Hey!
Im a young guy who has moved i to a very old condo. From the research I have done, I have an, atleast 15, if not 20, year old 3 gallon toilet. The porcelain is growing mold faster then my army of steel wool and bleach brigade can stave it off, ha!
I have done all the measurments needed to find a toilet that will fit my counter tops but, I am wondering about the alaignment of the pipes. From memory, the piping in toilets I have grown up with, have been ensconced in a casing. Never knowing where the piping meets with the floor. Be it front, middle, or rear.
I have attached photos of the base, hoping for advise on purchasing the correct toilet for the pipe alignment.
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Either 12" or 10" from the finished back wall to the centerline of the flange bolts. These are standards but could be different "in the field". Measure twice!
The supply pipe is either on the left (yours) or the right when facing it. Length varies between wall valve and tank connection.
The shutoff valve and supply line are pretty standard throughout the industry. There are a few oddball toilets out there that have a different inlet but you'd notice right away. The one you picture is a standard setup. All you need to decide is if you want a long bowl, you do, or a round one and what height seat you want.
Unless the toilet was a bad fit to begin with, and an "offset flange" was used, the distance between the center line of the bolts and the back wall gives the most important dimension. If this is less than 12 inches or uncomfortably close to that number then you should get a "ten-inch offset" toilet, otherwise a 12-inch offset unit will fit and will look nicer and give you more legroom.
And consider the height of the toilet -- many are very low (seat to floor), apparently to accommodate kids. Elderly people generally prefer something on the high side. Measure some toilets you like to find a target height.
Avoid getting a cheap toilet -- I recommend American Standard.
* Glazed porcelain doesn't grow mold; Organic things left to dry on glazed porcelain might. Unglazed porcelain is similar, except it's much easier for organic things to stick to it.
* A 3.5 gallon toilet remains a prized commodity for many. Water conversation measures mandated smaller 1.6 gallon toilets in 1994, and it took a solid decade for manufacturers to update their designs to compensate, and offer anywhere near the same performance.
* Toilets are today divided into 'Standard height' and 'Comfort height'. Comfort height used to be confined to ADA-compliance and elderly customers, but today is considered an unambiguous benefit by most consumers. They're dead wrong. Comfort height toilets are easier on your knees, but harder to poop in, because of the biomechanics of your pelvis.
* Toilets bowls are today divided into 'Standard size' and 'Elongated'. I recommend 'Elongated' if any males are going to use the toilet sitting down.
* Often you can order the same toilet in 10 inch, 12 inch, or (rarer) 14 inch offset versions. You can afford to have a little bit of airspace between toilet and wall, but if the anchoring bolts are too close to the wall for your toilet, there's no way to install it.
* Bidet nozzles or inbuilt bidet seats are ridiculously popular on the Internet. "I'll never go back" is often heard. The combination of low/no seat and bidet cleanup renders hemorrhoids unheard of in some countries.
* Frequently you will find that toilet shutoff stop valves of the type you photographed, that were designed to last 5-10 years, corroded themselves nonfunctional in a 'locked-open' position 25 years ago. Verify how your whole-house shutoff works, test things before you begin, and don't cheap out on replacements if needed; Go for a ball valve shutoff. https://www.familyhandyman.com/plumbing/valves/how-to-replace-a-shutoff-valve/ https://www.familyhandyman.com/plumbing/valves/stop-plumbing-leaks-with-ball-type-shutoff-valves/
* Toilets come in two-piece and one-piece designs now. One-piece are easier to clean, slightly more reliable, and 2-3x the price.
* Much of the internet is ride-or-die for Toto, particularly their less expensive Drake series. https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeImprovement/comments/7t8oju/toilet_shopping_wow/
* The internet community with the most experience on this topic is https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php , and based on their posts, of the brands you'll find at a local big box store (which are non-assisted-flush models), American Standard seems to edge out Kohler at present.