Turner Hastings Toilets

About Turner Hastings

The brand's own About page lists Turner Hastings as an Australian family owned and operated business, trading since 1996. The founder set up a plumbing business in Sydney and began importing European ceramic basins, and the page says the products are sourced from Europe and sold through distributors. This page lists its toilets: the Fino WhisperFlush suites, the Stafford, and the Claremont and Fino pans for in-wall cisterns. The buying guide on the main toilets page covers the measurements every toilet shares.

Fino WhisperFlush

WhisperFlush is the rimless flushing system in the Fino range, which the brand markets as quietly powerful. The listing describes a tornado-style action that rinses the whole bowl with minimal noise and no splashing. The brand gives no figures for the noise, so read it as the brand's own description. For rimless pans from every maker, see rimless toilets.

The Fino suites are back to wall suites in gloss white or matte white, with a thin or thick seat and a choice of standard valves or Geberit internals. The listings give a pan height of 440mm without the seat, a projection of 680mm and an overall height of 855mm. The trap is universal, S or P, with a set out of 60 to 165mm, and the inlet is universal, back or bottom. The full flush is 4.6 litres with a 3 litre half flush on most listings, and 4.3 and 2.9 litres on one matte white listing. The box lists the pan with a 90 degree adjustable pan bend, the cistern and the seat. See matte white toilets for the matte finishes, and the Geberit cistern and toilet suite packages for the Geberit versions.

The Stafford

The Stafford is a back to wall suite in a traditional, heritage-inspired style, made in Italy, with Geberit valves. It lists a universal S or P trap with an included 90 degree adjustable swan neck pan bend, a universal back or bottom inlet, a pan height of 350mm, a projection of 590mm and a soft close timber seat in a gloss white finish. It arrives as a complete cistern, pan and seat, and its listing describes pipework concealed behind the pan. For other heritage styles, see traditional toilets.

What the Stafford specification sheet says

The Turner Hastings specification sheet for the Stafford back to wall suite in gloss white with chrome hinges gives the material as ceramic, the finish as gloss white, and the WELS rating as 4 star at 4.5 and 3 litres. It gives a weight of 50kg, which matters for the person who carries it. The seat is soft close timber, with a gloss white two pack polyurethane finish. The trap is a universal S or P trap, and a 90 degree adjustable pan bend is included.

The waste set out is variable from 60mm to 160mm, and a larger set out from 160mm to 270mm is available when you buy the adjustable three piece pan bend, code APB350. The water supply is universal, back or bottom, left or right. The sheet states the suite is WaterMark approved to Australian Standards.

Looking after a timber seat

A timber seat with a polyurethane finish needs a little more care than a plastic one. A web search for care guides found that manufacturers agree on the basics: use a soft damp cloth with mild soap or detergent, avoid abrasives, and dry the seat promptly. They name bleach and alcohol-based cleaners as the main things to avoid, because they can wear through the coating and expose the raw wood, and one advises protecting or removing the seat when strong bowl cleaners are used. A retail guide in the same search says a high-gloss finish resists water best and that a veneer over an MDF core is less water tolerant if the finish chips. The Stafford sheet does not give the core of its seat, so ask the supplier, and ask for the maker's care note before you use a stronger cleaner.

The Stafford in a heritage bathroom

The Stafford is sold as a traditional suite for Federation, Victorian and Hamptons bathrooms. A Melbourne architecture firm's guide to heritage bathrooms says original floor joists were sized for the loads of their era and may need reinforcement before modern fixtures and waterproofing are added. Victorian-era drainage runs at shallow angles that contemporary fixtures can overwhelm, it says, so hydraulic planning is needed. It adds that council approval depends on heritage overlay status and street visibility and not only on whether the work is internal. Those are one firm's views, and several of its figures are the firm's own claims. The 50kg weight and the larger set out available with the pan bend are the sheet details that an older bathroom is most likely to call on.

