Wall-hung or floor-standing? It is the first decision in almost every bathroom project, and it affects your budget, your walls, your cleaning routine and how the room looks for the next twenty years. Here is how to choose, with the measurements installers actually work with.
The short answer
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Choose wall-hung if you are renovating, can build a stud wall or have a thick enough wall, and want the easiest floor cleaning and a lighter, more modern look.
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Choose floor-standing (back-to-wall) if you are replacing a toilet without opening the walls, want the simplest installation, or your existing drain comes out of the floor.
Wall-hung toilets: pros and cons
A wall-hung WC is bolted to a steel frame hidden inside the wall. The frame carries the weight down to the floor, and the cistern sits behind the wall too, so all you see is the ceramic bowl and a flush plate.
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Cleaning: the floor underneath is completely free, so you can mop straight under it. No dirt traps around the base.
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Adjustable height: the bowl height is set when the frame is installed, so tall people or older users can have it a few centimetres higher.
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Space: the room looks bigger because the floor runs uninterrupted.
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Quieter flush: the cistern is insulated inside the wall.
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The catch: you need a frame and a concealed cistern, plus a wall or false wall to hide them. That means more building work, and in a renovation it usually means opening the wall.
Floor-standing toilets: pros and cons
Floor-standing models sit directly on the floor. "Back-to-wall" (in Italian filo muro) versions are closed at the back and sit flush against the wall, so pipes are hidden and they look almost as clean as a wall-hung WC.
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Easy replacement: usually no masonry work. Good for rentals and quick refurbishments.
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Flexible drains: they connect to both wall and floor outlets. Some Alice Ceramica floor-standing WCs are also available in a traslato (offset outlet) version designed to adapt to existing drains, which is very useful in older Italian homes.
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Fixed height: the height is set by the ceramic, around 40 cm for a standard model. Some ranges offer a taller version, such as the FORM BTW H50.
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The catch: slightly more cleaning around the base, and the cistern must still go somewhere: concealed in the wall, or as a visible ceramic cistern on top (close-coupled).
Key measurements
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Height of a wall-hung WC: in homes, the top of the ceramic usually sits around 40–43 cm from the finished floor; the seat adds a couple of centimetres. For accessible bathrooms, Italian regulations (DM 236/1989) indicate 45–50 cm.
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Fixing bolt spacing: wall-hung bowls usually use 180 mm or 230 mm between fixing studs. Check that your frame and bowl match before ordering.
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Clearance: leave roughly 15–20 cm between the WC and the bidet, and at least 40 cm of free space in front (more is more comfortable).
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Wall depth: the frame and concealed cistern need a wall or false wall deep enough to house them. Cisterns come in slim (around 8 cm) and standard (around 12 cm) depths; your installer will confirm what your wall allows.
Measure your existing drain before choosing. A good installer will take a section of the drain pipe rather than assume a "standard" figure.
What about the bidet?
If you are installing a bidet next to a wall-hung WC, it needs its own frame. It does not share the WC frame. Matching pairs are available in every Alice collection: see our bidets.
Watch it done
Seeing a frame installed makes the decision much easier. Geberit, one of the most widely used brands of frames and cisterns in Italy, publishes installation manuals and videos for every system. You can also browse step-by-step installation videos on YouTube.
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Not sure which suits your drain? Send us a photo and the measurements, and tell us the product code you are considering. Technical drawings are available for every model.
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Sources and further reading
