Submitted by atmetal t3_117wqje in DIY

For reasons, I would like one of my toilets to be pointing about 20 degrees from the usual direction. It's not possible with a traditional toilet, due to wall interference on the tank, but the pictures I've seen make it seem like it is possible if I upgrade to a tankless toilet. First, is there anything about tankless toilets that would still cause the interference issue that may not be obvious in the pictures? Second, is there any other reason why this wouldn't be possible, perhaps plumbing related?

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root_over_ssh t1_j9ehln9 wrote

I suppose it depends on the specific toilet you buy, but it'll most likely still have corners that will interfere with the wall when rotated

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ThreeBlurryDecades t1_j9eulvl wrote

Unless you are redoing the plumbing, the toilet flange may not be oriented correctly for your vision and could require changing.

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billswinter t1_j9ex8q9 wrote

Anybody care to theorize the “reasons”?

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randomn49er t1_j9eyywr wrote

The flange will be roughed in for the toilet to sit perpendicular. If you want to place the toilet on an angle the rough in will need to be changed.

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fredsam25 t1_j9ez86x wrote

You have to also take note of the rough in position and the true dimensions of the toilet. I've seen regular toilets placed at an angle by using a 10" toilet on a 12" rough in. Likewise, if you had a 14* rough in, you probably could get away with any 12" toilet. That should open up more options for you.

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Nesman64 t1_j9ezu68 wrote

Toilet is in a weird corner and there is either a cabinet or bit of wall sticking out in front of it. OP has long legs. He's tired of sitting off center in the seat just for his knees to have clearance.

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CommonConfusables t1_j9f01se wrote

People have mentioned the flange being a specific direction in the floor.

Depending on your reasons, there may be other solutions for you. If you don’t want to share, you can share reasons like “I need additional clearance around the toilet” or “it would give me more privacy” or “toilet position causes injuries or blocks pathway”

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BeerOlympian t1_j9f17kv wrote

Tankless implying commercial grade with a flush valve? Or tankless implying a disconnected, in wall tank? Former plumbing engineer and currently on the contracting side so I’m very intrigued by this question.

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keyserv t1_j9f241c wrote

A tankless toilet? Like a flushometer? You'd have to realign the closet flange and run a new rough in for the supply. It may be worth it if you really need that angle....

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mmaalex t1_j9f4sdu wrote

We have a flushometer style toilet on my ship that is cocked somewhat to fit in a weird corner. It should work as long as the flange is angled correctly, and you can make the water hookup work.

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Few_Ad_5677 t1_j9f71vy wrote

You’ll need to much with the flange/studs so the screws line up with the bowl

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csbarbourv t1_j9f8odd wrote

I just got a woodbridge tankless bidet. They included very detailed diagrams showing the dimensions. You could create a template which would show any obstructions or interference issues.

The flange mounting location may still be an issue depending on which direction you want to rotate it.

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loganab13 t1_j9f98r5 wrote

No. The only tankless toilets that vary from typical flanges are wall hung (carrier) toilets which aren’t all that common in residential settings. OP needs to ensure he has the water pressure for the tankless unit to operate in the first place.

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thegreatgazoo t1_j9fg85y wrote

Code in the US says that you need at least 15" of side clearance from the center of the toilet to an obstacle. You might look into how that is written.

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MakeMeAsandwichYo t1_j9frdrj wrote

My friend I lived with had a similar thing, but with a tub placed about a foot in front of the toilet. I messed up my leg and had a full isolation brace while staying there. I never knew taking a shit could be so difficult. I had to sit at a 45 degree angle, which took about a minute to achieve.

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incensenonsense t1_j9fybnd wrote

Also see how good the flooring was laid around the flange. I once switched a toilet to one with a slightly smaller form-factor and suddenly had un-grouted tile exposed…don’t think this would be that common but whoever laid the tile maybe ran out of grout or got lazy but didn’t bother grouting what was covered by the original toilet footprint.

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Bammer7 t1_j9g3v50 wrote

You will have to rotate the flange so the bolts line up how you want. That either means a new flange or a new repair ring that will fit the current flange. You may also have to use a longer water line since it probably won't be lined up straight anymore.

The other comments about plumbing code are valid, but if it's your house you can pretty much do what you want. Just be prepared to put it back if you sell the house, or possibly take some flack regarding the inspections and other potential hassles. It's also possible that if there is a flood/leak or something and your insurance adjuster deems that it was "installed wrong" you could be looking at denial of coverage I guess.

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openminded74 t1_j9glwaa wrote

There is no reason you can't do that but you will need a 1" water supply to flush it. The flange would be easy enough to change either with a repair type flange or anchor bolts going into the floor where the mounting bolts come thru the bowl. One thing to keep in mind is that those types of toilets flush quite loudly so it could a issue for that.

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atmetal OP t1_j9gnmbr wrote

The reason is very sane and normal, but in my experience, redditors tend to go on side tangents that have nothing to do with my question. Ever since yahoo answers shut down, I have been on reddit, treating it in the same way. Quite frankly, I don't know how so many people have so much time to have reddit discussions just for the sake of discussion.

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atmetal OP t1_j9gnvny wrote

It was my hope to not have to redo plumbing, but if necessary and not too bad, I would do it. I assume you mean that the flange would have to come off the piping and then replaced at the same angle as the toilet?