Where the traditional suite comes from

Wikipedia's article on the flush toilet gives the background to the Stafford's shape. Older high suite combinations used a cistern mounted above head height with a pull chain. Close coupled cisterns, first called low suite combinations, became the most popular residential system in recent decades because improved waterway design was found to improve flushing more than high mounting. The article credits Alexander Cumming with the S trap patent in 1775 and Joseph Bramah with a float valve system for the flush tank in 1778. A traditional suite today keeps the look of the period while using the modern arrangement of a cistern at the back of a pan with a dual flush valve.

The Stafford's low pan, and who it suits

The Stafford's pan height is 350mm without the seat, lower than the other suites in this collection. A Buildmat help centre article says a standard Australian toilet is around 400mm from the floor to the top of the seat, and that a comfort height is around 450mm, which suits older residents and people with mobility considerations. CHOICE gives the usual toilet height as about 39.5cm and ambulant toilets as 46 to 48cm. The Stafford's timber seat adds to the 350mm, but the sheet does not give the combined height.

A low pan may suit shorter users and children. It may not suit someone who finds sitting down and standing up difficult. Ask for the height with the seat fitted before you order, and try a seat of that height if you can.

The in-wall pans

The Fino and the Claremont are also listed as pans for an in-wall cistern. The Fino in-wall pan is a wall faced pan with a universal trap, a set out of 105mm and a projection of 580mm. Both are sold with cistern options, so read what is supplied before you order. See in wall concealed toilets for what a concealed cistern needs from the wall.

The Claremont wall faced pan

The Claremont is a wall faced pan for an in-wall cistern, handcrafted in Italy according to its listing. It gives a pan height of 420mm, a pan width of 380mm and a projection of 550mm, a universal S or P trap, and a variable set out of 100mm using the supplied connector. The WELS rating is 4 star at 4.7 and 2.9 litres, an average of 3.3 litres, with the registration number L07606. A smaller set out of 60mm to 90mm needs the 90 degree pan bend, and set outs over 100mm do not suit it. That is a narrower set out range than most of the other pans on this site, so measure the waste first. CHOICE says an S trap is measured from the centre of the waste outlet to the finished wall.

Flush buttons for the Fino and the Claremont

Turner Hastings also lists flush buttons. The round button is made to replace the one on a Fino whisperflush toilet. It is 42mm high and 57mm across, in matte black, brushed brass and brushed nickel, and its listings do not say which valve version it suits, so confirm that with the supplier if you have a Geberit internals suite. The rectangle button suits a close coupled back to wall toilet, in brushed brass, brushed gunmetal, brushed nickel and matte black. The Claremont plates are brass, made in Italy, and suit Geberit Sigma 8 in-wall cisterns, naming the codes 109.795.00.1 and 111.698.00.1. A Geberit cistern has offset valves, so the listing says the plate sits 8mm to the right of the toilet centreline. See cistern toilet buttons for the exposed cistern buttons.

Choosing among the Fino, the Stafford and the Claremont

The three suites suit different jobs. The Fino is a modern rimless back to wall suite, with a tornado-style rinse, universal trap and a choice of valves, in gloss white or matte white, with a thin or thick seat. The Stafford is the traditional suite, with a timber seat and a 350mm pan, and the sheet's larger set out option for an older waste. The Claremont is a wall faced pan for an in-wall cistern, with a narrow set out, sold with cistern options. Before the seat, the pan heights are 440mm for the Fino, 350mm for the Stafford and 420mm for the Claremont, and the projections are 680mm, 590mm and 550mm. Choose by the wall, the waste and the look, and then check the sheet.

Waste positions in an older house

CHOICE explains that an S trap connects through the floor and is the most common set out in Australia, a P trap exits from the back and connects through the wall, and a skew trap exits to either side and is the least common. A Buildmat renovation guide says S traps are the most common setup in Australian homes, especially those with older plumbing. The Stafford is universal for S or P, with a 90 degree adjustable pan bend included, so it fits both common cases. A skew waste needs a different pan or a plumber's change. If the house is old, ask the plumber to look at the waste before the pan is ordered, and to photograph it, because a hidden joint or an unexpected angle is easier to deal with before the floor is opened.

