14" Rough-In Toilet Choices

**calvin** · 07-24-2011, 08:23 AM

Originally Posted by Terry

I have sold a few insulated tanks, mainly in Alaska.

From my visits to the low-humidity NW, I suspect that New England summers are closer to Alaskan ones than to those in WA or OR.

**Terry** · 07-24-2011, 08:30 AM

Well I haven't had anyone posting from the East Coast saying that they are having sweating issues with new toilets either. The old five gallon tanks were the worst.

When you're only pulling 1.5 gallons from the pipes in the home, it would be rare that you would even have cold water.

**jadnashua** · 07-24-2011, 10:50 AM

If the toilet is flushed repeatedly, even with insulation, the tank can get cold enough to sweat. If you have a deep well, the incoming water may be cold enough, but it gets tempered by sitting in the bladder pressure tank. I don't have sweating, but then I run my central a/c throughout the summer, which helps by lowering the humidity levels. But, if you don't run the a/c, the standing water in the tank will be hotter, so even when you mix cold water with it on a refill, it may not drop to the dew point. If you're remodeling, consider running hot to the toilet and then using a tempering valve so it stays above the dew point...then, your choice of toilet expands considerably.

**calvin** · 07-24-2011, 06:06 PM

Thanks for those suggestions.

Unfortunately, we don't have central A/C nor are we planning a remodel per se. We started off just trying to fix the rotten subfloor, and it's turned out to be much more complicated and potentially expensive than we expected.

We did add a tempering valve last month (that's the same as a mixing valve, right?), which solved the problem until the serious humidity hit last week. I think it would work more effectively if the hot water heater were closer to the bathroom, but that's something we're interested in changing.

**jadnashua** · 07-24-2011, 06:24 PM

Yeah, the last week or so the heat and humidity were really nasty! One nice thing that may resolve the long distance to the WH is a retrofit hot water recirculation system. There are a bunch of them out there, fairly easy to install, and should solve that problem and make hot to the shower and sinks faster, too.

**calvin** · 07-25-2011, 05:30 AM

That's something to consider--thanks!

**crcurtis** · 10-26-2011, 07:45 AM

Hi Terry,

I was posting my problem in another thread - http://www.terrylove.com/forums/show...765#post317765 (obviously the wrong thread), however upon checking your comments in this thread it appears that you are dealing with my situation.

For that Aquia II Toilet to be over 3 3/4" from the wall, I must assume the rough in is at least 14" away from the wall, which means I need to use one of the above or something similar that uses the Unifit 14" adapter. I will have the plumber pull the toilet and measure.

So:
1. Am I likely to correct that the rough-in is out this far?

2. Which toilet should I go with. I have Carlyle II's in my other units BUT they are more costly. BTW, in Vancouver we need to use either Dual Flush or the High Performance 1.2GPF. I only ever use Toto as I find for the $ nobody comes close to quality; though I do not want to start a discussion on this subject

If I have to upgrade to the Carlyle II I guess I will have to charge the plumber for the screw up & the upcharge??

**Terry** · 10-26-2011, 10:22 AM

That's pretty far out. I would say at least 14"

Seattle pricing on the Vespin II is $399.99 plus $49.99 for the 14" Unifit.
That gets you into Watersense with the 1.28, skirted bowl that allows moving the bowl back closer to the wall, Sanagloss and double cyclone. It also has the taller height like the Aquia III.
It sounds like a win to me.

**Gary Swart** · 10-26-2011, 02:16 PM

Take it from someone who knows, you can't beat Terry's delivery service! You don't need to pull the toilet to measure your rough-in. Just measure from the finished wall to the flange bolts.

**consumerac** · 02-13-2012, 03:44 PM

Originally Posted by Gary Swart

Take it from someone who knows, you can't beat Terry's delivery service! You don't need to pull the toilet to measure your rough-in. Just measure from the finished wall to the flange bolts.

if measure from wall to flange bolt and it is 14" do I need a 12" or 14" rough in toilet? The person that came to auger from plumbing company said toilet needs to be replaced probably and to get a 12" rough in toilet. Insight would be appreciated.

**Terry** · 02-13-2012, 03:44 PM

If you have 14" from the bolts to the wall, then you can use either the 12, which sticks out from the wall a ways, or a 14" rough.

**jadnashua** · 02-13-2012, 06:08 PM

Most toilets are designed with some gap behind them to the wall when they are on the 'design' rough-in. SO, if you take a 12" rough-in toilet and move it out 2", the gap will be at LEAST 2", and could be nearly double that as some 12" rough toilets can have anywhere from 1/4" to 1-3/4" gap behind them. If the extra space behind and the sticking out an extra 2" isn't a problem, then a 12" toilet rough-in will work just as well as that same toilet on a 14" rough-in. Not all toilets are created equal. Toto tends to be very consistent with good design and easily found parts, if they ever need it.

**JLCREMODELING** · 05-06-2012, 08:02 AM

Old existing toilet was a American Standard 4049 circa 1970's - From what I can find its depth was 26" (Unsure if that was from the wall or the size of the toilet).

The owners have an in swinging door into the bathroom. I noticed that the old door had been notched out just a 1/2" on the interior side of the bathroom so the door would miss the bowl/seat.

Rough in is 14"
Floor is tile over a thick mortar bed so an offset flange is not an option plumbing wise.
Owners do not want to change the swing of the door. They would like to find a toilet that fits this area.
The owners had pulled the old toilet and put it by the trash cans and it was hauled away so fixing the old toilet is not an option.
A 12" Rough in is not an option as the homeowners would not like to see the gap behind the toilet to the wall.

I have spent hours searching around to find a toilet that will fit here but am running out of options for a 14" Rough In.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Thanks for your time.

**jadnashua** · 05-06-2012, 05:05 PM

You need to know the distance from the finished wall (not baseboard) to the door edge, then view lots of spec sheets. Most 14" toilets are just 12" ones with thicker tanks to fill in the gap. Some Totos that use the UniFit adapter, use the same toilet and use a different adapter to move the toilet, so their length remains the same, regardless of the rough-in. But most of those are likely too long (they're all elongated) to fit.

A 12" rough toilet would just stick out 2" more than normal, it won't be shorter.

**rbaldwi** · 06-29-2012, 03:34 PM

I just discovered this website and it seems to be an awsome resource. I'm remodeling a 120 year old Victorian with a very tight bathroom. I need a toilet with a 14" rough in with a maximum 26.5" length to conform to code clearance. Obviously a round bowl. Finding one is the issue and price is secondary. Any ideas? Thanks a lot.