How To Replace A Squat Toilet With A Sit-Down One?

[selftaopath]

I could use your knowledge and experience on how to replace a squat toilet with a sit-down one. Hoping to install a sit-down toilet, I lifted the squat toilet that sits on top of a square box. To my utter shock I saw a - what looked like - a 16 inch hole. I guess it was a pipe but it looked like some type of screening was evident. YIKES.

I have no idea what this is, or how to start replacing it with a Western/sit-down toilet. Can you help educated me? This "plumbing" is really really different than what I am familiar with in the USA.

My apologizes in advance if there is another entry regarding this. I did search TV and Google and found nothing.

Thanks in advance for your assistance. I rely on TV contributes for so much.

[katabeachbum]

you can remove the squared box and will eventually find a 4" pipe down there to position you toilet over.

or you can find a toilet large enough to cover the existing hole

any local plumber will know how to do this, and "rip you off" 500 baht

[bankruatsteve]

Yah. It's probably going to be a project as most of the Thai toilets are bound to concrete platforms. As the previous poster said, you will probably find a sewage pipe down there somewhere but it might be more than you want to take on. Any chance of putting in a new toilet western style adjacent and with new plumbing?

[selftaopath]

you can remove the squared box and will eventually find a 4" pipe down there to position you toilet over.

or you can find a toilet large enough to cover the existing hole

any local plumber will know how to do this, and "rip you off" 500 baht

Thanks. It is reassuring to know a 4" pipe is down there. What I saw when I lifted the white sqatter was SCARY. lol Geeze I wasn't sure what i was looking at. I did not want to budge the square box that time. Do you know what the big round screened looking thing w/ "nasty" coloring all around is? At first I thought I was looking into the cesspool??????

[lopburi3]

It could very be exactly that - expecially if a maids quarters location. Our home had a normal hookup to septic tank for inhouse bathrooms (and changed the one squat tolet at purchase 35 years ago) - but when time came to change the maids room facility it was found to be a shallow hole in the ground with outlet to gray water drain. As it was located only a meter from the septic system did not make much sense.

[Gary A]

I'm certainly NOT a toilet expert, but, When I took out the squatter, the outlet was at the front. The western toilet I bought had the outlet in the back. In other words, the hole in the floor was away from the wall WAY too far. I then hired the local plumber and he broke out the concrete floor and repositioned the outlet hole. The original squatter apparently had the ceramic tile floor put in after the squatter was installed. That meant that there was no way to match the old tile and I had to replace the entire bathroom floor. What I thought would be fairly easy turned out to be a major project.

[selftaopath]

you can remove the squared box and will eventually find a 4" pipe down there to position you toilet over.

or you can find a toilet large enough to cover the existing hole

any local plumber will know how to do this, and "rip you off" 500 baht

I would gladly hire a plumber. In this mooban we're lucky to have someone who can dig a hole. Even the electrician we hired screwed things up but good and it took "the Mrs. to tell then how/where to hook up the elect for our water heater so the fuses wouldn't blow every time we turned it on. I guess harvesting rice is the the specialty in our and surrounding villages.

[extexthai]

Working with an existing hole/perhaps....hopefully pipe (TIT)...you could put an extension and bring the plumbing (4"?) up and at least get it within sight. Next, if you have friends coming to visit or are planing on going back stateside, get them or yourself to bring back a toilet flange and several wax rings....that is what I did. I installed three toilets in our house and no problem....of course it was new construction and not having to deal with someone else's short-sightedness. Short of that, the way it is done here....cement the sucker to the floor, pipe or what have you and if you ever have problems with it.....get a BFH (large size hammer) and start swinging. If the hole is not where you want it....you can either raise the floor (to route it where you would like with 45's) or frame a wall to where you would like it...think a short half wall...makes a great shelf area. Good luck! ett

[lopburi3]

Wax type seals/flange are available here in Thailand and come with high end toilets now. Have not seen anyone use yet however. White cement is the norm.