FAQs

1. Will your seats fit any loo?

Well, no but our hinges are fully adjustable and as loos are mostly pretty much the same shape and size we will almost certainly have a seat that will fit your loo; we even have a seat dedicated to the Standard Long American loo. The one exception to this would be a loo with a hard angular outline, for example a hexagonal shape – though a Thunderbox seat might fit even that.

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2. What loos will your Thunderbox fit?

It is probably easier to answer what loos they will not fit, as generally they should fit almost any loo so long as it does not have a close-coupled cistern. They should work perfectly with a high level, low level or ducted (hidden) cistern.

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3. What is a “Close-coupled” cistern?

This is where the china cistern (or tank that holds the water to flush the loo) actually touches and forms part of the back of the loo bowl. As the Thunderbox seat fixes back to the wall, it is impossible to fit as there is no gap between loo and cistern. If you have a high level cistern with a long flush pipe or a low level cistern with a short pipe it is necessary to cut a slot in the back of the seat and fix it to the wall – a very straightforward job. If the cistern is “ducted” or hidden in a panel in the wall, with only the flush lever showing you can simply fix it to the wall or panel.

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4. Can you make the front and side pieces to “box-in” a Thunderbox seat?

No, we do not undertake bespoke joinery work, though this is something that a number of clients have done in the past and we are happy to advise on design and colour matching. We can provide a Thunderbox seat with a square front, which simplifies construction of the boxing and also make the back section to a client’s dimension – to go from wall to wall for example.

Boxed in Thunderbox

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5. Why should I buy your seats?

We have always strived to make the best seats that we possibly can and tried to never compromise on the basis of cost. We are completely confident that our seats are the very best you can buy anywhere. You should buy our seats because we understand that our business’s most valuable asset is you, our customer; we have had many repeat orders and recommendations from our customers over the years and we appreciate that very much. We understand that you rightly have high expectations of the levels of service you receive and the quality of the product you are buying; we take great pains to be sure that those expectations are met or exceeded. In addition you will be buying direct from the manufacturer and be able to speak personally with one of the directors, who each have 35 years experience in the business. We have encountered most problems and issues with loo seats over the years and are available to give you our very best advice and recommendations. We are truly in control of all aspects of production from selecting the timber to plating the hinges and are able to tailor your project personally with uncompromising attention to detail. We have a huge range of shapes, timbers and finishes and are happy to adjust anything to your own personal requirements. We specialise exclusively in making wooden loo seats so we take our seats very seriously – they are, after all, probably the only seat in the house that you have to sit on every day and I like to think that when our many customers think of me each day they have happy thoughts!

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6. Can you make special shaped seats?

Yes we can, however the costs involved in writing a new program for the router and making special vacuum beds generally make this prohibitively expensive, unless you are making a number of seats. We find that it generally only becomes cost effective if you are making more than ten seats in the same shape

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7. How long will your seats last?

We hope that our seats will last a lifetime and this should be the case if they are well looked after. I have two of our seats in my own home (an oak Thunderbox and an elm Albany) both of which have been installed and in family use for over twenty years. They are both in perfect condition and have had no special treatment. Over the last couple of years I have seen three seats that we supplied to clients over thirty years ago and they were all going strong! As a consequence we enjoy a lot of returning customers, both interior designers and old customers moving house, who value the reliability and quality of our seats as much as the sheer comfort and beauty.

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8. How should I look after my seat?

Keeping your seat clean and dry is very important. You have put a fine piece of timber in a potentially very unfriendly environment, where it could be exposed to excessive heat and humidity and worse. It will not fare well if it is subject to large fluctuations of temperature or humidity. You should use your normal housekeeping skills and follow the instructions that come with the seat or can be found here. It is also important to remember that if you stand or sit on the lid of the seat you will inevitably damage it eventually. You should contact us straight away if your seat sustains damage, as it is generally easier to repair a damaged seat sooner rather than later and we will always use our best endeavours to help solve any problems.

water damaged seat

This seat is over ten years old and shows the classic signs of an “over-flushing” loo and what happens if you do not keep the seat dry – it is now beyond repair.

