Monica, thanks for the reply. I am now leaning towards the Ultramax because of all the positive things I've read here and on Terry Love's site. I'm also leaning towards elongated because apparently it's a better shape for men (who knew?) and since it's the master bath, it will be used at least half of the time (or more) by my husband and 8 year old son. I know that you have a washlet, which I would consider if it weren't so much more than the toilet itself. I would love a bidet if I had the room and they are much less than the washlets, although they may not function quite as precisely as a washlet. But, as far as the toilet seat, does anyone have strong opinions about the softclose seats? Are these worth the money? I'm guessing it functions the same for the seat and the lid?? As far as sanagloss, I take it that this is only a difference in the interior bowl and not the entire toilet? I guess if it isn't an option on the ultramax then we'll just do without. Now I just need to find the best price as the ones quoted on Toto's site seem to be much higher than what people on this forum have paid. Where did you order yours and how much did you pay? I'm guessing that living in such a small town you may not have been able to find one locally. I'm outside of Nashville and there are 3-4 authorized Toto dealers in the area. My one last concern is I just hope the plumber doesn't get here and tell me that the Ultramax won't work with our plumbing set up. What do I need to know as far as rough in space? Any plumbers out there or do I need to post on the plumbing forum for this particular issue? Thanks much for the help! Amy

Amy, it seems like the Ultramax comes with a soft close lid. I could be wrong. The reason I like the soft close lid is because at times my back is too stiff to bend over to close the lid if someone has forgotten to put it down. I know that's a small thing but important if you've got back problems. I can't think of any reason not to like it. It might be more prone to accidental damage?? I don't know. And yes, the seat of my Ultramax is soft close too.
Sanagloss is an interior finish only. The Ultramax DOES have Sanagloss...just not on round bowl.
This elongated model comes with sanagloss
MS854114SG It's NOT ADA height.
I ordered mine thru a semi-local plumbing supply company and picked it up myself. The price was around $325. I'll check to make sure when I get home later this evening.
Monica

Amy -
I installed a Toto dualflush Aquia six months ago and I am so pleased with this toilet that I have purchased two more to replace my other ones. The installation required moving over the water supply a few inches but that was pretty simple, as was the actual fixture installation. I love the dual flush, works great. As a European living in the US I'm always suprised how little the dual flush has caught on here (in my home country single flush toilets are slowly becoming obsolete...) Whatever your choice, I don't think you can go wrong with Toto. Best of luck with your install,
Henny

If you are set on the Toto brand, then anything you want will probably work. I live in new hotels most of the year and use all the new toilets. After having a Toto Drake for 6 months, the toilet I bought was an American Standard Cadet "3." You can get the same toilet at Lowe's and Home Depot for about half the cost of Toto's lowest cost model. The Cadet "3" has the equivalent of sanagloss on every style and color. My second choice in toilets would be the Kohler Cimmaron. All three (including Toto) flush fast and quietly. The AS and Kohler are much less expensive. The parts you will need for maintenance is the same on all three.

I think the low volume flush technology problems have finally been solved. Toto seems to have started it, but the other brands now have models that are just as good.

I have noticed a difference in the 'sanagloss' finish. My AS Cadet "3" never gets black spots in the bowl. My other toilet develops spots in a few weeks (sorry but cleaning toilets is not my priority).

One-piece toilets are supposedly easier to clean. They are much harder to heft through the house to install, but you don't do that every week. Your pipes should not need to be rearranged.

If I was to buy a Toto I would get it locally for the reasons you stated. With Lowe's or HD you cannot buy any kind of loyalty.

My plumber had never installed a Cadet "3" before and allowed half a day to install. He was out of the house in 30 minutes raving about how easy it was to install. I'm not sure what that means, but he wanted me to know it was the easiest toilet install he could remember.

If you have not noticed on the Terry Love site, there is no discussion about toilets other than Toto. I used to have posting privileges on his site until I started mentioning the positive features of other brands. Then I was banned without notice. So if you only want to read good things about one brand, then his website is a great one. According to independent testing, the Cadet "3" and I believe the Cimmaron both out perform the best Toto models by a considerable margin. However, the performance of the Toto is very, very good.

