Said It Here

How to measure a toilet rough-in without removing it

Figuring out if a 10-inch or 12-inch toilet will fit is difficult when your current unit lacks visible floor anchor bolts. You cannot simply pull the toilet out to check if you only have one bathroom and need the replacement installed the same day. This leaves you unable to safely buy the new toilet before taking the old one out.

Overview
People affected2 accounts across 1 forum
Workarounds found4 items attempted
Community agreement3 total upvotes

What the numbers show

Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count

  • People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

Found another way around this?

Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.

  1. 1
    Looking inside the tank or under the lid for model numbers and specification labels
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  2. 2
    Searching for old installation paperwork or looking up manufacturer spec sheets online
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  3. 3
    Measuring to the center of the floor flange after pulling the toilet
    Did this help you?
  4. 4
    cheating the toilet forward a quarter inch
    Did this help you?
Tried another approach not listed above?+ Share your workaround ↑

In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.

r/Plumbing2 people · September 2026 – November 2026

“Problem is that I don’t seem to have a conventional toilet since there are no bolts to anchor it to the floor.”source ↗

ma1080 · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“The thing is I only have one bathroom, so if I pull it out and don’t have a replacement kind of ready to be installed within the day, it’ll be a hassle. That’s why I wanted to buy the new toilet before removing the old one.”source ↗

ma1080 · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“Will a 12 inch fit here or a 10 inch?”source ↗

fordpowerstroke57 · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

Where this came up

People with this problem also raised