Do you want to move your toilet and you are wondering how to move a toilet? During a bathroom redesign, maintaining the bathroom’s fundamental footprint is vital to limiting costs and mess, as well as keeping on time. But sometimes a bath makeover calls for a modification in the arrangement. Moving the toilet is one of those alterations in the bathroom plan that is occasionally necessary. It’s important not to take changing the toilet lightly.
The first step to take in moving a toilet is to remove it carefully, if the toilet needs to be reused, place it carefully aside to prevent the porcelain from being broken or chipped. Otherwise, make sure to properly dispose of the toilet. However, some very competent do-it-yourselfers can complete the work successfully.
10 Easy Steps For Moving A Toilet
You might be wondering how to move a toilet without breaking it due to its weight and awkward shape. If you’re careful, you can carry a commode. Here’s how to move a toilet in 8 easy steps, whether you’re throwing it out or moving it to another bathroom in the house:
- Develop A Plan: Before moving the toilet, make room for it. Put a sheet down if it will be temporarily placed in a tub to lessen the possibility of damage. Make sure to move the toilet for a home renovation before new flooring and appliances are put in.
- Cut The Water Off: The shut-off valve should be fully turned to the right.
- Drain The Last Of The Water: To drain the remaining water, carry out the steps below (in the listed order):
- Flushes the bathroom.
- To force water down the drain, use a plunger.
- To remove extra water that has remained in the bowl and tank, use a sponge.
- Remove The Toilet’s Supply Line From The Fixture: To collect extra water, place a bucket close to the spout.
- Take The Bolts Out: The bolts on either side of the toilet can be unscrewed using your hand or a wrench. There are in total 2 sets, one on the tank’s bottom and the other close to the bowl’s base.
- Take Out And Relocate The Tank: Try not to move the toilet in its entirety at once. First, remove the toilet tank and move it.
- Remove The Toilet Bowl And Relocate It: Until it separates from the floor, rock the bowl back and forth. Before you move your toilet, use a razor blade to scrape off as much caulk as you can if it is keeping it attached to the floor. The tank is much lighter than the second half of the toilet. When moving this large piece, be sure to get assistance.
- Clean The Drain Hole And Plug It: Once you’ve relocated the toilet, go back to where it was. With a putty knife, remove the bolts and wax seal. Finally, seal the hole with a towel to stop any gases from escaping.
- The Toilet Flange In Place: Replace both the finish flooring and the subfloor. Using a reciprocating saw, remove the drain pipe flush with the finish floor’s level. Solvent-glue the toilet closet flange to the drain stub-out and screw it into the subfloor to attach it to the flooring.
- Putting in the toilet: Place the toilet over the flange of the toilet closet. Turn on the water supply after connecting it. Try the restroom.
Supplies Needed To Move A Toilet
Tools / Equipment
- Screwdriver, Flathead
- Gloves
- Prybar
- Sticky Knife
- Saw, A Circle
- Saw That Reciprocates
- Portable Drill
Materials
- Toilet
- 6 feet PVC or ABS 3-inch drain pipe
- 8 feet 1/2″ PEX pipe
- PEX fittings that are compression or push-fit
- Flange on a toilet closet
- 6 to 10 feet 3-inch circumference PVC or ABS pipe
- 3-inch diameter, 90-degree bend, lengthy sweep, PVC or ABS
- 3-inch PVC or ABS wye drain fitting
- PVC or ABS adhesive, 3-inch 90-degree bend
How To Move The Toilet Drain
The 3-inch-diameter below-floor toilet drainage pipes are broad and challenging to route around or through floor joists. Water supply pipes, electrical cables, insulation, joist cross-bracing, recessed lighting, and other services that run underneath floors add to the difficulty.
Additionally, since toilet drainage pipes are gravity-fed, they must descend at a vertical rate of 1/4 inch for every foot of horizontal distance. While most of the time this is manageable, it may restrict where the new toilet may be placed because the toilet needs to stay close to the vent stack or main drain to allow for the appropriate slope.
Therefore, if at all possible, attempt to locate your new toilet so that the drain can pass through the spaces between joists and avoid notching out joists to accommodate the pipes. If the modifications are significant enough to jeopardize the strength of the floor framework, doing so might need additional structural reinforcement.
Moving The Water Supply To The Toilet
Running a water supply line to the toilet is a less challenging portion of the project. Fresh water is required to refill the tank after each flush in toilets. These pipes can more easily be routed through joists or even inside wall systems because of their smaller size.
Even the current toilet supply line could be tapped into and sent to the new location by a relocated supply line. When compared to the more antiquated traditional method of running copper pipes and sweat-soldering the connections, bendable plastic PEX pipes make this job simpler for do-it-yourselfers.
Factors To Consider In Moving A Toilet
Vent pipe
To keep the waste pipe’s air pressure at a sufficient level, the vent pipe is essential. To ensure the smooth operation of the toilet, you must appropriately line the waste pipe with the vent pipe.
The Toilet’s Floor
The price of your toilet remodeling project is significantly influenced by the toilet’s floor. Plumbing work may require breaking through the floor. If your toilet is not on the ground floor, you will need to reconstruct the floor’s ceiling in addition to the toilet’s flooring as part of the relocation operation.
By improving its functionality and aesthetics, rearranging your toilet can have a significant positive impact on your everyday life. You can decide to move your toilet with confidence now that you are aware of the crucial elements of this toilet remodeling project
Access To Water
Resetting the water supply is also necessary, but it is a little simpler than resetting the vent and waste pipes. To prevent leaks, you must make sure that the supply pipe is properly sealed at every joint.
Toilet Drainage
Your toilet’s waste pipe needs to be attached to the vertical sewer pipe. To make sure that the waste goes into the sewage line, you must maintain a sufficient slope. Having professional assistance is the best course of action in this case because the slope correction requires knowledge.
How Far Can A Toilet Be Moved?
A toilet can be moved as far as you like. But you might have to make a fresh floor hole and put in a fresh sewer pipe. This will require a significant commitment on your part. Without having to modify the waste line and stack, you can move the toilet to some extent as well.
You can put the toilet within six feet of your stack if your waste line has a 3-inch diameter. If the waste line diameter is 4 inches, the distance between the toilet and your stack can be as much as 10 feet.
Where Should I Put The New Toilet?
If everything went as planned, there would be no need to move the new toilet because you would have planned where it would go. Unfortunately, real-life frequently has other intentions, so you might occasionally find yourself needing to relocate your toilet.
Depending on the size of the area that needs to be renovated, this may involve moving or replacing electrical wiring in addition to rerouting water supply pipes. Call a certified electrician or trained plumber if you aren’t confident you can finish these jobs on your own.
How Can I Install A Tank If My Toilet Doesn’t Already Have One?
Some toilets have their tanks built into the base or attached directly beneath the bowl. If the tank for your toilet is missing, you can buy one to install after moving it or at a later time. However, there is no simple method for moving a toilet without a tank, so instead of attempting to handle this project yourself, we advise hiring professional assistance.
Tanks can hold water, which increases their weight and raises the risk of them breaking in transit. Prior to making any purchases, it is best to be certain of the precise location of your new bathroom so that you can make those purchases along with your new toilet.
Conclusion On How To Move A Toilet
Moving a toilet is not difficult. While moving a toilet requires some thought, it can generally be done by anyone with a little work and very little expense. You should learn how to properly remove a toilet from its current location and transport it to a new one if you ever plan to move it. You can accomplish that by taking into account the aforementioned points.