When it comes to remodeling your bathroom layout, the position of the toilet is key. You can’t really make any design decisions—like whether to separate wet and dry areas—without first deciding on the toilet's placement, especially considering its plumbing. If you haven't figured out the toilet's location yet, then worrying about the rest of the layout is a bit premature. Clearly, the toilet’s position plays a crucial role in the overall design. So, what do you do if the toilet is in the wrong spot? In this post, we’ll go over some ways to properly relocate your toilet, and we hope this guide helps you make the best decisions for your bathroom!
This article explains how a bathroom toilet should actually be moved in the following 5 ways：
01 Confirmation of drainage type
If you need to move your toilet, the first thing you should know is the type of drainage system your toilet has. There are generally two types: horizontal drainage and vertical drainage.
What is horizontal drainage?
As the name suggests, horizontal drainage means that all the drainage pipes in the space connect directly to the main drain pipe on the same floor, without the need to go through the floor. Toilets with this type of drainage system are typically those with a floor-level installation. If any adjustments or maintenance are needed in the future, it’s completely doable and relatively easy to manage.
What is Vertical Drainage?
Vertical drainage refers to the drainage pipes in a bathroom, such as those for the shower, floor drain, sink, and toilet, which must pass through the floor to connect to the main drain pipe. In other words, the drainage system runs beneath the bathroom of the unit below. As a result, any modifications or repairs to this system can be very complicated and may involve coordination with neighbors, making it a more challenging process.
02 How to Use a Toilet Relocation Adapter for Bathroom Layouts
There are two common types of toilet relocation adapters available on the market:
- Integrated Toilet Relocation Adapter – This is ideal for bathrooms where the toilet needs to be moved a short distance.
- Oval Flat Pipe Relocation Adapter – This is better suited for bathrooms where the toilet needs to be relocated over a longer distance.
Integrated Toilet Relocation Adapter: The design of the integrated adapter means it is only suitable for short-distance relocations. When moving the toilet, the drainage pipe distance should not be too long, as this could lead to blockages. With the integrated adapter, since the drainage distance is short, it helps prevent clogs. You can use this adapter for toilet relocation distances of up to 200mm (about 8 inches).
Toilet Relocation Adapter with Jointed Oval Flat Pipe: This adapter consists of a special joint and an adjustable-length oval flat pipe, typically with a 110mm diameter and a height of about 60mm. It’s designed for longer-distance relocations, but the distance should not exceed 500mm. One major drawback is that it raises the bathroom floor height, and longer distances can lead to clogs. To prevent blockages, the pipe must be raised by 5mm for every 100mm the position is moved, ensuring proper drainage.
03 Floor slabs raised or lowered as a result of toilet displacement
Toilet displacement is achieved either by raising or lowering the floor slab, or by relocating the drain. Both are types of drainage on the same floor.
① Raising the floor slab for shifting
Raising the floor slab for drainage is actually directly raising the bathroom floor vertically by 180-200 mm and installing a sewage pipe inside the padded floor. In this way, the toilet can be installed at a distance of more than 1 meter to move, but this method has a very bad defect, that is, if we have elderly people or leg and foot inconvenience, this method must be used with caution, because it will be very “unfriendly” to the elderly and leg and foot inconvenience people.
② Lowering the Floor for Relocation
This method is only suitable for sunken bathrooms, where the bathroom floor is recessed below the level of the surrounding spaces, typically with a height difference of 250-350mm. This is also the depth of the sunken structure. Since the floor is already lowered, there are no restrictions on the drainage pipe layout. The toilet can be freely relocated and positioned, making adjustments easy and quick.
04 Modifying downstairs drains to achieve displacement
It is mainly applicable to spaces where the type of bathroom drainage is compartmentalized drainage. Of course, we must communicate with our downstairs neighbors in advance to negotiate this method of modification. If you use this method, the remodeling is both simple and convenient, and there are no restrictions on the layout of the toilet and drainage.
05 Use of wall-discharge wall-mounted toilet
Wall-discharge toilets, also known as wall-mounted toilets, are hung directly on the wall of the bathroom, and the downpipe is connected directly to the main drain riser, provided that the wall-mounted toilet is kept on the same side as the riser.
Toilet shifting is a craft on construction, but in addition to craftsmanship, designers must also understand the material and craftsmanship of the closure issue. Well, the above is the content of this chapter. If you still have any questions feel free to contact me!