How much room for a toilet

A traditional toilet has a round bowl, but some modern toilets also have an elongated bowl, which provides more comfort. Elongated bowls typically extend out an additional two inches in the front and may not fit in narrow spaces. Click here to see this product on Amazon.

Although features and design will vary by product, there are four main toilet styles: closed coupled, back to wall, wall hung, and low level. Each of these four styles requires different spacing needs. Closed coupled toilets are the most common toilet type. The cistern or toilet tank is attached to the toilet bowl in a one or two-piece unit. These toilets are compact and work sell for small spaces but require more back wall space because of their height.

Similar to close coupled, back to wall toilets are free-standing and space-saving, but the cistern is hidden within the wall or even furniture, creating a more contemporary design. Wall-hung toilets are similar to back-to-wall toilets, with the cistern concealed within the wall.

However, the unit is mounted directly to the wall and suspended off the floor. Low level toilets stand on the floor, but the cistern is mounted at a low level on the wall and connected to the toilet bowl by a pipe.

Now that we have touched on some of the varying shapes and styles of toilets, you may be wondering how you would know what your toilet seat size is.

Measuring is key, so we will explain the three points of the seat to measure. Is this possible? Toilets can be safely installed in the corners of bathrooms, so long as the spacing guidelines, the local building code layouts are followed.

Installing a toilet in a corner does save space, but it also makes for more work installing the drain pipe. Why is this? Most of the time, these two things are next to each other for spacing reasons.

Bathrooms are usually the smallest rooms in a home, and they need to have enough room for a toilet, a sink, and a shower or bathtub.

The standard layout for the modern bathroom is to have the sink either in front of or on one side of the toilet, with the shower on the opposite side. This layout saves a lot of space and ensures that proper spacing between each fixture can still exist, so that building codes are followed. The spacing between bathroom fixtures and walls is important for layout and safety, accessibility, and comfort reasons. Not following IRC guidelines will make your project fail the inspection and can lead to a costly redo.

The National Kitchen and Bathroom Association has recommendations that are stricter than the IRC since they push for the most comfortable rooms possible.

Following their suggestions will result in more legroom and maneuverability for the person seated on the toilet. Most people would like a generously spaced bathroom with tons of room to place the key services such as the toilet and sink without restrictions.

While this is possible in fantasy bathrooms found on home shows, most real-world bathrooms, even those considered large, must account for every square and linear inch in order to make everything properly work together.

A toilet placed too close to a bathtub or sink will impact users of both the toilet and the bathtub, and may entirely bar disabled users from entering the bathroom. When subsequent buyers view the arrangement, improper spacing may affect their offering price. Bathroom fixtures are difficult to move around once they have been installed. So, it is vitally important to get your bathroom's floor plan right the first time. Local building codes are often silent on matters of recommended optimal spacing of toilets, sinks, bathtubs, and showers.

Minimums may be found in the code, but these minimums can often be meager for real-world use. Instead, home improvement industry groups such as the non-profit National Kitchen and Bath Association NKBA draw up recommendations that many bathroom and kitchen designers use when laying out the rooms.

Yet even NKBA guidelines should be regarded as bare minimums. If you do have any extra room, you should consider increasing the NKBA guidelines by several inches. One clearance issue that often comes up: How much clearance should you leave in front of a toilet? You can look at this from three angles.

Code minimums tend to be 21 inches. But as this allows less than two feet in front of the toilet, the NKBA recommends adding even more space: up to 30 inches, minimum. Yet that is not a satisfactory clearance for wheelchairs. Thirty inches is considered the absolute bare minimum for wheelchairs to clear the passage, with 48 inches being a more comfortable space.

Spacing designations for bathrooms often use a term called center line. Toilets come in different shapes which can complicate things a little bit when your laying out the bathroom. Elongated bowls are typically considered more comfortable, but rounded bowls take up less space. In general, round bowel toilets extend 25 to 28 inches from the wall. Elongated bowel toilets extend 29 to 31 inches. Because most bathrooms have an in swing door when space is tight every inch counts.

For this reason elongated toilets are used more in master or large baths and round bowels in small bathrooms. I recommend choosing specific fixtures when your designing a small bathroom. Every inch really does count when space is tight so a difference of an inch or two can matter.

Most homes have small bathrooms. Especially older homes. Toilets have gotten slightly larger over time so if your doing a bathroom renovation in an old home then be aware that the old toilet may have been smaller than what your used too so the location may need to be adjusted for a modern toilet.

When I design a new bathroom layout I look at the guidelines as a guide. The code requirements are a different story. You have to abide by those in order for your bathroom layout to be legal. Even the NKBA recommendations feel a little small to me. And honestly most people fall into this category if your remodeling. But if your designing a new home or renovating a home to the studs then you can make changes.

In this case I recommend going a bit bigger on everything. But in front of the toilet I like to have room. In this case 24 — 30 inches is usually what I like to use.

What I want is enough space to walk in front of the toilet comfortably if I have to. I also prefer the round bowel. I think they look better and are comfortable enough.