Confessions of a Fugitive Mind
July 11, 2006
Handicapable
There is a handicap stall in our ladies room. And since there are no handicapped women in our office, I don't feel bad using it. You see, the seat is about two inches higher than the identical toilet in the other three stalls. Despite all of the extra room and added seclusion, I think the real reason I keep returning to it is that extra two inches. I had never realized (except perhaps in elementary school when my classrooms were in the old kindergarten wing with midget-sized toilets) how important seat height is to overall bathroom comfort. Now I'm wondering how easy it would be to raise the toilets at home two inches. Do they make non-standard-height toilets? Perhaps toilet risers? And what kind of effect would an extra two inches have on my husband's aim?
Posted by criminal at July 11, 2006 10:28 AM
Comments
Having installed the toilet in our house, I can tell you that messing around with the plumbing of a toilet is a pain and not worth it. Two words: sewer gases.
Posted by: Jen at July 11, 2006 11:55 AM
I'm sure if they can be installed in public restrooms, you can find a taller toilet for your home bathroom. I think they also make toilet risers for people with injuries/handicaps to use in their own home, though I'm not sure you really want that. If you do though, I can ask my sister, she's an occupational therapist and knows all about changing bathroom layouts. :)
Posted by: gillian at July 11, 2006 02:03 PM
Its becoming more trendy to have taller (and longer actually) toilets, home depot/lowes carry them, in their usual in stock selection. Take a look next time you're in the aisle.
If your toilet doesn't wobble, and the bolts are in reasonable shape that you think you could remove and replace them, and you think the water valve works, so you could shut that off and replace the line, its not too difficult.
Also, check the distance from the bolts to the wall, there's a standard length, which is 12". Otherwise you need to look at special models, which is probably not worth it, and they're more expensive.
If all of that works out, its really only 2 bolts and one water line that hold the whole thing together as well as a wax gasket. Sewer gases are an issue, but they can be managed with plugs and rags, especially since you'd just be replacing, so the toilet wouldn't be off for that long.
Posted by: Alan at July 11, 2006 09:19 PM