How to fit or replace a toilet seat

Toilet seats are held by two bolts through the ceramic pan — either top-fixing (bolt through the seat hinge from above) or bottom-fixing (nut accessed from underneath the pan rim). Most modern seats use top-fixing for easy fitting.

Measure your toilet pan before buying a replacement: you need the distance between the two fixing holes (typically 150mm for most UK pans), the overall length of the pan from fixing holes to the front, and the shape (round, D-shape, or square). Take photos of your existing seat and pan to the shop.

Remove the old seat: on top-fixing seats, unscrew the plastic caps on the hinges, remove the bolts (often requiring a screwdriver from above and a spanner underneath), and lift off the seat and hinge assembly.

Clean the fixing hole area thoroughly — limescale and mould often accumulate under the hinge plates. This is your chance.

Fit the new seat: insert the bolts through the hinge fixings into the pan holes. For top-fixing seats, tighten the nuts from below until the seat is secure but do not over-tighten as this can crack ceramic. For soft-close seats, check the hinge dampers are set correctly — a dial on the hinge controls the closing speed.

Confirm the seat closes centrally over the pan and the lid closes flat. Most modern seats have a height and alignment adjustment at the hinge — use these to align correctly before final tightening.