How To Install A Toilet With An Integrated Sink

Why Should I Get A Toilet With An Integrated Sink?

A 2 in 1 toilet and sink is one of life’s great space savers. Imagine if you will, you’re moving in to your brand new apartment but alas, the bathroom is tiny. Or picture this, you’re building your own ensuite, however you can’t build too big, unless you encroach onto the garage’s territory. What can you do to ensure you have a comfortable, stylish and ergonomic bathroom?

You install a toilet with a sink on top, of course. Here’s why.

A Toilet With Built In Sink Saves Space.

Saving space is always important, as it allows you to do more and have more. Maybe you’re a minimalist and value the empty space in an area and the freedom of movement it allows you. If so, a 2 in 1 cistern and sink is exactly what you need for a sleek, chic design that gives you that extra space.

Conversely, maybe you subscribe to maximalism and like to fill your space with as much trinkets and paraphernalia as you can. In that case, the cistern with integrated sink will give you the space to do just that. You no longer have to choose between utility and aesthetic. By employing a toilet with a sink built in, you can use the saved space for a cupboard or display area to give you the decorating opportunity you desire.

Not only this, but it is ergonomically designed to be extremely comfortable for any user. So, you never have to worry about an unpleasant experience again.

Here at Durovin Bathrooms, we believe in comfort and practicality. That’s why we believe in our Aachen 179WB, a Close Coupled Toilet and Cistern with Sink. It allows you all the use and frivolity of the best toilets and sinks on the market, in a simple, singular package. Which means you can splash out and fit your dream ornate bath tub, or ensure even more space in your very own wet room.

Toilets With Sinks Built In Are Hygienic

A big concern people often have when it comes to toilets with sinks built in is whether or not they are sanitary.

The answer is yes, they are sanitary, extremely so. The built in sink uses the same hot and cold water a typical sink would, meaning it is never contaminated and is completely clean. The only difference is that this toilet and sink combo takes up a lot less space.

But it’s not just the sink. The entire unit is made from acrylic layered with anti-bacterial ceramic which makes it extremely easy to clean and resistant to the buildup of germs.

Once you have used the toilet, it is of upmost importance to ensure your own cleanliness and unfortunately, it is easy to spread germs without realizing it. When you walk across your bathroom, from your toilet to your sink to wash your hands, you may touch things inadvertently. The wall, any storage you have, the bath. When doing so, you spread germs to these areas. However, by having a sink built into the cistern, you can avoid this issue completely. You can clean yourself instantly and ensure you do not spread any germs around your room or further around your home, simply by combining your toilet and sink.

A Toilet With Integrated Sink Saves Water (And Money)

An expected, but no less important benefit of combining your sink and cistern is that it saves water. This is because the water drained from the basin can be used in the cistern, meaning you are innately recycling water, which helps both the environment and your wallet.

Like all bills, the average water bill is always climbing. It is a sad truth of life that much like the Sun, bills always rise. One way to combat your increasing water bill is to use less water, which would typically include sacrificing some useful asset. However, by putting a sink on top of your toilet, you lose no functionality but use less water. You can take a bit longer in the shower, draw a hotter bath or just boil a couple more cups of tea, you can live a bit more luxuriously.

It gets better. This newfound comfort can come guilt free, as by using less water you are decreasing your household’s impact on the environment. Save money and the seas with this easy evolution of your bathroom.

A Toilet With Integrated Sink Adds Value

Speaking of money, having a WC with a sink in it can add value to your property. The average house buyer is looking for one thing above else, opportunity. The opportunity to make the space their own, to live in a way that suits them, to save money. All of which are opportunities that the combined sink and toilet provide. If you’re interested in this aspect, we spoke at more length about how to increase your home value in another article.

When selling your house, the more space your bathroom has, the better. The more hygienic your bathroom is, the better. The more cost effective your bathroom is, the better. A savvy buyer will see your installation as a boon and it is never a bad idea to increase the value of your home.

I’ve Bought A Toilet With Sink In Cistern, Now What?

However, once you’ve obtained your coveted WC with a basin on top, what then? You need to install it. Yes, you. Well, not necessarily you. You could always call a trusted trader and professional to make the process quick and easy for you. But if you’re feeling up to the challenge of some moderate DIY, then yes, in fact, you will be installing this space saver sink and toilet.

Here’s how!

Tooling Up

First things first, you need to collect your tools. The most important one being, of course, a cup of coffee to carry you through the endeavor. The second of course being, a tape measure. It’s a common practice to ‘eyeball’ measurements and ‘guesstimate’. However, when it comes to important utilities like your toilet and basin, it is extremely important you are thorough and precise. Especially as these devices will be handling water! You want a cistern with an integrated sink, not a fissure with an integrated sinkhole.

You will also need a spirit level. This is to ensure no part of the sink or toilet gets installed off kilter or wonky, which could lead to trouble!

Next, you will need some bolts or screws… Or both. This all depends on the particular toilet you are installing. Fortunately, we provide online installation instructions for the fitting of all Durovin Bathrooms products. And of course, if you need screws, you will need a screwdriver. If you need bolts, you will need a bolt cutter and a spanner. It’s always useful to buy long bolts that you can cut down to your exact size.

Remember, if a bolt is too long, you can fix it and carry on. But if a bolt is too short, you’ll have to go get different ones!