Water, seats and certification

The Turner Hastings listings state a 4 star WELS rating with dual flush. The seats are soft close, with quick release on the Fino. For replacement seats, measure the pan and see toilet seats.

The Western Australian industry bulletin on WELS says the scheme is a mandatory point of sale requirement. Toilets are rated 3 star at 6 and 3 litres or 4 star at 4.5 and 3 litres, it says, and WELS rated products are required to be certified under the WaterMark scheme. Toilets in new Class 1 buildings must be at least 4 star dual flush. The Fino and Stafford sheets say the suites are WaterMark approved to Australian Standards. The Claremont listing gives a registration number, L07606, and says all Turner Hastings toilet pans are WaterMark certified. Ask the plumber to check the registration for the suite you choose.

Plumbing work, and the paperwork

The MyHomeware guide says cistern internals and connections to the water and waste pipes need a licensed plumber, who must provide a compliance certificate, and that flush components sold in Australia must carry WaterMark certification. CHOICE recommends a plumber for a back inlet connection. For the Stafford, the 50kg weight and the pan bend matter on the day, and for the Claremont, the cistern frame and the wall have to be planned before tiling. Keep the plumber's certificate, the specification sheet and the installation guide together. A Lower Murray Water handout offers a simple food colouring test for a leaking toilet, which can be run after installation: colour in the tank, no flush, and a check of the bowl after about 20 minutes.

What a back to wall installation involves

A web search found no Turner Hastings installation manual for these suites, so the steps below come from installation guides that a plumbing supplier publishes for other back to wall suites. They are general practice and not Turner Hastings instructions. Ask the supplier for the maker's own document for your exact model code before the plumber starts, and give the plumber that document.

The supplier's guides start with the rough in. The water inlet, the waste outlet and the fixing bracket positions are set first, and one guide has the inlet extending 40mm from the finished wall. The waste outlet is then prepared to the required set out and the floor fixing brackets are drilled into position. That is why the set out ranges on the sheets matter. The Stafford takes 60 to 160mm, or 160 to 270mm with the APB350 bend, and the Fino takes 100 to 190mm on its sheet, so a plumber can check the existing waste against the range before anything is cut.

The guides then fit the pan. The rubber fins of the pan bend are lubricated and seated in the waste pipe, the pan connector is fixed back to the wall with a rod and bracket, and the pan is pushed back so the spigot seats firmly in the waste bend. The pan is checked for level and for alignment with the wall, then fixed to the floor with the screws and caps supplied, and excess sealant is wiped away. The cistern is fitted to the pan, the inlet valve is connected through a stop, and the plumber checks the water level and the joins for leaks, in some guides by flushing with a bucket first.

Cleaning behind and around the pan

Two Australian retailers describe the practical reason people choose a back to wall suite. One says the pan sits against the wall, so there is no gap behind it to clean. The other says the trap and pipework are hidden, which makes cleaning around the base easier than on a close coupled suite where the fittings are exposed. A UK supplier's comparison says a close coupled toilet may leave a gap between the cistern and the wall, while a back to wall unit sits flush. No Australian source measures how much this matters in daily cleaning, so read it as the retailers' own view.

One retailer also says rimless pans remove the hidden under rim area where build up collects, because the flush runs through a direct channel. That applies to the Fino, which is described as rimless, and not to the Stafford, whose listing does not say.

Questions to ask about Turner Hastings toilets

Ask which sheet applies to the exact code, since the listings and the sheets differ on the set out and the flush figures for some Fino versions. Ask the supplier to confirm that the specification sheet linked from each listing is the right one for that suite. Ask for the height with the seat fitted, and whether the three piece pan bend is needed for your waste. Ask what the Stafford's seat core is, and for the care note for its finish. Keep the answers in writing with the plumber's paperwork.

Before you order

Measure the set out, confirm the inlet position, and check the projection against doors and fittings. Clean with a pH neutral cleaner, avoid bleach, ammonia and abrasives, and ask a licensed plumber to fit anything connected to the water supply.