New toilet installation for Houston bathrooms

Comfort-height, sometimes called chair-height, toilets put the seat about two inches higher than a standard bowl, close to the height of a dining chair. They make sitting and standing easier for taller people, older relatives and anyone with sore knees. The plumbing connection is the same as any other toilet, but the bowl shape matters: an elongated bowl adds a couple of inches of depth, so we check the clearance to the vanity and the door swing first. For small half baths, a compact elongated bowl often fits where a full one won't. Pair it with grab bars if the bathroom is being set up for aging in place.

Once the old toilet is up, the flange tells the real story. Cast iron flanges in older homes rust through at the bolt slots, PVC flanges crack when a toilet has rocked for years, and many sit below new tile after a floor was raised. We fix what we find: a stainless repair ring over a broken flange, a spacer or extension when the flange is too low, or a new flange solvent-welded to the drain when the old one is beyond repair. If the drain under the floor is cast iron that is cracking, we'll show you and talk about repairing the line before the new toilet hides it.

Federal rules already cap new toilets at 1.6 gallons per flush, and WaterSense models go lower, often 1.28 gallons. Dual-flush toilets give you a short flush for liquids and a full one for solids. The old fear about low-flow toilets clogging came from early 1990s designs; current bowls use larger trapways and better rim jets. In a house with an older, partly scaled drain line, though, a very low flush can leave paper short of the main. If your line has a history of clogs, we'll suggest a model that moves waste reliably rather than the lowest number on the box.