# Toilet Bowl Tank Bolt Spacing **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 27, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-bowl-tank-bolt-spacing/565547 "2010-12-27T20:44:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ryoast2829](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2acd7d/32.png) [@ryoast2829](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryoast2829)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-bowl-tank-bolt-spacing/565547/1 "2010-12-27T20:44:06Z")
Are there just 2 standard sizes used for toilet bowl bolt holes for the tank to be bolted down? I assume a standard 2 bolt and standard 3 bolt pattern. I’m surely not going to be surprised when everyone tells me each company has their own spacing. Please let me know either way. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-bowl-tank-bolt-spacing/565547/2 "2010-12-27T21:43:27Z")
Not an expert, but I’ve only seen ones with two holes. I believe they would be standard because the closet bolts attach directly to the drain and you wouldn’t want to have to change the drain just because you got a different toilet. There is another measurement of interest, the distance between the closet bolts and the wall. I was told by a plumber about 6 years ago that there are two standard distances, 12" and 14". From my observation, 12" seems to be the standard for modern installations, 14" was the standard for older installations. Hope this helps, Roddy ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-bowl-tank-bolt-spacing/565547/3 "2010-12-27T22:40:39Z")
my 1950’s American Standard toilet has 4 bolts holding it to the floor flange. There’s two on each side. I asked the plumber about it. He’d seen a few like it before. It was something they tried for awhile. It wasn’t an improvement and they went back to two. ---
**Author:** ![ryoast2829](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2acd7d/32.png) [@ryoast2829](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryoast2829)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-bowl-tank-bolt-spacing/565547/4 "2010-12-27T23:15:53Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > my 1950’s American Standard toilet has 4 bolts holding it to the floor flange. There’s two on each side. I asked the plumber about it. He’d seen a few like it before. It was something they tried for awhile. It wasn’t an improvement and they went back to two. I was talking about the bowl to the tank connection… Any help there? I want to use an elongated bowl, but with the dual flush top I have. Figured I could buy a cheap bowl and use the expensive top. Just curious to know if they are brand specific mounting holes, or if the industry is standard in general… ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-bowl-tank-bolt-spacing/565547/5 "2010-12-28T01:51:18Z")
Good question. I’ve never had to take apart or put together the tank to the bowl so I never noticed. I would wonder if a high performance tank would be matched to a specific bowl. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-bowl-tank-bolt-spacing/565547/6 "2010-12-28T18:17:28Z")
Tank and bowl combinations from the same manufacturer might be compatible. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a difference between manufacturers though. The thing to do is measure. You can measure the spacing in the tank you have and check some of the models at the suppliers to see if they are even similar. I have seen mismatched tanks and bowls though, so there’s some possibility it will work out. Another issue is the seal between the tank and the bowl. I’ve had trouble replacing those. There are a variety of different ‘universal’ shapes available, but not every one seals tight for a particular model. That might be a bigger problem for a mismatched tank and bowl. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-bowl-tank-bolt-spacing/565547/7 "2010-12-28T22:42:55Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > my 1950’s American Standard toilet has 4 bolts holding it to the floor flange. There’s two on each side. I asked the plumber about it. He’d seen a few like it before. It was something they tried for awhile. It wasn’t an improvement and they went back to two. Yeah, that just sounds like twice as much chance of cracking the porcelain to me. 🙂