Old, non-standard rough in

mathgnome

mathgnome

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We have an old toilet with a wall mounted tank. The rough in is 20 1/4 inches. We have replaced the L between the toilet and the tank (more than once), the spud, and all the other hardware, but still have leaks between the tank and the L, the L and the spud and the spud and the toilet. I just want a new, one piece toilet. Any suggestions?
 
The toilet is labeled "Camden Pottery Co. Camden N.J." and the tank lid has a date 18/6/38. Yes, we are still using the 20" rough in.
 
You may be able to put any toilet there, but you'll have a big gap to the wall. They come in nominal 10, 12, and 14" rough-ins.

The existing floor may look funky from the old toilet sitting there forever. There may be voids. You won't know until you tear it out (shouldn't be destructive, though).

If you decided to tear out the floor and remodel, you should consider moving the toilet flange.
 
So what do I do with the 5-7" gap to the wall? The potty will look pretty silly just sitting there in the middle of the floor.
 
Did you actually take the toilet off and measure the distance from the wall to the center of the flange? I've read about some older toilets that bolted the thing to the floor, rather than to the flange. If it is 20" to the bolts, the flange might still be in a 'normal' place and a new toilet might fit fine.

The best you'll do with any current toilet is a 14" rough-in. This typically still leaves some space to the wall (often around 3/4", but varies by brand and model) when the flange is set exactly at 14".
 
Until you pull the old beast out you don't know what you are facing for sure. Once the floor and drain are exposed, then you can determine what has to be done. It would be my advise to do whatever it takes to make this a 21st century connection. Anything else will be a hack job that you will never look right, but you have to live with. Anytime you remodel a bathroom or kitchen, you are into a major expense project. It may be tempting to take a shortcut to save a few dollars sometimes, but it is seldom, if ever, worth it. The time to do a job right is the first time. It will never be easier or less expensive.
 
Yes, we replaced the wax seal a while ago and measured then. It really is that far from the wall.
 
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