When you’re making plans to renovate your bathroom, you need to consider whether you have the resources to complete the job. Perhaps you’ve picked out paint colors, an upgraded sink cabinet and a new toilet. Do you have the manpower to move it?
Depending on how you arrange for toilet removal and installation, you might need a hand. Understanding the average weight of a toilet will help you determine whether to call in the heavy lifters when you buy your next toilet. It will also help you ensure that you’re buying the right toilet for your bathroom. Your floor has to be able to withstand the weight of a toilet when it’s filled with water. Sometimes, special carpentry is needed to make the substrate able to handle the weight of a toilet.
What is the Average Weight of a Toilet?
It varies with design and materials, but the average weight of a toilet is between 80 and 130 pounds without water in it. You should add about 10 or 20 pounds for the water. Older toilets typically hold even more water. The original toilet from a home that was built several decades ago could hold up to 60 pounds of water.
The main factor that affects the weight is the toilet type. However, the height plays a role. Adding accessories, such as a heavy lid and seat or a bidet, also increases the weight of a toilet.
Type of Toilet
Many people don’t realize how many types of toilets there are. A two-piece toilet is one that is most commonly found in homes. However, advancements in technology are making other types of toilets more desirable and affordable. It helps to know the toilet weight of the various types.
One-Piece Toilet
Most traditional toilets have a tank and a bowl. But look closely at yours. If the bowl and pedestal are connected to the tank with no seams or joints, it’s a one-piece toilet. Although one-piece commodes are more compact than two-piece toilets, they’re heavier when it comes to shipping, moving and transporting them.
Kohler Kathryn One-Piece Toilet
Here’s an idea of how much one-piece toilets weight:
• Duravit Dura Style – 121 pounds
• Glacier Bay N2420 – 152 pounds
• Icera Julian – 100 pounds
• Kohler Cimarron – 113 pounds
Two-Piece Toilet
Even though a one-piece toilet may have a comparable weight to an assembled two-piece toilet, the separate components of a two-piece are lighter when you take them apart. That makes two-piece toilets easier to manage when you’re moving them.
Kohler Cimarron Two-Piece Toilet
Below are toilet weights for popular two-piece models:
• American Standard H2Option with dual flush – 70 pounds
• Delta Turner – 90 pounds
• Gerber Avalanche – 81.3 pounds
• Niagara 77001WHCO1 Stealth – 102.8 pounds
Wall-Hung Toilet
Wall-hung toilets are compact, appearing to be suspended from the wall. You can only see the bowl, which appears to float. It does have a tank, which is concealed in the wall. But the tank is compact and often made of plastic, making this type of toilet one of the most lightweight, as you can see below:
• Swiss Madison Well Made Forever Ivy SM-WT450 – 48 pounds
• KOHLER Veil – 53.5 pounds
• EAGO Square Modern Ceramic Mounted Toilet – 72 pounds
Duravit Darling New Wall-hung Toilet
Composting Toilet
Composting toilets are known as dry toilets. They don’t hold any water. However, they do have some type of composting drum as part of the system. This is where microbes break down the waste. A finishing container completes the sanitation and decomposition process and isolates the waste from the rest of your yard.
Kildwick FancyLoo Composting Toilet
These systems are the most lightweight toilets. They’re perfect for RVs and tiny houses. You don’t have to worry about them falling through the floor, and they’re easy to move.
Below are the toilet weights for a few brands of composting toilets:
• Kildwick FancyLoo – 36.38 pounds
• Separett Villa 9210 – 34 pounds
• Nature’s Head Self-Contained Composting Toilet with Close Quarters Spider Handle Design – 28 pounds
Macerating Toilet
Sometimes, it’s necessary to install a toilet into an area that doesn’t have the ideal plumbing fixtures to support the flush. You may also struggle with low water pressure or a limited water supply. In these instances, a macerating toilet is a helpful option.
Saniflo Pro Macerating Toilet
These toilets chop up waste before pumping it upwards, evacuating it through the sewage system. They look like a regular toilet from the outside. However, they typically have an extra tank at floor level behind the pedestal. This houses the blades and pump.
Even with all that extra equipment, a macerating toilet doesn’t weigh much more than a standard two-piece. A tankless macerating toilet can weigh less.
Here are some examples:
• Saniflow SaniPLUS – 99.7 pounds
• Saniflow 023 Compact – 62 pounds
• Liberty Pumps ASCENTII-ESW – 121 pounds
Toilet Height
Depending on the type of toilet, its height may impact its weight. This isn’t true for wall-hung toilets, which have an adjustable height but no pedestal to impact the weight. Traditional toilets, however, get heavier as they get taller. That’s because they’re made of ceramic, which is heavy. Every inch of height adds to the weight. This wouldn’t be a concern with a lightweight material, such as stainless steel.
The average toilet height is between 15-16 inches. However, commodes range from 12 to 19 inches in height. Smaller toilets are ideal for children. Taller toilets are excellent for tall people or individuals with movement issues or joint problems. If you don’t have to squat so far to sit down, getting up again is much easier.
Final Thoughts
Traditional and macerating toilets tend to be the heaviest, with two-piece options weighing less than one-piece commodes. These toilet types withstand the most weight, though. Most standard floor-mounted toilets can hold up to 1,000 pounds.
In contrast, wall-hung toilets may only support 500 pounds. They’re a little more delicate than toilets with a pedestal. Composting toilets usually have a weight limit of 500 pounds too. They’re typically made of sturdy plastic, which weighs a lot less than the ceramic of traditional toilets.
Now that you’ve learned so much about toilet weight, you can choose the best one for your space. Check out our reviews for details and specs on the most popular toilets.