Danger of broken toilets.

[AtlasDoc12]

Hi everyone.

I am thinking about wall-mounted toilets and their wall brace's capacity of only about 300 lbs or so (at least that is what the experts say). I have been able to find some news articles about lawsuits and stories for broken toilets, but not that many as I'm sure a lot of there things are settled. I am trying to figure out just how big of an issue this is.

So I guess my question is: do you think broken/loose wall-mounted toilets are a problem in this country (USA), or are they becoming a problem?

I've been getting mixed signals when talking to people in-person, some say very much so and some say they've never heard of any issues. Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

[master plumber mark]

their is not much out there about troubles with them...

maintaince on the older ones has never been much of an issue


if someone wants to vandalize one it would not be hard to do...and they probably should not be installed in bars, ..... or other rowdy places....


you would really have to try hard to hurt yourself with one..

I would guess their are old "urban legends" about someone weighing 500 lbs and breaking one...falling through the floor... whatever.....

it would be an interesting test to see how
large a person could slam down on one without pulling it out of the wall.

a good one for that TV show......



.

[Gary Swart]

My concern about wall hung toilets is that you are limited in styles available, and if you ever want to change to a floor mount, you are screwed.

[SewerRatz]

My concern about wall hung toilets is that you are limited in styles available, and if you ever want to change to a floor mount, you are screwed.

Just build up your floor high enough to plumb in a 90º elbow

[Cookie]

I would guess their are old "urban legends" about someone weighing 500 lbs and breaking one...falling through the floor... whatever.....

it would be an interesting test to see how
large a person could slam down on one without pulling it out of the wall.

a good one for that TV show......


.

http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/Weight.html

All things can be figured out mathematically and with formulas, you need the variables. You should write that into the show Mark, it is interesting.







The force that a mass m experiences due to gravity of another mass,

where g is the acceleration due to gravity. (Note that this formula is a special case of Newton's second law.) The weight is therefore an extrinsic property depending on the strength of gravitational acceleration to which a body is subjected (and so would be smaller at the top of a mountain than at the mountain's foot), while mass is an intrinsic property. While no less an authority than the National Institute of Standards and Technology notes that "in commercial and everyday one, and especially in common parlance, weight is usually used as a synonym for mass" (Taylor 1995, p. 24), this extremely confusing practice should be universally discouraged.
The unit of force in the MKS system is the newton. The foot-pound-second system of units defines a weight, the pound (or, more explicitly, the pound-force), as the basic unit, with mass

[hj]

The problem with your formula is that the user of the toilet is probably NOT in free fall, unless he/she is incapacitated, and thus not reaching the terminal velocity for the distance they are moving to sit on the toilet. And a "small person" would achieve a lower velocity, than Shaq would, given the differences between their weights and heights.

[FloridaOrange]

There may be carriers rated for different weights. I do a lot of design on dialysis centers, the owners requested the wall hung lavatories have ratings of 500# vs. standard carriers rated for 250-300#. With a little looking and talking to Zurn we found an exceptable carrier. The same may hold true for toilet carriers.

[Terry]

I think he wants us to buy this

[AtlasDoc12]

I actually am not concerned with anyone on this site buying it, as why I removed the attached image from my profile. I was recently hired to run this company and I have been getting varying different comments on both sides of the spectrum from folks at PHCC and other groups. I am simply looking to find the opinion of actual plumbers so I can derive realistic expectations for my company.

I understand the rules and how picky most folks are about them on sites like this one, and if you feel it necessary to delete my post then please go ahead, but I can assure you that you will receive no sales pitch from me. I simply have no reason to "reach" for sales in this way.

[Jay Mpls]

Installed hundreds around here.
Have only had a service call for one...we did not install.
I would consider any given number like your 300# is given with a fudge factor built in by the engineer.
If you have carriers to install I would bid them to th 500lb carriers if there is doubt in your mind.
Bottom line, not an issue.

[hj]

There are several different types of carriers. Cast iron ones imbedded or anchored to the floor, and stamped metal ones bolted to the wall structure. The weight limitation is usually determined by HOW it is anchored rather than its construction. One bolted to 12' tall 2x6's would flex more than one bolted to a concrete slab, BUT that would also mean the entire wall was flexing. 300# would be a very low limit for a carrier or its toilet.

[AtlasDoc12]

Thanks to everyone for commenting. I think my initial assertions have pretty much been proved true in that, some people have experience with this problem and some don't. But it also seems like many of those who do have experience with the issue have more than most would expect. If anyone disagrees with this takeaway, please do not hesitate to mention it. Thanks again.