Can you move a toilet?

The short answer

Yes, in nearly every case. A toilet can be moved. The real questions are how far, in which direction, and what it costs — and those come down to where the drainage runs and what your floor is made of.

Why direction matters more than distance

Waste pipes rely on fall — a consistent downward slope towards the sewer connection. Moving a toilet further from that connection means maintaining fall over a longer run, which needs depth. Moving it a metre in the right direction can be simple; moving it half a metre in the wrong direction can mean lifting the floor across the room.

Timber floors versus concrete slabs

On a suspended timber floor — most pre-1970s Melbourne houses — there is space between the joists to run new drainage, so relocation is usually manageable. On a concrete slab, new drainage means cutting the slab, which is noisier, dustier, slower and more expensive, though still routine.

What it typically costs

As part of a full bathroom renovation, relocating a toilet usually adds somewhere in the low thousands rather than tens of thousands. As a standalone job it is rarely worth it, because you are paying to open a floor you will then have to make good and re-waterproof.

When it is worth doing

Almost always, if you are renovating anyway and the current position is the reason the room does not work. The most common case we see is a separate toilet and bathroom being combined into one properly planned room — which usually means moving the toilet, and usually transforms how the space feels.

What we would ask you

Where the soil stack is, what the floor is built of, and what is directly below. We can normally tell you what is realistic within a few minutes of standing in the room.