Choosing a toilet for your upcoming renovation should be a quick and easy decision, right?! Well, not exactly, these days there are so many different considerations to take into account and we're here to help you understand the differences and what you need to consider when choosing your perfect toilet suite.
There are four main styles of toilets to consider for your upcoming renovation; here's a quick style guide to get you started.
This is where you can only see the toilet pan and the button on the wall. The cistern is neatly hidden behind the wall, in the ceiling, or under a counter.
This style of toilet is very modern and perfect for smaller bathrooms as it takes up less space. Best suited to new builds of complete renovations as you will need to place the cistern in the wall cavity, re-sheet and re-tile.
The most popular choice is the wall faced toilet suites.
The back of the pan sits flush against the wall so there are no gaps between the toilet and the wall at all. Creating a bold look in the bathroom and making it easier to clean with less places for dust to hide.
Perfect for a retro-fit solution, the close coupled toilet is more of a traditional looking toilet with the pan and cistern joined together to hide the flush pipe.
Providing the greatest amount of flexibility for installation, the connector toilet has the cistern joined to the pan via a plastic flush pipe and connector plate.
We don't see this style of toilet chosen often, but it's great for retro-fit solutions in older bathrooms.
The water inlet is where the fresh water supply enters and fills up your cistern.
Bottom Water Inlet - A bottom water inlet is where the water inlet is through the side of the toilet pan into the bottom of the cistern. You will easily be able to identify a bottom inlet as there is a tap on the wall with hose going to the side of the toilet. You will need to replace a bottom inlet toilet with another bottom inlet toilet, unless you are undertaking a major renovation.
Back Water Inlet - A back water inlet is where the water inlet location is concealed within the top of the cistern, giving a sleek and modern look. Popular when undertaking a major renovation, but your plumber needs to be advised you are using this type of toilet before the sheeting of the wall commences.
Universal Water Inlet - Some toilets are supplied with a conversion kit that allows them to be installed as either bottom or back inlet.
The trap of your toilet determines how the waste travels from your toilet into the sewage system.
S Trap - Very popular in Australia, the waste of your S trap pan connects into the waste system through the floor of your house ot apartment.
P Trap - The waste pipe of a P trap pan travels behind the wall before being directed either into the floor or wall to enter the waste system of your house or apartment.
Universal Trap - This means it can be installed as an S or a P trap.
It is always important to look at the measurements of your new toilet to ensure it is suited to your space.
Projection
This means how far your pan projects out from the wall. It is important to measure the projection of the toilet to make sure it fits comfortably in your space and won't obstruct anything.
Height
The toilet height as a standard us usually around 395mm, however there are 'easy-height' toilets available to make getting on and off the toilet easier.
Rimless toilets are the latest in toilet design. Traditional toilets have what we call a boxed rim.
With rimless, or Clean flush toilets, the rim of the pan has been removed for a more hygienic whole bowl clean. Plus, there's now nowhere for germs to hide.
