Bowl and seat height-- what's available?

I just bought and had a plumber install a Toto Drake II toilet for the master bathroom and a Kohler Cimarron 1.28 for another less used bathroom. I've only had them a few days, but both seem a little too tall for me (a slightly shorter than average woman at 5'3"). I can only touch my toes to the ground while sitting on them. My bad back and bad knee appreciate the extra height compared to my previous toilets, but the seating position isn't all that comfortable. My one remaining 35-year-old toilet is about 14.5" tall and seems too low--especially now that I've used the taller ones that are ADA compliant. The new Toto says it has a 16.5 " bowl height and the Kohler seems to be more like 16.75 (not including the seat height). I am planning to replace my third and final water-wasting toilet soon with another 1.28 gallon HET one. I'm trying to find a toilet that's more like 15"-16" high (from floor to top of bowl)--ideally, about 15.5. Does such a thing exist? Any recommendations? I'll probably get another Toto, but if I could find ideal dimensions in another decent brand, I'll consider it.

Also, taking plumbers' and this forum's advice, I got both new toilets with elongated seats, and between that and the fact that the tanks sit a couple of inches out from the wall (whereas my old 3.5 gpf. American Standard toilet tanks were right up against the wall), the Toto actually sticks out a bit too far into the small bathroom area that has just the toilet and shower (the vanity is in a separate area)--over 29" from the wall, which is about 2" more than before. Do all new toilets sit so far out from the wall because of the smaller tanks? I don't really need the elongated version, but it seems hard to find good round 1.28 gpf toilets. I'm thinking of moving the elongated Toto Drake II to the downstairs bathroom that's bigger and trying to find a shorter, round 1.28 toilet for the master bathroom. Any suggestions? TIA for any replies.

Toto EcoDrake round front, 14-1/2" high bow
CST743E
It will be 1.5" shorter front to back.

My mother is 5'-4" and prefers the taller bowls.
Of course, that was after hip and knee replacement.
She still drives at 93

Your toilet flange(s) may not be the standard 12" from the wall, so the toilet may stick further out into the room because of this. Measure from the bolts (the center of the drain) to the finished wall (not the baseboard). If it is not 12", then a stock 12" toilet may stick too far out, or not even fit at all. It sounds like the one that sticks out so far may be a 14" rough-in, and with a 12" toilet, you have that large gap behind. Different toilets will have different gaps behind them even with a perfect 12" rough-in - the gap is not standard; only that they will fit without hitting the wall - it can vary from very little to over an inch or more.

A standard toilet is 15" +/-. If yours are close to 17" then they are "handicap" models which comply with the ADA requirements. That is different than being elongated, and is a completely different issue. The distance into the room AND the space between the wall and the tank are a function of the location of the drain pipe in the floor, and the "rough in dimension" of the toilet.

Thanks and follow-up re: height and depth

Thanks for the replies. I know I was asking two different questions (re: seat height and re: length from wall), but since both were dimensional issues, I thought I'd combine them into one query. Actually, when I measured the distance from the bolts to the wall with my previous toilet, it was about 13" or a bit more, and the old toilet tank was still up against the wall. New toilets only seemed to come with either 10" or 12" rough-in. I'm assuming that where the bolts go into the floor can't change--that it has to do with the original construction. Or can it be changed? If so, even the current elongated toilets could be closer to the wall, which I'd prefer, although that might require major plumbing work.

As I said, the ideal height from floor to top of bowl for me would be about 15.5-16". No one yet has indicated if any toilets come in this height. I'm still hoping I can find another good (e.g., Toto) toilet that would use 1.28 gpf and be round. Toto's website doesn't seem to give actual dimensions, but I've found them on websites for other sellers of Toto. marilano

jadnashua said:

Your toilet flange(s) may not be the standard 12" from the wall, so the toilet may stick further out into the room because of this. Measure from the bolts (the center of the drain) to the finished wall (not the baseboard). If it is not 12", then a stock 12" toilet may stick too far out, or not even fit at all. It sounds like the one that sticks out so far may be a 14" rough-in, and with a 12" toilet, you have that large gap behind. Different toilets will have different gaps behind them even with a perfect 12" rough-in - the gap is not standard; only that they will fit without hitting the wall - it can vary from very little to over an inch or more.

Click to expand...

The Toto web site has pdf files that everybody has. You just have to drill down and click on them.
All new toilets have shifted the tank forward, mainly because builders started putting wainscoating behind the toilet in bathrooms.

The MAJORITY of toilets are 15" high, which would meet your dimension. The 17" ones are the "special" versions for ADA and handicap installations.