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Kohler Tresham Toilet Review (Specs & Guide 2024)

The Tresham toilet range can provide a touch of style and elegance to any modern bathroom. A uniquely designed tank with indents and ridges allow it to stand out from many of its competitors.

What's more, it's manufactured by Kohler, who are a top brand and consistently find themselves making our lists thanks to their features and design. The specific unit we've chosen to look at today is the K-3950.

Our pick

Kohler Tresham K-3950

The K-3950 has a two piece design, coupled with an elongated shape bowl. The chrome trip lever is accessible on the side of the tank, and it's finished in a white. However, for those wanting a more unique color, it's also possible to find it in ice gray, dune, and biscuit.

It's a comfort bowl, offering a seating height better suited to people with disabilities. To achieve such a label, the bowl must be at least seventeen inches to the top of the seat. According to its spec sheet, it's sixteen and a half inches to the rim. With the seat on top of that, it becomes ADA compliant.

It's floor mounted, has a trap passageway measuring 2-1/8", and it fits a standard 12 inch rough in. The water surface area measures 11-1/2" x 9" and the water level in the bowl is 5-3/8" from the rim.

Readers who value efficient products that look after the environment and the wallet, will appreciate the gallons per flush rate on the 3950. The single flush, gravity fed, 1.28 GPF mechanism ensures it meets the EPA WaterSense guidelines, and can help save your household thousands of gallons each year.

And despite being low flow, it harnesses the smaller quantities of water to achieve a powerful flush that handles bulk waste well.

The time spent piecing all the parts together is reduced to thanks to the three bolt installation process. Furthermore, it weighs 72.8 pounds and its dimensions are 28.5 x 16.5 x 14.5 inches.

Looking at the bigger picture, the K-3950 consumes less water, achieves a strong flush, and looks great. You also get one year limited warranty as coverage upon purchase. This could work well as a replacement to your current unit.

Other things to consider

Alternative collections - Naturally, as such a big brand in the industry, there are plenty of alternative ranges that have had some great feedback from users and plumbing professionals alike. Some of our favorites include the Memoirs, San Souci, Adair, Persuade, Veil, Archer, Wellworth, Karing, Corbelle, and Cimarron. Make sure you're aware of what else is on offer, as you may find yourself regretting your decision later on.

Rough in - What's your rough in size? You need to know this before you begin shopping around. If you don't, you can read our guides on the differing measurements here (10") and here (14"). This will help you understand how to measure accurately and suggest some options for specific sizes.

Type of flush - The mechanism you pick is important. This particular model is single flush and gravity fed. Luckily, it's already highly efficient in how it uses water, so there it's less of a necessity to switch to a dual flush system for such a purpose. However, having control over how much water you use is certainly a plus, and that's something dual flush provides.

Accessories - You'll obviously be researching further into the tank and bowl on offer. However, while you're busy trying to determine whether or not the product is right for you, you may find that some important accessories aren't included with the rest. Two examples of this is the water supply line and the toilet seat. Check to see if it's included before buying anything as paying for them separately may skew your budget.

Bathroom layout - Think about the current layout. You need to plan ahead and ensure the toilet you've got your sights on meets the size requirements, shape, and as mentioned above, rough in. If your washroom is compact, some people find that triangular tanks work well as they fit snugly into the corner, maximizing the amount of floor space available.

You should also be thinking about where it will be located in relation to the location of the sewer lines. If it's below them, you will need a toilet with a macerating pump to push waste upwards. Standard units won't cut it here.

Conclusion

The Tresham toilet is one of our top rated picks overall. We believe it has almost everything a residential bathroom needs. It certainly has some drawbacks, including the lack of skirting round the bowl, and the two piece design could leave it more likely to leak. However, the positives by far outweight the negatives in our view. The comfort height bowl, the low flow flushing mechanism, and the performance levels in handling waste all contribute to us coming to that conclusion.