Which toilets to buy given my requirements?

[watfallet]

Hi everyone,

I will be replacing two older 3.5gpf toilets in my home. I'm pretty sold on Toto, from what I've read here and elsewhere. I'd like some guidance on which model(s) to buy based on the following:

Toilet 1 (half-bath)
* The vanity countertop extends over the tank of the current toilet, coming out about 6 inches from the wall over the top of the toilet tank. From the hardwood floor to the bottom of the vanity there is 29.5 inches of clearance. The current toilet leaves 2.8 inches of space between the top of the tank lid and the bottom of the vanity. I'm not sure how much space I need to leave. Perhaps more importantly, how much space will I need to leave for "wiggle" room when installing the new toilet? I was strongly considering the Toto Drake elongated bowl toilet (CST744S), but I'm not sure if there's enough room to install it. The Drake is 28.5 inches tall, so that would leave only one inch of room from the top of the tank to the vanity.
My second preference was the Toto Ultimate (MS854114), which is 27.25 inches tall. That would leave 2.25 inches of room. The cons of this IMO is that it's Power Gravity instead of G-max like the Drake. Since this is the visitor bathroom, I want the flushing to be great. (I can't control what visitors put down there!) Another con is that it costs more.


Toilet 2 (Master bath)
* Here I'm thinking about putting in the Drake (CST744S). I don't have the vertical space constraint here like I do in the half bath.
* Another option is the Toto Aquia. I'm considering it solely because my municipality gives a $125 rebate if I switch my 3.5gpf toilet to this model. However, I don't want a toilet that I'm not going to like, and I've read things about the Aquia (lack of water in the bowl, noise when using the bathroom) that give me pause. Also, it's flush mechanism is gravity, which I understand is not as good as the Drake.
* Rather than buy an expensive washlet, I want to have a simply spray hose and nozel (much like the kind next to the kitchen sink) to do the washlet function. I figure this would be a much cheaper solution and virtually as effective. This is common in Thailand and Southeast Asian countries. How could I install such a device? What's the low cost way to make this happen?

[Terry]

Toilet 1#
The Ultimate would work fine. Part of the price is that it includes a seat.
I had an Ultimate installed for a year in a home that often had 40-50 people over. Some parties were 150.
I would say that it in fact, saw a lot of guest action.

Toilet 2#
There are many spray kits you can get that use the cold water supply that the toilet uses. It's just a matter of putting in a tee for the two supplies.

[watfallet]

If I wanted to put in the Drake in the half bath (toilet 1), would I be able to given the vertical space constraint?

Thanks very much for your help.

[Terry]

When you install the toilet, the lid is off.
You would have plenty of room to install,
A bit less to work on the inside of the tank maybe.
Not too bad though.

[watfallet]

What is a rough-in? I noticed there are different sizes, and the Drake has a 12" rough-in. What are the implications of this? Do I need to measure something in my house before I buy a Drake to make sure it accepts a 12" rough in?

Thanks for bearing with these questions.

[TedL]

Rough in is the distance from the wall to the centerline of the drain pipe. Generally, you measure from the wall above any base molding to the mounting bolts on either side of the toilet, assuming the (now) standard two bolt mounting. It's a minimum, i.e. a 12" rough (most common) will fit into 15" of space, just leaving 3 extra inches between the tank and the wall. They tend to be conservative too, so that a 12" rough may actually fit into 11.3" of space.

[Peevee]

Don't throw away your old 3.5 flushes away. You will probably won't them back sooner or later.

[Terry]

Peevee,
If you're nearby, maybe I can start giving you all the old 3.5's I'm taking out. That would make a lot less dump runs for me.

[Mike50]

If you decided Not to get a washlet I would be looking at the "Biffy" product. (100 bucks)
as an option to a sprayer. It now apparently has an ambient water temp feature as an add on BTW. There is recent thread about it somewhere. I do not own any of these products yet.

I've always been an evangelist for the Aquia but you aren't going to get the same robust flush as you get with a Drake.

Mike

[RioHyde]

I have 2 Drakes (g-max) and a Carusoe (gravity) in my own home. While yes the Drakes' flush is better, I've had absolutely no problems at all with the Carusoe which I installed in my boys' bathroom. Being the father of two teenage boys who seemed to take pride in clogging our old 3.5 gallon Mansfields, I have been quite elated that in over 2 years they've yet to cause a clog. While I do keep a plunger around the house the only time its used is when a neighbor knocks on the door and asks if they can borrow it.

Cheers!

[Mad Plumber]

If'n yur thrwing away toietets. then I got a good idea. I musta got about twenty of them outside in the front yard. My wife plants flowers like roses and yellow ones, Marigolds? I get the most looks from my neighbors when they see how pretty it all looks. Even the postman has a big smile on his face when he sees them. Mad Plumber