How to Measure for a New Toilet Seat
Get The Right Size & Measurement Quickly

Replacing a toilet seat is mostly an easy process, what makes it rather difficult is the fact that it needs a bit of accuracy; especially when taking toilet seat measurements because one wrong measurement can lead to you buying a product that you will most probably have no use for. 

It will just be a waste of money.

This is why before replacing an old toilet seat or buying a new one, you have to know how to measure a toilet seat and be confident in your ability to decide what type of seat will be suitable for you.

This article will thoroughly guide you on your journey to properly measuring toilet seats by focusing on the main areas that you need to keep in mind while determining toilet seat sizes and the two main types of toilet seats available.

It is the one between the two post holes where the toilet seat is to be installed. It is also the most important zone to take note of since any error there would result in you not being able to insert the bolts through the toilet seat and the toilet; unlike the other two zones where any measurement error would simply cause a minor inconvenience. You measure this distance using a measuring tape or a ruler to record the distance from the far end of one hole to the far end of the other; the standard size you should use as your point of reference is 5.5 inches.

This one is the width of a toilet seat. You should simply take the measurement from the widest point of the toilet. Make sure to take the measurement from the outer edges of the toilet, in order to cover the whole distance.

The length of the toilet seat. It is the other important measurement that you should take care of recording correctly. This measurement is one you should take from the bottom of the post holes; extend a measuring tape or a ruler until it reaches the outer edge of the toilet bowl. The measurement should be somewhere from around 16.5 inches to around 18 inches. According to this measurement you should be able to decide whether you need a round or an elongated seat.

Whether you should buy an elongated toilet seat or a round one is quite an easy thing to decide once you know how it is done.

Basically, a round toilet seat is one which measures around 16.5 inches in height while an elongated toilet seat is one which measures up to 18.5 inches.

It is as simple as that.

As you have noticed, measuring toilet seats is a fairly simple and easy process; however, it requires a bit of accuracy, as well as, concentration.

Moreover, you should take into consideration that sometimes the position of your eye can affect the value you see on your measuring instrument.

This is why you should make sure that your eye is directly above the value being read to avoid any unneeded errors.

A last tip is to record every measurement you take on a piece of paper because we all know it is easy to get the numbers mixed up; also, make sure you note the unit of measurement whether it is inches or centimeters.