I would like a good short (as in not deep AND not tall) toilet for a 14" rough in.

[bakerzdsoen]

Long story short(ish):

One of my 3 year old twins (most likely) dropped something down "their" toilet and after several attempts at plunging and snaking, whatever it is, it ain't gonna budge.

I don't like the toilet anyway (circa 1994 Gerber that only flushes acceptably well because we destroyed the plastic "bucket" inside the tank so it's no longer truly a 1.6 gpf toilet) so it's no great loss. (I won't bore you with the details - just trust me, saving the toilet isn't worth all the effort I've already put into it.)

The problem is, I was planning on taking this opportunity to actually fix something that bugs me. The bathroom door just barely hits the front of the toilet. It wasn't supposed to (theres even a door stop on the back of the door to prevent it from damaging the tub. Here's a rough picture of the layout:



The toilet is a round toilet that is about 26" deep. Everything would have been fine, but I really think that the motto of whoever built this place was "if we can mess it up, we will." So, the one bathroom in the house with a 14" rough in is this small one (the rest are 12"). So, the door hits.

I was all ready to buy a Vespin II with the Uni-fit adapter, but then I did the math: The current toilet is a little over 26" in depth (and the door hits.) That means that I need a toilet that is around 27" or less AND has a Uni-fit adapter. A Vespin II (much like the Guinevere and Soiree) is about 28.25" deep. That means, including the $45 uni-fit adapter, I'd be paying roughly $200 more (or more depending on the model) than a round Drake for a toilet with some real disadvantages (our twins have a hard enough time with a standard height toilet these days, and I'd actually prefer it be round for them as they seem to get scared of falling in with elongated toilets) and "only" gaining sanagloss and getting rid of the 2" gap behind the toilet (not to mention 2.2Lpf). And the door would still hit the toilet.

I'd like Sanagloss. And yeah, dual-cyclone would be nice, (g-max would be a HUGE improvement over what we've got.)

So, my question is: is it really worth $200 for -2.2Lpf (I could get an Eco-Drake if I wanted and negate that one), sanagloss, dual-cyclone, no gap behind the tank, but having a toilet that is too high and big for my kids (for the next year or two) and still doesn't let the door clear? Oh, and it's probably easier to clean with the skirted design...

Obviously I'm leaning toward the round Drake (I started this adventure at HD/Lowes, so I've at least made it this far), but only because I'm just not seeing the value in the Vespin II - for me in this situation. (Don't get me wrong, I'll probably put a Vespin II, Drake II, or a Guinevere in our master bath at some point because I can see the value for that circumstance.) I'm just not sure if it's the frustration/disappointment from figuring out that the door is still going to hit, or if it's really logic driving me to the Drake.

Am I missing something?

[jimbo]

$200 is on the very low end of the price range for a toilet that works well! A toilet is a 30 year investment. Don't scrimp.

Kohler and others have some really great seats for familys with toddlers. They are soft-close, and have a separate toddler seat built into the main seat. The toddler seat simply hinges up out of the way for adults. A little step stool makes it easy for the kids. I just spent a week at my daughters house. She has these seats for her 3 & 2 yr olds. It is working very well!

[bakerzdsoen]

I was saying that the Vespin II + the uni-fit adapter is $200 more than the round Drake (≈$230). And frankly, I'm OK paying that extra money if I felt it was justified. A $200 toilet is indeed about the cheapest I'm gonna go.

However, I could also nearly replace 2 of those lousy toilets with round Drakes for the price of one Vespin II (we have 4 in the house). I suppose that's where part of my hesitation comes from.

And if we're still living in the same house in 5 years, I may have to shoot myself - if my wife doesn't get me first (the more likely scenario.) I'm not too worried about long term, but I have typically chosen to do "the right thing" for the remodeling-type of things I've done to the place. I like to only fix things once (if possible).

The fact is, I've been really tempted to put in an American Standard Baby Devoro to kind of increase their independence a bit. They're currently using a step stool (or a baby Bjorn "toddler potty"), but the step stool is still a bit awkward for them.

Anyway, thanks, I appreciate the site. I certainly wouldn't have known about Toto toilets (let alone the uni-fit options) without the site. In talking with our local Toto dealer (a plumbing supply store), the guy had kind of a deer in headlights look when I tried to explain all this to him. He'd never heard of uni-fit ("so, you can move the toilet back with an adapter? Huh, clearly you know more about this than I do.") as they really only deal with Drakes.

[Gary Swart]

Seems to me what your problem is compounded by the need for 14" rough-in, round bowl, and narrow room all in one toilet. One thing you might consider is a pocket door. Regular doors eat up space in a small room because they need room to open. Pocket doors do not. I put a pocket door in my master bathroom many years ago, and when I recently built a small bathroom in my basement, I again used the pocket door. A pocket door would open the selection of toilets up a great deal although I'd still opt for one using the Unifit adapter. These do not come in round bowls, but otherwise would really fit the bill in my opinion.

[jadnashua]

I too have a pocket door in one of my bathrooms. I put it in because I didn't want it hitting the tub or possibly having the doorhandle hitting the glass on the surround. Some of the hardware kits are junk, but I found the stuff at www.johnsonhardware.com to be decent. I ended up with a dual track ball bearing set capable of a door up to 200#. Now, my door isn't anywhere near that weight, but it moves silently and easily with one finger. The make latch kits for them as well, if that's an issue.

[bakerzdsoen]

Well, in a nutshell, I ended up with a round Eco Drake. So far so good. I guess I've had to pull toilets so many times living here (the thick tile under all 4 of our toilets seemingly requires 2 wax rings and those having done the initial installation only put in one, so all of them have leaked over the years) that installing it was a piece of cake. It took 2 hours start to finish including the trip to Home Depot to get a new (slightly longer) supply line. The footprint is nearly identical to the previous one, so that was an added bonus.

The door still hits in exactly the same spot as it always has, but other than that, I'm 100% happy with it so far. I'll probably caulk it this weekend and be done.

A pocket door has never been an option because:
a) There is too much going on in that wall where a pocket door would have to go.
b) We're only talking maybe 35° of door swing being prevented by the toilet. If I wasn't so anal-retentive, I never would have noticed the issue.

Thanks for the help.