likes 30" total for a toilet, 15" from center to each side.
It's about shoulders and arms.
From the end of the bowl, to the next wall works with 24", so if you figure 29" for the toilet and 24" for legs, you get 53"
I've seen homes with less there too.

I've seen old homes that had less space. They don't build homes like that now.

oh by the way, no, there is no access from below, its in the basement. concrete floor of course. there is plenty of room in the front, to the sides, and behind. well I dont have to move the drain it looks like, but what do I do with the flange? any tricks on getting it out, so I can put in the new one with the bolts in the right places for the new toilet angle? am trying to stick to my budget so if I can do it myself would be great..

Unless the existing toilet is sitting a long ways from the wall, even though there may be enough room around the toilet to turn it, it won't line up with the flange or the toilet will sit VERY close to the sidewall, and won't pass code. The flange and the pipe it fits onto will have to be moved. If it is concrete, that means tearing up enough concrete to move the pipe and the flange. The flange needs to be (nominally for a standard toilet) 12" from the finished wall, and 15" from the side wall(s). If the toilet fits at all, when you turn it, it will only be 12" from the sidewall unless you move the drain. This means you will be sitting leaning away from the wall, and may not be able to get to the flush handle, depending on which way it gets turned and the toilet design.

Measure from the wall to the bolts holding the toilet in place now and let us know...it is probably around 12". you need 15" to turn it in place.

the flange is one question.

the side to side elbow room you would have after the toilet goes back down on that drain hole is another question.

That is because your hole is closer to one wall than to the other. If your toilet is in a corner, the hole's center is approx 12" from one wall, and approx 15" from the other wall. It is good to know all about this first. The three inches less space against the closest wall is a serious thing, to some people, and it also isn't up to the building code standards, so it is good to know before finalizing everything. Try sitting on the toilet in that position before attaching it. If nobody complains now, then so far so good. Later, when you sell the house, somebody might point out that it's not up to standard, which is true. It's a bit tight.

About the flange? Let somebody else help you. I'm not good at internet discussions on flanges, except once in a while when I really do have the right answer. Besides, i am not sure if your question is clear. I might just drill through it and down into the concrete, but then again I'm not there and I haven't seen it.



david

rotate it 67.5 degrees or 75 degrees, and you get the elbow room when seated. You need 30 inches width (equally balanced 15 inches on each side) to meet the building code for new construction.

if that can be worked into your layout and design.

-d

thank you for replies all of you. there is more than 15 inches on the both sides of the toilet, the old toilet was an odd one -- it was long and just a huge tank behind it, the new one we got is one of the smallest on the market with a round bowl and it uses ;ess water, so a smaller tank. It fits and there is even extra room. I also found out yesterday that there is an adaptor that one can get for turning toilets like that, supposedly it goes over the old one, dont know what it looks like yet, but time to head down to the plumbing supply, bet they will know.
thank you all again

You never did tell us the measurement from the wall to the middle of the toilet flange (where the bolts are that hold the toilet down)...typical is 12", but it could have been something else. For a typical 12" rough toilet to fit with 15" on the side after rotating, then the flange must have been at least 15" from the wall, which is not normal.

hang on, got the baby in one hand, measuring tape in other.. going to measure now back in a sec. oh and by the way, NOTHING in this house is normal
SO I'll be damned.. its FOURTEEN from the two walls... welll.. you know we did think about taking that back wall out and basically moving it back 3 feet or so, bacause the laundry behind it doesnt need that much space, and making a shower there eventually. not now, cause that is too expensive for now.. hm.. I am posting two pictures, one is without the toilet, the other with the future toilet lined up with the current flange as it exists, the wall behind the toilet is the one I am talking about taking out. maybe I can just leave it as it is , and once we take out that wall it will be up to code anyway.. what does the code say about the distance of the back of the toilet to the wall?

so here are the pictures.. [/ATTACH]

The toilet could sit in the middle of the floor, so that isn't a factor. If the measurment is 14", and you turn the toilet, all you are going to get is the same 14" (not 15" to what will now be a side wall verses the rear. Now, will an inspector allow that...maybe on the remodel, probably not if it was new construction.

Do you plan on moving that toilet supply line? If not you are going to have a pretty funky looking install.

If it's just holding the bolts, then putting a repair ring down may work.
It depends on whether it makes the bowl set up too high.

ha ha! yes I was planning on moving that water supply line later when we remove the wall that it's coming out of. for now it can wait. It is a bathroom in the master suite so I do want to make it have a bathtub and a shower. the bathtub on the other side of the room is a clawfooot so I hate the idea of hiding it wth shower curtains.

Some toilet flanges have slots across from each other, and 90-degrees from them, notches that will also hold the closet bolts. You may be able to use those if they installed it square without doing anything.