Ask Me Help Desk - Moving a toilet

I am remodeling the bathroom in my apartment and would like to move the toilet about 6-8 feet from where it is now. I live on the fourth floor of a co-op building with cement slab floors and drilling into them is not an option. I am planning on building a platform for the entire bathroom floor to hide the pipes that will allow me to move the toilet. (I have very tall ceilings so a platform will not make the bathroom impossibly short.) So my question is-how tall does the platform have to be to comfortably fit the toilet pipes underneath? Also- what kind of access to the pipes do I need to provide and at what points? I would love to build the platform, move the toilet, and tile over the whole thing but I fear that may not be so smart. Any advice?

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdebbout

I am remodeling the bathroom in my apartment and would like to move the toilet about 6-8 feet from where it is now. I live on the fourth floor of a co-op building with cement slab floors and drilling into them is not an option. I am planning on building a platform for the entire bathroom floor to hide the pipes that will allow me to move the toilet. (I have very tall ceilings so a platform will not make the bathroom impossibly short.) So my question is-how tall does the platform have to be to comfortably fit the toilet pipes underneath? Also- what kind of access to the pipes do I need to provide and at what points? I would love to build the platform, move the toilet, and tile over the whole thing but I fear that may not be so smart. Any advice?

I'm a little confused. As I see nothing about the tub and lavatory do you wish to platform the entire bath or just the toilet. Are there other units above you or are you on the top floor? Your first problem will come when you have to go into the floor and remove the old closet bend and 45 up out of the floor to pick up the toilet at the new location.. If you can't take the cement up how do you figure to accomplish this. This isn't a afternoon project for the average home owner. Do you possess the necessary skills to do this? I'm not raining on your parade but a number of trades come into play here. Plumbing,(both drainage and water pipe) carpentering, dry-wall and painting plus tile work if you decide to tile. Give this some careful thought before you jump into it. But if you decide to go ahead I'll be happy to answer any plumbing questions that you have. Good luck, Tom

Thanks for the response.

My bathroom has two 'areas'. One will be a wet room shower area and the other will be the toilet/sink area. Right now the toilet is too close to the wet room and also too much of a focal point when you walk into the room. The idea is to get it to the area behind the door.

I live in an apartment in a co-op building with 10' ceilings. I have people both above me and below me. I will be using the building-recommended plumber to do the work involving pipes, water, floor sealing, etc. I will be doing the carpentry, painting, and tiling myself.

Back to the toilet. The pipe will take a 90 degree turn from the old position, travel straight across the floor, and take another 90 degree turn up (through the platform) to the new position. Water hookup pipes will travel around the perimeter of the bathroom (inside the walls) to the new location. I'm just wondering how tall my platform will need to be to accommodate the pipes. And in building the platform (that I eventually hope to tile over), should I build in an access 'door' to the first 90 degree turn? Would any future toilet problems require access to this point?

Back to my original question.
"Your first problem will come when you have to go into the floor and remove the old closet bend and 45 up out of the floor to pick up the toilet at the new location.. If you can't take the cement up how do you figure to accomplish this?"
Also plan on using a sweep instead of quarter bend,(90 degree elbo) until you angle up and then use a closet bend.or a 3" street ell. Figure 1/4" slope to the foot for the run plus the height of the bend when figuring the size of the platform. Regards, tom

Since the toilet is connected to the largest drain pipe in the house, I personally would not consider moving one. It is just too much hassle and may not drain properly.