Hi all,

What would one expect to pay a thai craftsman to take out a squat toilet and replace it with a normal one(only the labour cost,fixed price).

I am not sure you can use the words Thai and craftsman together and I have certainly never found the latter.

However I would not pay more than 500 baht.

The toilet should cost you no more than 2500.

The biggest problem they have is aligning the pan to the outlet so the cistern is supported.

It is common to see a big gap between the cistern and wall.

depending on where you are...but 1000 baht tops.

When Sanook 1 refers to a "normal" toilet I'll recon he means a 2 piece or one piece flushing toilet and not a "pail flush" toilet. I paid 500 baht for two men of Buriram Ruangsangthai Builders Merchants to come to my house in a small town in Buriram Province in early 2014 and take out an American Standard Champion model flushing toilet that was made in China and install a Cotto Toilet with soft closing lid that was made in Thailand. The Cotto C1480S cost 2300 baht in Buriram at Ruangsangthai and includes soft close toilet lid and a flange set. That was an appropriate toilet for the maids room but is too short (375mm) for most expats.

My wife paid four hundred baht labor plus materials in 2005 for two local village guys to take out a squat toilet and install a Korat Brand flushing two piece toilet that did not include a flange set for the rental house we lived for two years. They also installed a valve for a personal sprayer and a 2nd 1/2" Sanwa valve for the flushing toilet supply.

Consider if a shop will guarantee the installation and if the shop stocks flange sets and wax seals. You could pay 1499 baht for a Sannix brand two piece flushing toilet that is made at the Lixil factory in Thailand, and labeled as a Lixil product (same firm is American Standard Asia Pacific) in Buriram at the store downtown with the large American Standard sign. The Sannix flushing toilet does not come with a flange set nor a wax seal. A high volume Cotto dealer may in fact offer you a low cost installation with a warranty if you buy a Cotto toilet and the proper fittings. My personal experience was that American Standard will send warranty repair service to Buriram province one Tuesday a month the 2nd week of the month and no other days. However my personal experience in 2008 with Cotto sanitary ware experience is that the dealer phoned the service center and two days later two trained Cotto men came from Khon Kaen and fixed a Cotto bathroom basin problem caused by the house builders inexperienced staff. Easy choice for me which brand to recommend to friends and fellow expats in Thailand.

http://www.americanstandard.co.th/customercare/index-en.php?hl=1

That was an appropriate toilet for the maids room but is too short (375mm) for most expats.

Important hint. Get a "full size" bowl for ... farang ... (self censored ).

If I remember right, there are at least three different sizes.

Kuhn BenQ: Good advise. "Elongated" is the term in the Cotto Sanitary Ware catalog. The distance from the wall to the front of the toilet is not an accurate dimension, but Cotto Toilets have dimensions from the toilet seat bolts to the front of the bowl. 440 mm is not the size most expats would select. 475 mm or longer would be noted as elongated.

Excellent reply Kamala Bob

The most critical dimension is the distance from the wall to the center of the drain pie in the floor no matter what toilet you use. For the flush toilet to fit the normal dimension is 30cm. If it is less than that the toilet will not fit as the tank will hit the wall.

I installed one in my BIL's "outhouse" when he broke his leg and had to modify the wall to get it to fit correctly

If you're think of a toilet with a cistern, don't forget that means running additional water supply plumbing as well. That requires a site survey to quote - for all we know, it could mean cutting through concrete...