Are you stuck and can’t figure out how to measure toilet seat dimensions that you wish to fit in your recently bought toilet bowl? Many people keep asking about the right size of a toilet seat. But, are toilet seat sizes the same? They are not the same and that is why you need to know how to measure their dimensions depending on the shape of the toilet bowl.
Some people struggle to tell whether a toilet bowl is elongated or round. One important point of consideration when buying a toilet seat is that its shape should resonate with that of your toilet bowl for compatibility purposes. You should not just go shopping for a new toilet seat without awareness of your toilet bowl’s dimensions.
In this article, we provide you with a brief tutorial that will help you understand how to measure toilet seat dimensions. Mostly, people use the dimensions of their toilet bowls to understand the needed size of the toilet seat, which can also be a great way of doing it. However, you need to understand that the bowls and the seat are not entirely designed to fit each other perfectly. Below is the procedure you can use.
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How to Measure Toilet Seat Size
After assembling all the requirements needed to take the measurements of an object such as tape measure, book, and a pencil, we now get started. We will make the measurements in phases and document the most important information in regards to taking the dimensions of a toilet seat. In this discourse, you need to take the dimensions of toilet seat bolt width, toilet seat width, and toilet seat length. Here is how we do it!
- Toilet seat length – with the tape measure in your hands, take the measurements of your toilet seat length starting from the back to the front end. You need to make sure that you are taking the dimensions from the bolts that attach the seat to the bowl at the back end to the front edge. In doing this, make sure that the locks are visible so that you can take the precise measurements.
- Toilet seat width – this involves measuring the distance from one side of the toilet seat to the other one. Remember when you were measuring the length; you did this from the back to the front edge. Now it is time to measure across the seat. While taking these measurements, always record the readings from the middle.
- Toilet seat bolts’ width – another vital measurement to take before making a toilet seat buying decision is the bolt sizes. These bolts are located at the back edge of the toilet seat and they are normally two. Just measure the distance between the two bolts and record the readings. For the American standard toilet seats, the distance is majorly 5.5-inches.
Why you need to Know How to Measure Toilet Seat
One essential attribute about toilet seats that you ought to know is that they are designed in diverse shapes. You can decide to buy elongated or round shaped toilet seats. But either of the shapes comes in different sizes. You need to buy a toilet seat whose dimensions will match those of your toilet bowl.
Would you relish the challenge of buying the wrong size of a toilet seat and returning it back to the seller? Almost everyone will not accept this situation. That is why you are advised to first take your time and take the dimensions of the toilet seat to avoid the instance of returning the miss-fitting toilet seat.
In fact, some retailers won’t allow you to return an item after it has been sold to you. They don’t have a return policy! What will you do if you took the wrong size and the retailer doesn’t allow a return of sold items? This will be a pure waste of money and your time. What is the solution? Precisely, take the dimensions of your toilet seat.
Archetypal Toilet Seat Shapes
As I introduced to you earlier, when buying a toilet bowl, you do not only consider the sizes but the shape as well. We will discuss the three commonly known and used shapes all over the world. They can be of rounded/spherical, elongated/pointed nose, or D-shaped/square/rectangular. When buying any of these shapes, you need to consider the shape of your toilet bowl since they both have to be compatible.
Regardless of the diverse shapes, you always use the same protocol when taking the measurements. The small toilet seats are mostly rounded and could have a length of around 16-inches. The large toilet seats are majorly elongated and could have a length of 19 or 18 inches depending on the manufacturer.
For the same toilet seats, with similar or diverse shapes, their widths might not be the same. That is why you are advised to take such measurements and record them.
Conclusion
In summary, if you have struggled on how to measure toilet seat size, this guide should have come in handy for you. If you are intending to move to the market and you don’t know how to measure toilet seat sizes, you must have gotten a breakthrough to your issues. Only start measuring after understanding the type of seat, its shape, and size.