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atmetal OP t1_j9go9oc wrote

I have zero experience in home maintenance. Everyone starts somewhere and the top of the list for my situation is several bathroom items. So, could you explain what "rough in" means for this specific situation? I think I understand it from doing a quick google search just now, but the principle behind my original question was to see it is possible to rotate a toilet with the drain pipe as the axis of rotation and still have it function.

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atmetal OP t1_j9gon94 wrote

I don't know what qualifies for commercial grade, as the pictures I've seen strongly imply they are built for residential use, but I am certainly talking about a truly tankless design. The flushometer design so often seen in public toilets has long been a dream of mine because of their seemingly superior performance, but that obviously has nothing to do with my motivations for wanting to rotate the toilet.

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atmetal OP t1_j9gp1ab wrote

Forgive me and my zero experience. I watched one manufacturer-produced installation video on youtube and the toilet appeared to have a supply hose coming from the wall like most toilets do. Why would supply plumbing need to be changed?

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atmetal OP t1_j9gpqt4 wrote

This may be helpful in multiple ways because I currently use a bidet attachment and my concern was how I could continue using it given that tankless toilets look incompatible with mounting the attachment. I already knew about toilets that have integrated bidets, but wrote them off because I feared they would not be appealing to future buyers (I am located in the US). However, if a bidet attachment was never going to work on a tankless toilet, then I would be getting an integrated bidet because I can't go without a bidet.

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ThreeBlurryDecades t1_j9gqp7b wrote

Yes, that. If access is easy, and its not ancient iron or rotted copper, no problem. In other cases, bigger problem. In any case its always possible, just not always easy or cheap. You can certainly do it or pay someone to do it if you want to bad enough.

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openminded74 t1_j9gv5ts wrote

On a tank type toilet they use the atmospheric pressure from the water in the tank to create the flushing action but a toilet without the tank needs the volume and pressure from a larger pipe to do the same thing. A toilet flush valve is always 1" and sometimes if the pressure is to low it still can have problems flushing. Also the flushvalve needs a copper pipe coming out of the wall that is supported so it cannot move so the fitting to connect it can be soldered on and you don't want it to be able to move around or that will cause leaks where the pipe goes into the bowl.

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Internal_Use8954 t1_j9gwr3m wrote

The flange is one issue, the other is water pressure, they require higher pressure, and a water hammer arrestor is also highly recommended. And the pipes still have to come down somewhere. And most flush valves are still connected to the wall

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waderson85 t1_j9h8y5u wrote

A standard commercial chrome flush valve or "flushometer" for a toilet is designed to be connected to a 1inch diameter water line. Depending on your specific home, you may not have any piping larger than 3/4 inch in diameter anywhere. The pressure drop caused by a commercial flush valve opening in your average house will likely cause the flush valve to perform poorly. In addition, the water line will have to be relocated from the standard 6-8 inches above the floor to roughly 12 inches above the top of the toilet and 4-5 inches off centerline. A water line coming out of a square/flat wall at an angle will look super weird, if the toilet is in a corner, it will be harder to accomplish and probably look worse (in my opinion).

Others have mentioned that at best, the flange will have to be repositioned due to the slots for the bolts that hold the toilet to the flange not being aligned with your desired position. This might require you to cut the existing anchors and spin the outer ring with the slots in it, it also might require complete flange replacement. Worst case, this toilet is in a tight corner and turning the toilet to your desired angle will conflict with existing walls requiring you to break open the floor and/or crawl under the house to relocate the opening further away from adjacent walls.

Should you ever have to move, this will likely need to all be undone.

All that to say this project is likely more trouble than it is worth.

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randomn49er t1_j9hflgv wrote

Rough in is placement of plumbing before floors and walls are completed. After walls and floors are completed we return to "finish" the plumbing by connecting to the rough in plumbing.

A toilet flange has notches and slots that are used to anchor the t bolts that anchor the toilet. The flange is orientated to be square to the wall. If you want to change it to sit at an angle the plumbing under the floor will need to be moved and a new flange installed so that the notches are at an angle.

Edit: I am saying the same as waderson85 is saying. Just in different terms.

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tob007 t1_j9hm21k wrote

You can also disconnect the toilet and place the tank high above with a long downflow pipe and a donut connection. Old toilets were arranged like this to provide extra pressure to flush with a chain on the handle that hung down. It works for cramped WCs as it gets the tank out of the way.

This will let you use a regular commode and not the commercial ones that require a much bigger supply line. Your toilet flange might need to be changed but thats fairly easy.

edit: 10" rough-in toilets exist and are great for small spaces. That's all I install now and I love the space it saves.

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BeerOlympian t1_j9i97dx wrote

If your house has the pressure the 1” connection could be doable still. Have to make/buy a pressure gauge to fit on a hose bibb and run some other fixtures in your house to see what happens. Short burst of water from the valve would only really be noticeable if you were in the shower. As others have mentioned this could be a lot of rework depending where you upsize your water to and probably would need a water hammer arrestor for the toilet too.

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jippyjayjay t1_j9jlxi8 wrote

You could likely loosen the two nuts holding the toilet down and turn it 5 degrees with no modifications. I’ve also seen an older toilet and tank that sits in a corner which would surly look the best. Better yet though you should consult a professional with pictures from in the bathroom and below if possible. Have a tape measure near by aswell.

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