We purchased a home last year and I replaced all 3 toilets with Kohler Gleem model. They're full skirted toilets with access holes on each side to get to the mounting brackets. I had no problems installing them. You install this "elephant" pipe onto the floor flange first. Because of that, you can easily see if the wax ring is sealing properly. The 2 bolts that normally stick up on each side of the toilet base now hold the internal fastening system to hold the whole bowl tight to the floor. A standard screw driver is all that's needed to secure the bowl. The actual coupling of the waste pipe is at the back and well above floor level. If there ever is a leak, water will still seep out under the skirt. If skirt is caulked at all, don't seal the back side! I did caulk the fronts and sides of mine though. Because of the big shell, water from an external source could get under the skirt and cause issues. The toilet waste flange must be within spec and the fill supply line not be right behind the bowl's rear.
This is the channel for me. I'm kinda obsessed with researching every detail about anything I buy (I might have some sort of undiagnosed disorder lol) and as I'm about to graduate college and transition in adulthood, I really love these kinds of videos detailing "little things" about home appliances that add up to a huge inconvenience. Thank you for this channel!
I can't imagine thinking that a skirted toilet is not dramatically easier to clean. I can't stand cleaning the area around the mounting bolts of standard toilets. They accumulate dust and dirt faster than anywhere in the house by a mile and take forever to get clean and it's a massive pain in the butt reaching back there. I'll look out for seat bolt access, that's a good point. Otherwise, the cost and install expense seems worth it to me just for the easy cleaning aspect.
Most of this is simply not true. The backside of the skirt is usually open for access to the floor bolts, seat bolts, and possible leakage. There’s also no reason the inside of the toilet should be getting dirty if you have an appropriate caulk seal on the bottom of it…
Plumber here, I’d like to disagree, there is not rear access to the flange bolts on ANY of the ones I installed! I try my best to stay away from these, unless the customer insists on it. The designers came up with this idea to rob you of more of your hard earned money by making you feel ashamed because your current toilet looks like part of an intestine from the side. “Everyone that is cool needs a sleeker more modern, sophisticated design!”
Assumed i would purchase a skirted toilet bc the downsides were not evident to me. Thank you so much! What about a wall mounted one? With IKEA wall mounted sink/vanity and storage, it sure would make cleaning the floor easy.
I've had two different types of skirted toilets. While there might be a fitment problem in some homes I don't find the skirted models any harder to deal with in any way. Installation, removal, maintenence. What I do find a royal pain in the ass, is that a skirted toilet with a plastic auxillary trapway has a greater chance of plugging, and potentially a greater chance of breaking the plastic trapway way when slamming a toilet auger down the toilet trying to dislodge an object. OK, so I just reversed myself. Lets just say I prefer the skirted toilet for several reasons, and only regret having to remove the whole toilet to unclog the plastic trapway, which fortunately has happened to only one toilet out of 5 in 10 years. Not a bad record if you ask me.
ATG, you & I agreed to NOT to buy or have the wall mounted & shirted toilets. The price /or labor would be very intense on wall mounted. If you are DIY, think twice before thinking they looked nice. That would be the same as installing the *bidet toilets. They will scammed you by saying it will clean the hole well. But they failed to say what will happened when you/family/guesses pressed the switch in the winter. Scream scream scream * Good luck if you have an AC outlet near the toilet.
We purchased a home last year and I replaced all 3 toilets with Kohler Gleem model. They're full skirted toilets with access holes on each side to get to the mounting brackets. I had no problems installing them. You install this "elephant" pipe onto the floor flange first. Because of that, you can easily see if the wax ring is sealing properly. The 2 bolts that normally stick up on each side of the toilet base now hold the internal fastening system to hold the whole bowl tight to the floor. A standard screw driver is all that's needed to secure the bowl. The actual coupling of the waste pipe is at the back and well above floor level. If there ever is a leak, water will still seep out under the skirt. If skirt is caulked at all, don't seal the back side! I did caulk the fronts and sides of mine though. Because of the big shell, water from an external source could get under the skirt and cause issues. The toilet waste flange must be within spec and the fill supply line not be right behind the bowl's rear.
Did you have a chance to replace the toilet seat? I am struggling with this now.
@@larrylitmanen9877 Haven't had to replace the seat, but installing the original wasn't a big deal as far as I remember. Hmm.
This is the channel for me. I'm kinda obsessed with researching every detail about anything I buy (I might have some sort of undiagnosed disorder lol) and as I'm about to graduate college and transition in adulthood, I really love these kinds of videos detailing "little things" about home appliances that add up to a huge inconvenience. Thank you for this channel!
I can't imagine thinking that a skirted toilet is not dramatically easier to clean. I can't stand cleaning the area around the mounting bolts of standard toilets. They accumulate dust and dirt faster than anywhere in the house by a mile and take forever to get clean and it's a massive pain in the butt reaching back there. I'll look out for seat bolt access, that's a good point. Otherwise, the cost and install expense seems worth it to me just for the easy cleaning aspect.
Most of this is simply not true. The backside of the skirt is usually open for access to the floor bolts, seat bolts, and possible leakage. There’s also no reason the inside of the toilet should be getting dirty if you have an appropriate caulk seal on the bottom of it…
Plumber here, I’d like to disagree, there is not rear access to the flange bolts on ANY of the ones I installed! I try my best to stay away from these, unless the customer insists on it. The designers came up with this idea to rob you of more of your hard earned money by making you feel ashamed because your current toilet looks like part of an intestine from the side. “Everyone that is cool needs a sleeker more modern, sophisticated design!”
Assumed i would purchase a skirted toilet bc the downsides were not evident to me. Thank you so much! What about a wall mounted one? With IKEA wall mounted sink/vanity and storage, it sure would make cleaning the floor easy.
I've had two different types of skirted toilets. While there might be a fitment problem in some homes I don't find the skirted models any harder to deal with in any way. Installation, removal, maintenence. What I do find a royal pain in the ass, is that a skirted toilet with a plastic auxillary trapway has a greater chance of plugging, and potentially a greater chance of breaking the plastic trapway way when slamming a toilet auger down the toilet trying to dislodge an object. OK, so I just reversed myself. Lets just say I prefer the skirted toilet for several reasons, and only regret having to remove the whole toilet to unclog the plastic trapway, which fortunately has happened to only one toilet out of 5 in 10 years. Not a bad record if you ask me.
the backside is open even the ones in this video. all bolts are accessed from the back, i've replaced the seat it's no more difficult than any other
ATG, you & I agreed to NOT to buy or have the wall mounted & shirted toilets.
The price /or labor would be very intense on wall mounted. If you are DIY, think twice before thinking they looked nice.
That would be the same as installing the *bidet toilets. They will scammed you by saying it will clean the hole well.
But they failed to say what will happened when you/family/guesses pressed the switch in the winter. Scream scream scream
* Good luck if you have an AC outlet near the toilet.
Yes, plumber's hate does translate to higher plumber's fees. If you DIY, they're also a heck of a lot heavier.
Yes, I didn't mention the weight issue, but if they're one piece, it can be VERY hard for one person to move it.