Similar to a spanner, but not quite the same, is a wrench. Unlike a spanner, you will definitely need a wrench. Your WC with a basin on top will need connections to your main water supply as well as your refuse pipe. This can be achieved by connecting pipes, such as a toilet pan connector, using a wrench, so don’t forget it!

Another item you will probably need is a drill. This is so you can create the relevant holes in the floor or wall that you can then screw or bolt your toilet into. Don’t forget, you will need safety equipment for your eyes and hands when operating a drill and you will need the correct drill bit for the type of material you are drilling into, so be sure to make sure you have the correct ones before beginning. The reason the drill and the accompanying paraphernalia are only potentially needed is if you are installing the same model toilet as you previously had, the holes will already be in the correct position.

You will also need to grab cleaning supplies. The specific supplies are up to you, but you will need some anti-bacterial wipes and some cloth at the very least. This is to ensure you keep the work area and the finished piece clean throughout the whole process. To prevent some cleaning, you will also want some pipe caps to fit onto your waste pipe when necessary.

Finally, you will want silicon and a silicon gun. This is because you want to ensure the toilet is completely sealed at the base, as if it’s not, you could spring a leak.

Now you’re tooled up, let’s install the toilet.

Preparation

Firstly, you need to clean the work space. Ensure any loose items have been moved out of the space or put in storage before you begin and make sure the area is clean using your anti-bacterial wipes.

You may also want to put down cloth or a sheet on the floor as an extra cautionary step to avoid accidental damage.

Next, ensure that the water flow has been halted by turning the internal stop valve. They are more often than not in a cupboard under your kitchen sink or located close to the front door, for example near your boiler. Turn the tap clockwise to close the water supply and anti-clockwise to open it. You can turn the water back on at the end, because if you do it too soon, you’ll be working through a wave of troubles.

Once the water supply is turned off, you can flush your preexisting toilet to ensure it drains away any water inside of it. You don’t want to get splashed later!

If you don’t have a preexisting toilet and this is a new build, you can skip to the installation phase.

Now that your preexisting toilet has been drained, it is time to uninstall it.

Unscrew the base of the toilet pan from the floor or use a wrench to loosen the bolts, and put the leftover materials somewhere safe.

Then, you will want to move your toilet away from the waste pipe so you can cap it and the removed toilet. This should hopefully avoid any unfortunate spills. However, in the event of a spill, you will want to mop up any refuse and lay down new cloth before continuing.

Take care when removing the toilet and make sure to dispose of it correctly.

Now that the preexisting toilet is disposed of and the work area is once again clean, you can now install your new toilet.

Assembling The Toilet With Sink Built In

Pipes, p-traps and pressure valves. It can all be quite confusing. But don’t worry, this will make it easy.

When installing your 2 in 1 toilet and sink, you will need to ensure you assemble and install in the correct order.

To begin with, you need to assemble your cistern with integrated sink. This ironically starts with some disassembly. Your flush unit will be packaged preassembled. However, you will need to disassemble it into the three core parts and then reassemble it within the relevant space on the lavatory panel.

You can now also attach your tap in the gap next to your flush unit. Install the drain valve in the base of your cistern and intake pipe and lock screw next to it.

Take your tap, which is now mounted to the basin along with the flush unit, and connect the tap to the inlet pipe, then press the button on the side of the mechanism. Place the basin down on top of the cistern and line up the base of the cistern with the relevant gaps on the back of the toilet pan and attach them. You can lock the screw to ensure they are secure.

Now that your cistern is connected to your pan, you are ready to install the toilet!

Installing Your Toilet And Basin Combination

Now to install your toilet and sink! Move the toilet pan back to the wall and line it up with the waste pipe. Mark off where the screws or bolts will need to go for both the pan and the cistern, and then move the toilet to a safe space.

Use your drill to make new holes where necessary, ensuring you are using safety equipment and the correct drill bit and then move the toilet back to the position. Now screw or bolt the toilet into place.

Uncap the waste pipe and connect it to the toilet pan connector. Once again, if there is a spill from the waste pipe, be sure to clean immediately. You can now connect the cold and hot water pipes into the cistern using the wrench mentioned earlier.

You must then seal the pan to the ground with silicon to prevent any potential leaks.

Finally, you can turn your water supply back on and test to see if your toilet works. Check for any leaks or issues using the flush and tap.

Once this is done, attach your seat cover. Congratulations! Your space saver sink and toilet is ready to go.

Be sure to have one more big cleaning session and make sure everything is back to the way it was. You want to be especially certain you haven’t left anything dangerous like screws in the vicinity.

To Conclude…

So, you’ve done it… Or you’ve paid a professional to do it for you. Either way, your first toilet with a sink built in is installed. Now what? You use it of course! Once you have made use of the toilet, you can flush and wash your hands in one swift motion in one convenient place.

Thanks to your handy installation, the sink built into the cistern uses clean water just like any other sink would, meaning you don’t have to worry about germs or bacteria. You also gain the satisfaction of knowing you are being ecofriendly and saving not only space, but water too.

Well done on your DIY adventure and please enjoy your new ergonomic and eco-friendly toilet with a sink on top.

What will you do with your extra space? If you’re interested in adding more luxury to your bathroom, take a look at our bidet options and see why a bidet is great.