And another question... bolts are 13 inches from the wall, not 12, not 14.. 13.

[John Q Florida]

I measured, and checked it twice... ;-) It's 13 inches bolts to wall, not 12 and not 14.

I'm assuming go with a 12 inch rough-in model, and that will also be just a little too far from the wall, just like the existing one is? (there' no shortage of room, so not the end of the world.. just double checking)

 

[Reach4]

In any case, you have the simple cheap option of using a 12 inch rough-in toilet, and have some extra space behind the toilet.

I put in a Unifit toilet adding some extra mounting holes instead of using the provided slots. My rough-in was more than 13 inches, and I used the 12-inch Unifit. I was very careful to have no interference in the path. My flange is a 4-inch CI flange, so it gave more opening to work with. I posted pictures. I think this would not be suitable for a professional, in that it would not be in line with the Toto instructions. But I am confident that is very functional and leak-proof.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Terry]

With 13" I would go with the standard 12" rough.
There was a period of time where a 12" toilet took most of 12", and wainscoting was becoming popular. I started pushing my roughs out farther during that time. I was tired of going back and seeing the wall framed out behind the toilet forcing me into a 10"
Manufacturers started modifying the dimensions to counter the wainscoting fad.

 

[Wallijonn]

... and that will also be just a little too far from the wall, just like the existing one is?

Then you will need to pay more attention to the toilet schematics - you'll want to get the toilet that shows the least amount of room between the tank and the back of the wall. Secondly, you will want to measure the bowl holes centre to centre (the bolts being as close to the centre of the bowl as possible - that's why the holes are elongated) and then tighten down the flange bolts in as far back a position as possible while still having the just measured bowl hole distance. That should set it back a little more (figure about 1/4"). A squared back toilet tank lid is probably best to minimize the spacious look, say versus the Drake oval-ish tank lid.

My hallway bathroom toilet is 13" from the wall, too, and I have a good 2.5" of space showing. The Drake tank has a lip on the back, so it stands out a little under 2.5". My master bedroom bathroom toilet is on 12" centres and it stands out 1.125" from the wall. That is exactly what the Drake schematics show as the distance to the wall. (Obviously I did not do what I just described should be done. And which I afterwards wish I had one.)

The Transitional Drake schematic shows 0.75" away from the wall. The Drake II 1.28gpf is 13/16", or 0.8125". The Entrada, 0.75". If your toilet is an other-than-Toto you will want to see what the schematics say the distance should be.

After you tighten the flange bolts down lightly, you will want to position the bowl down onto the bolts and see where in the elongated holes the bolts are - the closer to the right (left side) and left (right side) the better. Since the flange bolts are just lightly tightened you should be able to slowly move back the bowl and hopefully the flange bolts will move back. (It's better to just measure with a ruler, no?, least the bolts angle backwards - which is why you will want a real metal nut doing the tightening instead of plastic retainer.) Hopefully. Only after you have physically measured should you tighten the flange bolts a little more and then affix the wax ring seal.

 

[Jadnashua]

Functionally, the toilet will work fine. SOme people do not like a large gap, but that is cosmetic. Sometimes, you can fudge a little bit, but usually not enough to overcome a full inch.

 

[Gary Swart]

Flange location is not an exact science. The determining factor is the location of the floor joist. Also, although toilets are sized 10", 12" or 14", these are only approximate. To my knowledge, a toilet will never require more than the rated size, but usually will fit on a smaller size. The difference is the space between the tank and the wall. As noted, you need to check the individual toilets as the actual space behind the toilet will vary with the from model to model. You really don't want the toilet to have no space behind it.

 

[hj]

I, and my contractors, try to install the opening at 13", because carpenter framers often "move" the walls from where the plans show them and it seems they always move them INTO the room, regardless of what it does to the toilet's dimension.