Thanks all for your replies. dchall, thanks also for your mention of other brands. I have four toilets in my house which will probably all need to be replaced over the next few years. I doubt that I will spend the money for a Toto in all of those bathrooms and so it's important that I know which other brands are also good. I'm not sure if the other brands you mentioned are one piece or two but my hubby seems to think that a one piece might carry a slightly lower risk of leaking because it would eliminate one possible source of a leak where the two pieces come together. So, for our upstairs master, I will probably buy a Toto, but for our kids bathrooms, probably not, if there are other toilets that are cheaper and function about as well. I'm surprised that you were banned on Terry Love's site because he has mentioned other brands on there besides Toto. I know I've seen Eljer on his site before and perhaps others too. That's awful to be banned for simply your honest opinion. You think maybe Toto is paying him??? Anyways, now I just need to decide whether or not to get round or elongated and what type of seat. Softclose or not? And, of course the store where I can get the best price. Please keep the advice coming! Thanks! Amy

FYI, I have two Toto Drakes in my current house. They have GMax flush and it is great, fast and fairly quiet. I think it is the least expensive GMax flush; under $250 as I recall.

I have heard that really young kids prefer a round toilet seat because the elongated one sort of is tilted in toward the bowl and it makes kids feel like they are falling in.
For that reason, my kids' bathroom toilet is a round seat and they do just fine on it.

However, while planning for our new house, I had both kids sit on our elongated Toto seat and then their seat to compare and my 8 yo daughter and 6 yo son both decided they prefer the elongated seat, so that is what they will get in their new bathroom.

In our new Master Bath, we also are having the Toto washlet. I was originally going to have a separate bidet, but since I never used a bidet before (but am pretty sure I'd like it) I decided not to spare the room for another toilet-sized item. The rationale for the washlet is that if we decide we don't want the bidet feature after all we can replace the seat with the regular seat and be done with it. Also, although the washlet is expensive, the cost of a bidet, when considered with all the additional plumbing it requires, is much more. Plus, the washlet warms the seat and the water before it is turned on (bidet water has to "run" just like the sink faucet would), it also is self-cleaning after each use, and then it gently dries your tush with a blow dryer. I am looking forward to trying it out!

I got a very nice price on all my Toto softclose toilet seats and my Washlet at www.toiletwarehouse.com

Bought my Toto toilets from www.cowansupplyatlanta.com (not the cheapest, but I liked their return policies the best, and MUCH cheaper than my local NJ plumbing supply retailer!)

Both orders arrived w/out issue and are awaiting installation later in the month.

smarge, I've had my Washlet installed for about 2 weeks. Greatest invention since the wheel :) I promise, you won't want to replace it with the original seat :) The variable warmed seat is divine :) The warmed water does take a few seconds to reach it's set temperature tho. If it's supposed to be INSTANTLY the temperature which it's set to, then something isn't hooked up right. It's not ice cold but not as warm as it reaches after being on a few seconds. I don't think you'll want to sit there as long as it would take for the dryer to dry your tush (g) Even the manual says you'll dry faster using t-paper. But, I'm not complaining one bit! I L O V E my Washlet :) Love the Ultramax too :)
Monica

Love my Toto Drake with soft close seat and comfort height. Great flush and no more clogs.

I'm surprised that you were banned on Terry Love's site because he has mentioned other brands on there besides Toto. I know I've seen Eljer on his site before and perhaps others too. That's awful to be banned for simply your honest opinion.

I agree. I'm not an aggressive spammer or anything. I just have an opinion like all y'all. I'm so banned that I cannot even write to them to find out why I'm banned.

It seems that many of you have the Ultramax, and that others have the Drake. My architect recommends the Carlyle. It seems that the difference between the Drake and Ultramax is that the Ultramax is one-piece. On Terry Love's site the Drake is $279 (with the Sanagloss) and the Ultramax is $379. The Carlyle is $517 and has a concealed trapway and skirt (no little screw-covers on the base). It also says it is vitreous china.

Does anyone know if these are, in fact, the only differences? If the Drake and Ultramax aren't vitreous china, what are they? Is the Sanagloss worthwhile?

TIA

About 5 months ago I put an American Standard Cadet 3, elongated bowl, comfort height in our powder room. That was based on the posts here recommending it. I LOVE it, and will be putting another one in our master bath, which we are just beginning to remodel.

We put a Toto Plymouth in our MB and I'm not overly impressed with it. We did put an after-market ORB handle on it (which cost an extra $90) and we've had some problems with the flapper not closing properly. I can't really blame this on the toilet since we did change the handle.
But, I also think the amount of water in the bowl of pretty low. Sometimes toilet paper doesn't land in the water and therefore doesn't flush down.
I've contacted Toto customer service and I must say that they are VERY responsive and helpful.

In our daughter's bath we put in an American Standard Cadet 3 from Home Depot. This toilet has worked like a dream- no problems whatsoever. I think it was less than half the price of the Toto. When we remodel our other baths, I'll probably go with the cadet 3 again. IMO the Toto is not worth the extra $$$.
Just my 2 cents.