We recently replaced our upstairs toilets with the Kohler Cimarron in the elongated bowl and comfort height and put two Kohlers in a little dressier style downstairs. We're happy with all four of them. I thought I remembered seeing TOT in the store but couldn't remember which store it was at. Looks like Home Depot has the Toto Drake in stock -- $292 for the elongated bowl in case that solves the return and parts issues, but I really don't think you'd go wrong with the Kohler, Toto or American Standard. That's not to knock Champion, I just don't know that I've ever had any experience with them or even heard much about them.

Before you begin installing another bathroom you must first determine if you house "main drain" and "house sewer" can handle the additional load. If your house sewer and main drain are 4" pipe you should not have anything to worry about, but if is 3" pipe you must begin by computing the total existing load, then add in the additional load of your new bathroom. To determine the load we begin by making a list of all the fixtures connected to the house DWV system, then use the applicable code tables to determine the load. By example- under the IRC(International Residential Code) we find the following DFU load for each fixture: BATHROOM- Bathrroom lavatory 1DFU Tub, shower or tub/shower combo 2DFU Watercloset > 1.6gpf 4DFU Watercloset =/Bidet 1DFU If you have a standard bathroom group, I.E.-Lavatory, Tub/shower, & watercloset you may compute it as a bathroom group with a DFU load of 6DFU's however if you have a bidet or separate tub & shower you must then compute the value of each fixture. KITCHEN' kitchen sink 2 kitchen sink with Dishwasher 2DFU Dishwasher into a separate drain 2DFU LAUNDRY; Clothes washer standpipe 2DFU Laundry Tub 2DFU Laundry Group (standpipe & laundry sink) 3DFU Bar sink 1DFU Utility sink 2DFU Floor drains 0DFU From this list you should be able to compute both the existing load and the anticipated additional load to determine your new "Combined Total Load". If you new standpipe will be connecting to a "Branch Line" before connecting to the house "Main Drain" the maximum load permitted on a 3" horizontal branch line is 20DFU's. If you new stack will be connecting directly to the house main drain, the main drain (with a 1/4" per ft pitch is permitted a maximum of 42DFU's however if your main drain or house sewer is 3" with a pitch of 1/8" per foot the amximum is 36DFU's. If you have a 4" main drain & sewer you will have no problems because a 4" with a 1/8" per ft pitch is 180DFU and with a 1/4"/ft pitch it is 216DFU's. Many people then ask, why don't we just make all main drains and house sewer lines 4"? The answer is simple. When a drain line is properly sized under full load the liquids flowing in the pipe should occupy 1/2 the volume of the pipe. This allows ample room over the liquid for the free transfer of vent air. If a pipe is undersized it restricts the movement of vent air, but on the other hand, if a pipe is too big, the level of liquid flowing in the pipe is not sufficient to suspend any solid particulates in the discharge, I.E. Fecal matter, toilet paper etc. In this case the solids rub along the bottom of the pipe restricting the velocity of flow and often the solids will drag allowing the liquid to flow past. Once the liquid has passed and the solids are left in the pipe, the solids will then dry into a hard cake and restrict the line. In fact, in the early days of water saver toilets they had terrible problems with lines clogging. It was discovered that previous to the advent of the 1.6gpf flush the codes required all waterclosets to discharge into a 4" line. With the advent of the 1.6gpf flush it was determined that the lines should be reduced to 3" to prevent clogging. Note-While the UPC (Uniform Plumbing Code) uses dramatically different values for both the fixtures and the pipe size, the end result works out about the same, although the UPC is slightly more restrictive.

This is a subject near and dear to my heart as we are closing on a house purchase next week and plan to have some work done before moving in. Here is what I would like to have done: 1. Repainting several rooms and painting lots of built in cabinets (currently stained). 2. Change cab pulls and hinges. 3. Take out carpet in family room, master bedroom and master bath and replace with wood (tile in bath). 4. Add recessed lighting several places 5. Remove flourescent lighting in kitchen. 6. Replace a few ceiling fans 7. Convert 3 windows in master bedroom to french doors going out side. 8. Re-do tub/shower area (they are separate and OK but I would like a larger shower and there is room to extend). 9. Remove flourescent lighting above vanity and put in something else. 10. Extend utility room (adding to back of house) 11. Replace doors with glass with more secure doors. 12. Reface brick fireplace with dry stack stone 13. Open up between kitchen and dining room (i.e. take out top half of wall). Rearrange cooktop and refrigerator area. Add island to kitchen. 14. Replace laminate workspace in hobby room with something else. 15. Replace tile in kitchen/foyer. 16. Replace 4 1/2 ft fencing with 6 ft fencing. What we are actually doing on the list before moving in: 1. Repainting several rooms and painting lots of built in cabinets (currently stained). - Yes. This will be much easier and cheaper to do before moving in and is not all that expensive. We are cutting back and not doing as much in some areas as I would live as we are deferring other work in those area. We decided not to piecemeal the family room for example. 2. Change cab pulls and hinges. - Still doing this since the painting won't look good without it. 3. Take out carpet in family room, master bedroom and master bath and replace with wood (tile in bath). - Deferring this one. This would be easier to do without us there. But it is only 3 rooms and can be done later. And, this is an over $10,000 item so it really makes a difference on the budget to defer this a year or two. Also carpet is not to my taste but is in good condition. Had it been in poor condition I would feel differently. 4. Add recessed lighting several places. - Not very expensive and important to my enjoyment. 5. Remove flourescent lighting in kitchen. - Not expensive so will probably do this. 6. Replace a few ceiling fans. - Mostly moving around. 7. Convert 3 windows in master bedroom to french doors going out side. - Deferring. This can be done later. 8. Re-do tub/shower area (they are separate and OK but I would like a larger shower and there is room to extend). - Deferring. It is in good condition now, just not exactly what I want. 9. Remove flourescent lighting above vanity and put in something else. - Doing this. Not expensive and I really don't like how it looks. 10. Extend utility room (adding to back of house) - Maybe some day... 11. Replace doors with glass with more secure doors. - Important. I would like to defer but I want to get new locks (instead of just rekeying). Sellers have single deadbolts on glass doors and I don't feel secure with that. 12. Reface brick fireplace with dry stack stone - Probably will defer. Would like to do it now but makes sense to do it when we do the flooring. SO deferring flooring means deferring this. 13. Open up between kitchen and dining room (i.e. take out top half of wall). Rearrange cooktop and refrigerator area. Add island to kitchen. - Later. This is a huge project because it also likely means new appliances and new granite. 14. Replace laminate workspace in hobby room with something else. - Not sure. Logically it makes sense to do it now but I'm not sure exactly what I want so I may defer it. 15. Replace tile in kitchen/foyer. - Defer. The current tile is nice and fairly recent just not a color that I personally like. But it isn't objectionable so I will wait on this (probably for years).

This is a problem for the GC. They are going to find a clog / restriction in the system that has been there since construction and has just been getting worse. So, if you are lucky it's just a rag or something that went down the drain during construction. If you are not lucky, it's a defect in the drain plumbing. They need to run the drain and then send a camera down to make sure there's no issue with the plumbing itself. The camera is a common tool now - but you want to be there, or have someone knowledgeable about plumbing there. to watch the monitor so that a defect doesn't get glossed over.