On our last trip to Europe, I just noticed something that hadn't caught my attention before: The toilets extend from the wall, instead of resting on the floor.

With my limited knowledge of plumbing, it seems the wall models would be more difficult to install. Any reason why they're so prevalent in Europe, but scarce in the US?

It's easier to clean the floor. I was thinking of having one installed in my house, but the reinforcement needed for the wall (an upstairs dormer) did not make it worthwhile.

They are actually very common in public restrooms in the US -- take a look sometime. And yes, the cleaning issue is a major advantage of them.

"more difficult to install" is all relative and depends on the type of construction.

A toilet on the floor requires drain pipes to be inside the floor. In the US, at least for residential buildings which have wood beam floors with 16" space, running drain pipes in the floor is easy. These are designed and built in from the original construction.

You may notice for many commercial buildings, which have solid concrete floors or have flexible floor plans, there may not be drains built into the floor at the exact locations. When subdividing a space it is easy to run plumbing inside walls to/from any location. Therefore, even in the US on-the-wall fixtures are more common in commercial buildings.

The same reasoning holds true for Europe, except that wood joist floors and wood stud walls are much less common. Many buildings have been remodeled many times over the years (or centuries). Instead of digging up the floor every time a remodel is done (to install bathroom where there was none, for example), plumbing (both supply and drain) is put into the walls.

You will notice that bathtubs and showers also may be elevated 4", where in the US they are flush with the bathroom floor. That's to leave room for the shower/tub drain to be laid over the subfloor, then run horizontally to the wall where it connects to the main drain.

Hope this helps.

ipod: You are the god of plumbing, in my book.

the god of plumbing? I thought that was Eros.

awwww. I'm flattered..... do I get a throne?

Yes, you do! A nice, white, ceramic one with an elongated seat - hung on the wall.

I replaced the connection between the commode and the wall drain. The fitting is an accordion flexible tube. Obviously a smooth tube would drain completely! Ingenious or poor engineering? All of my USA commodes drained into a floor opening. So, which came first? European WCs or USA WCs?