We spend so much time fixing and decorating the least used rooms in the home. Sometimes, we forget about the bathroom which is one of the most important rooms in any households. In particular, the hardware within. A bit of knowledge can help you find the right toilet, shower, sink, and much more.
Today, we’re going to spend some time looking into toilets and their key features. We want to help readers gain a better understanding of how they work, the different bowl shapes, flush mechanisms, mounting, and everything in between. We’ve analyzed some of the best toilets with the help of The Toilet Throne, as well as throwing several hours of our own research into the mix in this guide. Enjoy.
First on the list, we always think about what you’re looking at in terms of how aesthetically pleasing the design is. There are a number of ways people fail straight out of the gates when making a decision. The first is by picking a round bowl over an elongated one. The second is leaving the trapway exposed. Go for a concealed trapway instead, these can sometimes be known as skirted toilets. By doing these two things alone, you will improve the design straight away.
Do you want a wall mounted toilet, or are you happy with a floor mounted model? There are certain requirements if you go with a wall hung option. First of all, is your wall strong enough. Secondly, are you able to accommodate the in wall carrier system? This will require a lot of extra work and a fair amount of DIY knowledge. They look great, but these are trade offs that you will have to deal with when installing it.
Think about the bathroom size in your home. Not everyone is blessed with lots of spare space, some will even have to make do with installing something in a compact washroom. Go with a round shaped bowl if this is the case as well as one piece. This will ensure it stays low profile and hopefully enable you to place you’re sink in there too.
Which toilet brand to choose? This is something we’re asked a lot, and whilst we can’t declare one the best overall, we can point you in the right direction and recommend a few brands to stick with. These manufacturers include TOTO, Mansfield, Kohler, Gerber, and American Standard. These names are just a few of the ones we found the least faults with. However, everyone has different experiences, if I was to pin down one brand in particular, I would say go with TOTO and lots of plumbing experts in the industry agree.
Find out what your rough in is. Time and time again I’m told a rough in measurement only to find after measuring that it’s incorrect. Knowing the correct measurement in inches is going to serve you well and save a lot of problems. Generally a twelve inch rough in will fit the majority of households, but you shouldn’t be taking any risks as you leave yourself open to having big gaps behind the tank and bowl.
How much are you willing to spend? A top toilet shouldn’t be as expensive as you’d imagine. Quite often, you will find a model for less than five hundred dollars including the seat and it will be from a reputable manufacturer with plenty of positive consumer feedback. So, for us, that’s the high end of the scale, there isn’t really a need to go above this amount unless you’re aiming for luxury addons such as bidets.
Keep these six things at the front of your mind when shopping and you stand to find a good quality toilet that fits your own requirements. It’s easy to overlook each of these points and they are certainly making up a large percentage of things which buyers tend to complain about. So going in with the knowledge beforehand is going to help.
More guides coming soon.