Premium price point toilets

The toilets in this collection

This collection groups smart toilets and bidet suites, a wall hung suite, a skew trap suite and several back to wall suites, from Caroma, St George, Lafeme, Studio Bagno and Turner Hastings. Start with the type, then check the outlet, the inlet and, for any powered toilet, the position of a power point. The main toilets guide explains how to measure.

Smart toilets and bidet suites

The four St George smart toilets, the Byron, Coogee, Mosman and Brighton, are 480 to 507mm high, with a projection of 683 to 694mm and a width of 385 to 414mm. All four use a universal S or P trap with an S trap set out of 140 to 260mm, a bottom inlet and a 4.5 and 3 litre dual flush. Each box lists the toilet unit, a remote control, a T-valve and the installation instructions, and the Mosman and Brighton list a removable bidet unit.

The Lafeme Catania extra height bidet suite is 870mm high with a 440mm pan height, a 655mm projection, a set out of 100 to 240mm and a bottom inlet, and its box lists the bidet, the cistern, the pan and a remote control. The two Caroma Urbane II bidet suites have an electronic bidet seat with an LED glow and a remote. See smart toilets and bidets, St George smart toilets and Caroma smart toilets and bidet seats.

What the St George Byron sheet says about a smart toilet

The Byron specification sheet is the clearest of the smart toilet documents that could be read. It gives a seat height of 430mm from the floor to the top of the seat and a size of 684mm long, 398mm wide and 507mm high. It lists an S trap set out of 140mm to 260mm and a P trap set out of 180mm. The power requirement is AC 220 to 240 volts at 50Hz, with a stated power of 1200 watts.

The sheet lists a pre rinse of the bowl surface, a built in water tank that it says gives stable flushing at low pressure, and an antibacterial surface treatment. It also lists an automatic flush, rear and front cleansing with adjustable water pressure, a heated seat and a night light. The sheet describes those features and gives no test results.

The water notes are the ones to read closely. The sheet says the toilet complies with WMTS 051 and has an integrated atmospheric vacuum breaker that meets the high hazard backflow prevention criteria of AS/NZS 3500.1 without a separate RPZ valve. It says to use potable water only, and not seawater or recycled water. It states a minimum water requirement of 5 litres in 15 seconds, a stable water pressure of at least 200kPa, and a maximum pressure of 500kPa. That is a narrower range than the Caroma cisterns, which run from 30kPa to 1000kPa. Ask the plumber to measure the pressure at the house before you order a smart toilet. A house on tank water, or one with a very high main pressure, may fall outside that range.

Urbane II bidet suites: what the documents say

Two Caroma Urbane II bidet suites are listed here. The documents read were the specification sheet for the Invisi Series II wall faced version and the cistern instructions. They also included the plumbers' installation instructions for the Urbane II bidet pan, issue 0 dated 20 March 2023, and the bidet seat installation guide, revision 2 dated 9 December 2024. The specification sheet carries a DRAFT mark and is dated 24 May 2023, so ask the supplier for the final issue before the plumber relies on its figures.

The sheet describes the pan as an easy height, wall faced, back inlet, rimless pan with a 4.5 litre full flush and a universal trap for S or P installations. The inlet is a fully glazed 50mm back inlet for a concealed cistern. The cistern is the Invisi II, listed for in wall, under counter, in duct and in ceiling use. An adjustable flush pipe is described as a new feature of the Invisi II system. If the pan inlet is higher than the flush pipe because of tiling height variations, the flush pipe can be raised by up to 25mm. The flush plate and buttons are supplied separately, in five finishes, so check what is in the box for the code you choose.

The sheet lists the seat's features: gender specific washes, drying options and a self cleaning nozzle, with an auto open and auto close seat, an LED night light and ambient lighting, a heated seat and a remote control. It says the seat carries GermGard antibacterial protection. That is the maker's claim, and the sheet gives no test data.

