Yes, you can put a toilet where a shower used to be.

If you have recently decided that you need more space in your bathroom, one possible step to create additional room is to remove the bathtub, move the shower, and put the toilet where the shower used to be. But is this step possible? Can the building codes or the plumbing itself allow a toilet to be placed where a shower used to be, or should you find another solution?

Can you put a toilet where a shower used to be? The simple answer is yes, you can put a toilet where a shower used to be, but the move is not without its challenges. This is not a simple DIY job. You will need to remove at least one wall and hopefully only a small section of the floor. Depending on the building codes in your area, however, you may need to pull up the entire floor and redo the plumbing of the room. There are some instances where a separate drain line for the toilet may be required, which means extensive re-piping.

If you are a professional or skilled and adventurous, the instructions for putting a toilet where a shower used to be are fairly straightforward, even though the work is intensive. Knowledge of basic plumbing installations will go a long way in completing this project. Here’s how to move your toilet to a different location in your bathroom.

Required Accessories

Here is a list of some things you will need to complete the job…

Tools

• Hammer or sledgehammer: You will need to open up some walls. The bigger the hammer, the quicker you can get the job done.
• Pry bar: This will help with demolition.
• Safety glasses: You’ll be sending debris flying around your bathroom by either tearing down walls, cutting through pipes, or ripping up floors. You need to protect your eyes.
• A wrench and a screwdriver: You’ll need the wrench to take apart the plumbing pipes. The screwdriver you’ll need to take apart fittings and the closet flange.
• Circular saw: You’ll need this to cut into your floor.
• Saber saw: You’ll need this to cut through plumbing pipes.
• Drill: This is used for attaching a closet flange and drywall.
• Drill : If you’re drilling, of course, you’ll need drills, but if you’re going into concrete or a tile floor, you’ll need carbide or diamond-tip drills.

Materials

Demolition

The first thing you’ll need to do is dismantle the shower. To do this, you’ll need to remove the drywall surrounding the shower. You’ll need to tear down the wall with the shower head and the water handles, as you’ll need to expose the plumbing pipes to reroute them.

You’ll also need to remove the lower half of the other two shower walls. The shower pan will need to come out to expose the drain, and all pans will be buried behind finished walls.

The easiest way to do this is to start with the plumbing wall since you know that the whole thing needs to come out, and then move to the other two walls while removing the pan. You can replace any part of the drywall on the non-plumbing walls after you’ve removed the pan.

Use your hammer and pry bar to remove the drywall. Be sure to wear safety equipment like safety glasses, as debris will fly throughout the room. You should also be mindful of any electrical wires that may be in the walls.

Dealing with the shower fixtures and pipes

Once you have removed the shower pan and drywall, it’s time to deal with the shower pipes. You will need to shut off the water either to the house or to the bathroom if you’re able to. Once no more water is coming into the room, remove the shower head and water handles using your wrench or screwdriver, depending on how the hardware was mounted.

After removing the fixtures, you’ll need to cap off the stub-out pipes. Depending on the type of shower you had, there should be two stub-outs to cover: one for the showerhead and one for the water handles. Place a cap on each of the stub-out pipes and secure them with pipe cement.

Be sure to measure the capped pipe before cementing it in place. You don’t want the cap’s head sticking out further than the face of the wall studs. If they stick out further, they will push out the drywall when you reattach it.

Running a new water supply

Toilets need a water supply, and luckily you’re placing your toilet right next to a water supply. You’ll still need to do a little bit of plumbing, but nothing major.

The easiest way to run a water supply is to attach a PEX pipe to the existing cold water supply line that ran to the shower and route it to the wall where the toilet will be placed. Run the pipe through the wall and cap it off with a shut-off valve on the wall.

If there is an issue with using the shower’s cold water line, you can also route the PEX through the pipe that supplied the toilet at its old location. You’ll need to run a longer pipe, of course, so make sure to route it through the studs and support it where necessary.

If neither of these fixes works for you, there is a third option. You could add a new pipe. Instead of running the PEX directly from the old water source, you’ll need to cut a section of the existing pipe using the saber saw. Once you’ve removed the pipe section, add a T-connector and attach a vertical pipe that has a cap and a connector for the toilet supply. This should run up to the wall where the toilet will sit. Attach the PEX and the valve to this pipe.

Installing a new toilet drain

Most shower drains are 2 inches, while the minimum for a toilet drain is 3 inches. This means you’ll need to replace the shower drain pipe to make it large enough to fit into the toilet. If previous installers, for some reason, put a 3-inch drain pipe in the shower, you can skip this step. otherwise, you have some work to do.

