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Elongated toilet in 5' powder room?

9 years ago

We have a small scale one piece Kohler that never flushes properly, so we are looking to replace it. Our current toilet only reaches 25" from the wall, and the elongated ones all seem to reach 28"-30". A round front would be better, but I hate the look.

So for those of you that have the elongated toilets in a 5 ft deep space, is it really tight? There will be nothing on the wall opposite the toilet.

Please help me to decide! Thanks.

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Comments (11)

ck_squared
9 years ago
Not tight at all. We have an elongated toilet in one of our baths. It sticks out about 30" and there is still 30" of space in front of it. We have a towel rod in front of the toilet (typical 5' x 9' bathroom with vanity and toilet on the same wall, shower on back wall). Still doesn't feel cramped.

ETA: I decided to add a photo for you. HTH!

This post was edited by ck_squared on Sat, Aug 23, 14 at 12:55
emma
9 years ago
I can't help you except to tell you to measure the distance it will protrude and put down masking tape or something that will give you a visual of how far it will stick out.

I have one and really like it even though I don't need it to help me get up. For me it is just a more comfortable height. I do have to use a soft seat on it......I have a circulation problem.

This post was edited by EmmaR on Sat, Aug 23, 14 at 13:00
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Well, we decided to go with the aforementioned Gerber Viper compact-elongated WC for our bathroom reno, and since little seems to have been written about it here or elsewhere, wanted to provide my first impressions so others would have a reference point. I would have chosen a Toto Drake II (which we used elsewhere) for this room, but none of the moderately-priced Totos are available in a compact-elongated size - that is, less than 28" from the back wall. It's an impressive piece of engineering. It has a good, strong flush. It cleans the sides of the bowl well, sending a good amount of water down the sides with a slight swirl motion before quickly lowering the water level to flush quickly from a large flume from the front. A good-size area is normally under water, generally a good thing. A convenient front-mounted flush lever is an easier reach than Toto's side lever or especially the Kohler's Wellworth side lever that needs to be pressed in the back, which is unintuitive. It's reasonably quiet. Uses only 1.28 gallons per flush. The Toto Drake II double-cyclone loo we used in another room isn't that much better (although I like the forceful spray that emanates from just two large holes in the rim vs. the Gerber's conventional setup). Still, given the Gerber's lower price - we picked it up for about $245 locally, it's a good deal. I also like it's height - 16-3/8" above ground, slightly lower than most comfort-height commodes, and perfect for my 5'8" frame. Gerber themselves sells a next-model-up Avalanche compact-elongated loo that's a shade shorter front-to-back and slenderer left to right, but is 17" tall before (included soft-close) seat - a bit too tall for me, although I do like it being one-piece yet still affordable. Anyway, with all the love thrown Toto's way in these forums, I thought this Gerber warranted an excellent writeup. Significantly better overall than the similarly-priced Kohler Wellworth (w/class 5 flush) or American Standard Cadet 3, and given Toto doesn't offer a compact-elongated model, I'd highly recommend these. Overall, the flush is as good as a standard Toto Drake (not Drake II, which I've also used in several locations). The Drake is perhaps more impervious to clogs, but the Gerber cleans the bowl better, and fits in less space. 12" rough-in only for the compact models, although the standard-depth Vipers also are available in 10" or 14" rough-in. I'd strongly consider a Gerber Viper of any size if you need a good toilet in the low-$200 range. This post was edited by lee676 on Mon, Mar 25, 13 at 8:13
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Babka NorCal 9b
9 years ago
Plenty of room. Get something that you like to look at. I prefer the elongated ones for sitting on. They come in several heights. For some strange reason, it's more "fun" to clean a toilet that you like to look at.

CK- Nice bathroom!

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lee676
9 years ago
There are some "compact elongated" toilets that don't extend as far out due to thinner tanks, but still have the same size elongated bowl and seat. I used a Gerber that only extends 26-7/8" from the wall (plus one inch of air space behind it) and it works very well, and they have another one that only protrudes 26-3/4". American Standard also has some short ones in the Cadet 3, Cadet Pro, and Colony FitRight lines. I'd much prefer any of these to a small-bowl round commode.
numbersjunkie
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you all for your input! And especially for the pictures ck - they really helped put my mind at ease. And I love your bathroom!

I think I will definitely go for an elongated, and if we really think its too cramped, we can always move it to another bathroom that also needs a new toilet.

lee - curious about your Gerber model. We are looking at the viper, not only because it is compact but also for the 1" clearance behind it. Our rough-in is only 11-1/2" and the current toilet fits snug against the wall - actually the lid does not go on right. I did read some bad reviews on the viper, but there seem to be those for any toilet. We are also looking at the Cadet 3 for the back wall clearance ( few toilets have that 1"), but the one we want (skirted) extends 30".
nepool
9 years ago
After reading this I went out and measured the width of my powder room. I had asked the framer to steal 6 inches from the powder room (originally planned for 64") for the study. Its now 51" wide, so I'll only have ~21 inches from the edge of the bowl to the wall. Is this really bad? Is it even code?

The plumber has plumbed in the pex and the toiliet drain, and didn't mention anything was amiss. Inspection is Wednesday- I'll find out then. The room is 10 ft long, so I have plenty of room to move the toilet under the window on the back wall (it will just be more work for the plumber to now redo)- I just had it turned the other way for more privacy, so you wouldn't be staring straight at the toilet when you walked in the room. There is plenty of 'arm space' on either side of the toilet- its really just that front wall that will be a little tight (21" from edge of toilet assuming a 30" toilet).
numbersjunkie
Original Author
9 years ago
Nepoll- not sure about code but ask your contractor. And/or get a compact/round bowl. Or consider changing the layout.
kirkhall
9 years ago
21" is absolute minimum for only SOME codified areas. Most require 24" inches. Personally, I find 21" pretty cramped. :( I hope you can figure something else out that will work!
lee676
9 years ago
> lee - curious about your Gerber model. We are looking at the viper, not only because it is compact but also for the 1" clearance behind it. Our rough-in is only 11-1/2" and the current toilet fits snug against the wall - actually the lid does not go on right. I did read some bad reviews on the viper, but there seem to be those for any toilet. We are also looking at the Cadet 3 for the back wall clearance ( few toilets have that 1"), but the one we want (skirted) extends 30".

What's there to say? Like all 1.28 gallon per flush toilets i've seen, I'd prefer more water coverage in the bowl, but at least the Viper sends slightly swirled jets of water down the sides and back of the bowl and a larger flume down the front, so it stays clean and thus far hasn't clogged. Viper is Gerber's midrange line; they also have a higher-end Avalanche model (21-014) that's supposed to flush slightly better. It's slightly shallower front to back, has a slightly larger water spot, is one-piece (no gap between bowl and tank), and includes a soft-close seat that's worth at least $40. I didn't buy it because it was still more expensive, the seat is perhaps a bit too high (5/8" taller than the Viper), and I find the front-mounted flush lever on the Viper more convenient to use than the side-mount lever on the Avalanche that's precariously close to the open rim. I did use a Gerber Avalanche elsewhere in the house, but it's a full-depth, non-compact version that uses 1.6 gallons rather than 1.28 and unsurprisingly is reputed to work better. The compact version is 1.28g only. The 1.6g Avalanche is terrific, splashing water all over the wall before flushing everything down.
lee676
9 years ago
(wow that last sentence was poorly written..... make that "swishing water all over the insides of the bowl", not "splashing water all over the wall". Wouldn't want that, LOL).
kirkhall
9 years ago
If you only have 11.5 inches, then get a toilet with a 10" rough in.

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