Roughing in water, power and waste for the bidet pan

The pan instructions are specific, and they ask for work to be done before the wall is closed. The water connection is a half inch G thread that projects 15mm from the finished wall. The power connection is a 32mm conduit run parallel to the floor at 275mm high from the centre of the pan, ending at a wall plate near a power point within 1 metre of the pan centreline. The bidet seat comes with a 1.5 metre plug in power cord with an IP65 rated connector, and the instructions say the connector can be removed and fitted to a longer cable if the power point is further away. Before installation, the water points and the conduit have to be in place.

For the waste, the instructions give a recommended S trap set out of 90mm from the finished wall, with flexibility from 60mm to 135mm for existing soil pipe positions, and 50mm of sideways adjustment with the supplied Uni-Orbital connector. The drawing shows a 100mm PVC soil pipe. The connector instructions are supplied separately and have to be read with these.

One step is easy to miss. You feed the flexible hose through the opening on the right hand side of the pan before the pan is pushed onto the connector and the wall. Once the pan is in place, that step cannot be repeated without pulling the pan off again.

Fixing the bidet pan and the seat

The pan is fixed with concealed brackets. The instructions locate the brackets on the pan centreline 215mm from the finished wall and drill two holes in the floor. A bead of acetic cured silicone sealant about 8mm high runs around the foot, with a 5mm gap left in an inconspicuous position so that a leak can be detected. The pan screw goes into the bracket through a plastic sleeve and is tightened to bed the pan to the floor. The instructions warn in capitals not to over tighten, because that may crack the pan foot. They say to support the pan foot until the sealant sets and to allow at least 24 hours for the bedding sealant to set before use.

The seat installation guide lists a tee fitting, a dual check valve, a filter and a stop valve for the water inlet, with the dual check valve and filter fitted in a set order. It notes that the filter part number is 300077 and that the bidet hose must not kink, because that would restrict the supply to the seat. If the back of the seat is not resting on the pan, the guide says to lubricate the O rings on the seat. The pan instructions also say not to over tighten the hose onto the filter, because that may crack it. A bidet seat is a powered product, so ask the plumber who will handle a new power point if one is needed.

Wall hung and in-wall

The Caroma Liano wall hung suite pairs a wall hung pan of added height with an Invisi Series II concealed cistern, which the listing says suits in-wall, in-duct or in-ceiling installation. The Turner Hastings Claremont is a wall faced pan with a Geberit Sigma cistern option, a 420mm pan height, a 550mm projection and a set out of 100mm using the supplied connector, and its listing gives no box list. A concealed cistern needs an in-wall setup, and the pan and cistern need to be compatible, so read in wall concealed toilets and wall hung toilets before you commit.

The Liano wall hung suite

The Liano Cleanflush wall hung suite pairs a wall hung rimless pan with the Invisi II cistern. The technical sheet, revision 2 dated July 2018, lists the trap as P trap only, unvented, with a fully glazed 50mm back inlet for a concealed cistern and flush valve. The pan fixes to a wall hung bracket. Two Invisi II bracket options are listed, a standard one and an under counter one, and a bolt through the wall bracket is also listed. The sheet says these bracket systems are suitable only where non compressible wall materials are used.

The cistern and bracket for under counter or in wall Invisi II systems are described as pre assembled, supplied with the flush pipe and a waste pipe suitable for a 90mm cavity wall. Structural brick wall systems require the cistern to be fixed to the wall. For in wall applications with raised height cisterns, an extension kit is provided. The sheet says the suite comes with a soft close seat described as a solid section compression moulded seat with buffers and metal hinges.

The pan installation instructions, issue 2 dated 8 June 2023, set out the order of work. Install the bracket and pipework to the specified dimensions. Check the wall contact area with a straight edge to make sure it is flat and true. Set the fixing studs 38mm from the finished wall and the inlet pipe 29mm from the finished wall. Fit the gasket to the back of the pan, push the pan onto the fixing sleeves, and tighten the grub screws through the side of the pan to a maximum of 7Nm on both sides. Then fit the seat and caulk the joint between the pan and wall with acetic cured silicone sealant. The instructions say installation must follow AS/NZS 3500.1 and 3500.2.

