faucets

Even if you have a general idea of the faucet you want, it helps to be specific when you’re faced with an enormous selection online or at your local big-box home improvement store. Here are three basic points to help narrow things down:

Spout type — The trend is definitely for a pull-down spray attachment, but you can also go for a side-mounted spray hose.
Spout height — High-arch spouts (10 to 18 inches) are in right now. Consider the size of your sink here — how big of an area does the spray need to cover?
Number of handles — If you choose a pull-down faucet, you’ll have only one handle, but you can still get faucets with traditional hot and cold handles.

So, those are the fundamentals, but there are many mind-boggling (and high-tech) choices beyond that. You can pay extra for spray volume control, water pause buttons, built-in water filters, touch-sensitive controls and hands-free operation, among others. For example, the Kohler Sensate kitchen faucet is a futuristic apparatus that boasts five pivoting joints for “precise water delivery.”

Toilet Seat Sizes: Round vs Elongated

There are really only 2 sizes you need to concern yourself with: “round” or “elonglated”. Generally, it is easy to tell just by looking whether you have a round or elongated shaped toilet. If you prefer to measure, just to be sure, then measure from the front of the bowl to the middle of the screws at the back of the bowl/lid area. Here are the standard toilet bowl sizes:

• Round Toilet Bowl: 16.5 inches
• Elongated Toilet Bowl: 18.5 inches

What does vary is the width of the bowl from side to side. But it’s usually not enough to worry about, as most standard size toilet seats and lids will cover most toilet bowls, even if they’re slightly narrower or even wider than the next one.