The Best Toilets for Basements

Gravity Toilets

• Gravity toilets are the most common type of toilet and still remain a good choice for basement bathrooms. They function by dropping water from the tank to the bowl and trap, forcing the waste down using gravity. Since they do rely on gravity, they do not need a good deal of water pressure, something to consider when building a bathroom in the basement. They also break down less frequently than newer designs and are relatively inexpensive to repair.

Brands

• According to the San Francisco Apartment Association, toilet-maker TOTO is one of the leaders in gravity toilets. The company's UltraMax brand is durable and has tested well for ease of installation, performance and customer satisfaction. A cheaper, but equally dependable model from that company, is the Drake. Another inexpensive option is the Eljer Titan. Kohler and American Standard gravity toilets did not receive the same high marks from reviewers and plumbers, according to the San Francisco Apartment Association.

Saniflo

• Saniflo toilets are another good option for people building bathrooms in their basements. These toilets require no floor drain and are easily installed. Saniflo toilets function different than gravity toilets. They flush the waste into a box in the rear of the toilet where it is broken down and then pumped out into the household soil stack. Saniflo toilets are good for basements because they work as far as nine feet away from the sewer level and do not require breaking the floor. They are more costly than the standard gravity model, however.

Basin System

• A sewage basin system is a way to install a toilet in your basement if the floor is lower than the main sewer pipe. The system involves digging a hole, pumping a tank and pump in the hole and then putting a gravity toilet on top of it. The tank then stores your wastes and flushes it out to the sewer when it reaches a certain level. The system can be quite expensive, however, and does require frequent maintenance.