The Invisi II cistern and its access

The Invisi II booklet, revision H dated 7 August 2023, is the longest document for this collection. It describes several service access options: in wall access through the button panel window on a stud or masonry wall, in duct access, in ceiling access, under counter access and a custom panel. Some options allow access to the whole cistern and some only to the cistern internals through the button window. It says a blanking panel is needed for in wall access to the internals. It gives a minimum in wall cavity depth of 90mm for the standard wall hung bracket versions and says installation must follow AS/NZS 3500.1.

The booklet gives a water supply pressure range of 30kPa minimum to 1000kPa maximum. Its maintenance section says the inlet valve seal may need periodic cleaning, depending on water quality. If the inlet valve is slow to fill or does not open, make sure the tap is open. If it fails to close, clean and inspect the seal, and replace the cap assembly and seal if damaged. For other issues it says to consult a plumber or the maker's after sales service. It names two spare part kits, one containing a complete inlet valve with a bayonet connection and one containing a cap assembly and seal.

The practical point for a buyer is that a concealed cistern does not remove maintenance. It moves it behind a panel. Decide where the access plate will sit before the wall is lined and tiled, because it cannot be moved afterwards.

Back to wall and skew trap suites

The Turner Hastings Stafford is 850mm high with a 350mm pan height, a 590mm projection and a universal S or P trap, and its box lists the cistern, the pan and the seat. The Studio Bagno Milady is a rimless back to wall suite with a recessed skirt, a back entry cistern and a supplied S trap connector, in gloss white, matte white or matte black. The Riviere Invisi Series II suite in matte white has a 435mm pan height and a 570mm projection. The Caroma Profile 4 is designed for a waste set out to the left or right of the toilet instead of an S or P trap, which suits a bathroom with that plumbing. See Turner Hastings toilets and Studio Bagno toilets, and accessible toilets for taller pans.

The Profile 4 skew trap suite

The Profile 4 is a close coupled suite for a waste that leaves to the side. The technical manual, dated May 2015, describes a vitreous china, close coupled skew trap compact suite with minimal projection from the wall and a low overall height, in left or right hand skew trap versions with a side delivery of 95 degrees. The pan is a washdown pan with an open flushing rim, so it is not a rimless pan. The cistern is an integrated system with a high performance outlet valve and low profile push buttons.

The manual lists a bottom inlet cistern with an internal overflow only, a working pressure of 30kPa to 1000kPa, and describes the suite as rainwater tank compliant. A back entry conversion kit is available to convert the cistern from a right hand bottom inlet to a concealed back entry. The cistern is fixed directly to the pan with a base fixing system and needs no wall fixing. Two seats are listed as standard options, a standard seat or a soft close plastic hinge seat, and the code you choose decides which one you receive.

The installation instructions, issue 4 dated December 2011, give a recommended S trap set out of 140mm from the finished wall and say to position the pan collar 60mm maximum from the foot level of the pan. They state that the pan is designed to comply with AS 1177.1 and to be connected to pan connectors complying with AS/NZS 1260:2002. They warn that other types of connector can restrict the through way of the pan outlet and induce syphoning of the pan during the flush cycle. Tell the plumber about this warning, because a connector that looks the same is not necessarily the right one.

The pan fixing steps match the other Caroma pans in this collection: a sand and cement bed at 3 parts to 1, 60mm deep, no lime or fast drying cement, and the back of the foot about 10mm above the finished floor. As an alternative the pan is screw fixed, with the instruction not to use the pan screw holes as a drilling guide. Allow at least 24 hours for the bedding to set before use. The instructions also say that all dimensions are to the underside of the foot of the pan, so a height allowance for bedding has to be added.

Questions to ask about these toilets

Ask for the final issue of the Urbane II specification sheet, because the one linked carries a draft mark. Ask what flush plate or buttons come with each Invisi II suite, and which seat is in the box for each code. Ask for the power and water requirements of the smart toilets and the bidet seats in writing. Ask the plumber to check the water pressure and the position of the power point before the wall is closed.