1. Remove the 2-inch drain pipe: To do this, you’ll need to use the saber saw to cut the pipe at the main waste stack location. After removing it, you can use the old 2-inch pipe as a guide for how much length you’ll need for your 3-inch pipe.
2. Insert new closet flange into a stack: You may need to cut the pipe to fit the new Y piece.
3. Use a long 90-degree bend: After placing the new Y piece, connect a 3-inch long 90-degree bend from the Y to the waste stack and into the long sweep 90-degree bend. The drain pipe needs to be pitched ¼ inch per horizontal foot toward the stack, but if you follow the old drain line, this should not be an issue.
4. Finish the drain pipe: Attach a 90-degree bend to the top of the drain pipe. Then, attach a 6-inch piece of ABS pipe from the bend to the top of the finished floor.

If you follow these steps, you just need to be mindful of where your new toilet drain line connects to the main stack. In some areas, to comply with the code, you can’t connect shower or sink drains to the toilet’s siphon arm. This means they will need to be downstream from the point where the toilet connects to the main stack. When routing your new line, make sure it is above the other drain lines.

Separate Drain Systems

In some areas, it is illegal to operate a toilet drain line with other systems. In these areas, you cannot connect the toilet drain line with the other systems until the pipes are outside the building walls. If this is the case in your location, you won’t be able to use the old shower drain. Instead, you’ll need to find a way to connect the new toilet location to the old drain line.

You can perform the same steps as above, but you’ll need to route the drain pipe from the new toilet location to the old toilet location. Make sure to route the pipe through the studs and support the pipe where necessary with straps. Most importantly, you’ll need to ensure that the drain pipe slopes ¼ inch per horizontal foot toward the old line, as otherwise, the water won’t drain and the toilet won’t flush.

Resetting the drywall

Once all your plumbing work is completed, you can install a new drywall over the plumbing wall. Use your drill to attach the drywall to the wall studs with drywall screws. Finish the walls as you see fit before installing the toilet. The toilet can make finishing the wall more difficult than it needs to be.

This is also a good time to address any issues with the flooring. If the existing floor is not water damaged from years of showers, you won’t need to do anything. If it is damaged by water or you want to install new flooring, now is the time to lay the new flooring.

Installing a closet flange

Once you have laid your finished floor, you’ll need to install a closet flange to connect your toilet to the new drain pipe. To install a flange, follow these steps:

1. Brush primer and glue onto the surfaces of both the flange and the new drain pipe.
2. Drop the flange into the pipe until the flange sits either on the subfloor or the finished surface.
3. If the flange sits on the subfloor, you may need to insert a spacer to bring the flange flush with your finished floor. Cover the bottom of the spacer with silicone sealant and place the spacer over the flange, aligning all screw holes.
4. If you’re installing into a wood floor, screw the flange and/or the flange spacer into the floor.
5. If you’re installing into concrete and there are no existing holes to attach the flange, use a rotary hammer and a carbide or diamond-tip drill bit to drill the necessary holes to attach the flange to the floor. Be careful not to angle towards the pipe; any damage to the pipe will cost you time and a lot of money.
6. If you’re installing into a tile floor, use a regular drill setting with a carbide or diamond-tip drill bit dipped in coolant. Rock the drill back and forth a few times to prevent slippage. Begin drilling with the lowest speed setting on your drill until the bit bites into the subfloor, then accelerate until you’ve reached the desired depth.
7. Once all the holes are drilled, exchange your drill for a screwdriver bit or use a screwdriver to drive Tapcon screws or whatever type of fastener you’re using into the floor.
8. Once the toilet flange is secured to the floor, attach screws so the toilet can be secured to the flange.

Remember to never set your flange below the level of the finished floor. There are products on the market that can help you raise the height of the flange. Additionally, you need to make sure it doesn’t extend more than ⅛ inch above the finished floor. If the flange is either too low or too high, the seal won’t compress properly, and your toilet will leak, causing damage to your floor and releasing odors.

Installing the new toilet

The last thing you should do is install your new toilet. Whether you’re purchasing a brand new toilet or using the one from the old location, you’ll need to use a new wax ring.

A toilet wax ring is exactly what its name suggests, a large wax ring. Wax as a substance is impermeable, making it great for sealing. Wax is also soft and malleable, allowing it to fit perfectly into pipes and toilet outlets. The wax ring is held by the closet flange, and the toilet is placed on top of it. The weight of the toilet compresses the soft wax into a perfect seal between the flange and the toilet.

Types of Toilet Wax Rings

There are a few different types of wax rings you can purchase. The main differences tend to make the seal the ring makes stronger. Here are a few examples…

• Simple wax ring: This is just a wax ring. The standard ring is 1 inch tall and will fit most flanges.
• Extra-thick wax ring: These rings consume 40% more wax and can fill larger flanges.
• Wax ring with sleeve: Sleeve rings have a different material on the inside of the ring.
  

  Related posts:

  1. 10 Things to Do for a Bathroom Without an Exhaust Fan
  2. 10 Effective Ways to Prevent Mold on Baseboards
  3. 10 Reasons Why Your Grout Cracks
  4. 10 Reasons Why You Should Put a Mirror in a Living Room
  5. 10 Ways to Enhance the Look of a Metal Bed Frame
  6. 12 brilliant ways to separate living and dining rooms
  • Design