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9. Can you supply seats in exotic timbers?

Yes we can and recently have made seats in solid Zebranu, Wenge, Cherry, and Walnut to mention but a few. This however can take rather longer to do, as suitable timber samples have to be sourced and then fitted in with a production run. We can also provide a large range of special veneers and solid colours.

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10. Where do you source your timbers?

We use Sapele Mahogany from West Africa. This is certified plantation grown and sustainable. Our oak is European, all plantation grown and the majority comes from either France or Poland. Our other hardwoods are largely British grown. We do not use any tropical or temperate timbers from ancient forest or woodlands. Timber production is now a major employer and in temperate climates has always been a responsible industry producing a sustainable crop on a long time-cycle. I believe the industry should be supported, as it is a major employer and produces a good product that we all enjoy in the form of fine furniture, not to mention the management of some of the most beautiful landscape features that we tend to take for granted and a wonderfully diverse habitat for our native wildlife.

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11. Will your seats work loose & wobble about?

No they will not, as we use the highest quality solid brass hinges with the traditional bar type fixing. Obviously you have to tighten the wing nuts properly when you install the seat.

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12. Do you do a seat with a picture of a duck?

No, we do not have a range of designs to choose from; all our work is commissioned. We would be delighted to paint a duck onto a seat and in the past have painted dogs, elephants, bears, eagles and all manner of other beasts but a duck would be a first, so please ask!

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13. Will you paint a duck on my seat if I supply the seat?

No, we only paint onto our own seats. The painting is done as part of the process of finishing our seats and if you supply one, we might have a problem with our materials not being compatible with the existing finish of your seat. It could mean a lot of work would be spoiled or your seat damaged. In either case it could be an expensive mistake!

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14. Can you paint onto your white seats?

No, we can’t; there is a compatibility issue with the materials used to finish these seats, however if you can supply slide transfers we can apply them.

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15. Do I have to have a painting on my seat?

No, in fact the vast majority of the seats we produce are plain high quality wood with no embellishment.

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16. Where can I see your seats?

We have a very extensive range and so it is very hard to display everything, however there are some showrooms in London that display a limited range of our most popular seats. There are also a number of showrooms across the country and in Europe and the USA with displays. Upon request we would be happy to give you contact with your closest showroom. If you are able to visit our workshops in Oxfordshire we would be most happy to show you samples and work-in-progress, though we do not have a showroom. Please contact us to make an appointment and let us know what you are most interested in seeing.

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17. My seat will not stay in the up position – can you help?

Yes, almost certainly. This happens when the loo is too far back towards the cistern and the seat cannot go past the vertical when you lift it. We call this type of seat a “Snapper” and it can be quite alarming if it catches you by surprise. We can supply a seat with “cranked forward” hinges which will solve this problem in the majority of cases.

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18. I have no access behind the loo.

This should be no problem. There are a range of modern loos (mostly European & wall hung) that you do not have access to tighten up the wing-nuts under the pan. We supply special “Blind Hole” fixing that allow you to use our hinge set on this type of WC pan”

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19. Do you do soft close seats?

No we do not, for a variety of reasons; firstly our seats are very heavy and I do not believe the hinges will last for very long on a high quality heavy wooden seat. It would also mean losing control of the production of a vital component of our seats, as we would have to import foreign parts. They are only available as the much inferior single pillar, bar-less type of hinge. They are also made from inferior brass and in a very limited range of finishes. Lastly they do not really fit in with our ethos of making the very best traditional wooden loo seats.

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20. Do you refurbish old seats?

No, I’m afraid we do not. We have a workshop dedicated to producing high quality new seats and this requires a clean environment. There is also the issue of hygiene to consider.

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21. My rubber buffers have perished, can you supply replacements?

Yes, we can supply various replacement parts to keep your seat functioning like the day you first installed it!

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