What bathroom taps are best for me?
Taps are integral to any bathroom—not just functionally but visually as well. With thousands of different tap designs, the sheer choice can be overwhelming. Could there be a way for you to save a bit of money while fixing your leaky bath tap? We’ll explore how to choose bathroom taps in this post.
Types of Taps
An easy-to-use tap, one that keeps your basin clean, or one that helps extend the life of the tap is a major plus in a bathroom. Styles and finishes abound. From towel rails to shelf brackets, you can find products that complement the rest of your bathroom fixtures.
Deck mounted tap
Deck-mounted faucets are attached to baths, basins, or storage units with holes drilled into them. Depending on how they are drilled, they can either be pillar taps or monoblocs. Due to their ease of installation, they are far more common than wall mounted taps.
Wall mounted taps
Contemporary taps are generally wall mounted and protrude over a bath or basin. These can appear incredibly stylish and striking, despite their hidden plumbing and pipes, but they are more challenging to install.
Monobloc mixer taps
Monobloc mixer taps come in one piece, as their name suggests. This faucet consists of one or two handles, as well as a spout. It may be possible to use deck mounted taps on baths and basins with only one hole. Alternatively, they can be used on countertop basins as well.
Pillar taps
These bathroom taps offer two separate faucets. Two separate faucets draw hot and cold water, and both flow into the bath and basin separately.
Mixer taps
Basin mixer taps use separate pipes to bring water to a single spout, then mix it together before the water reaches there. When you use a mixer tap, you can easily reach the right temperature and prevent drawing scalding hot or icy water.
Freestanding bath taps
Roll-top bathtubs are becoming more popular, so guidance on choosing taps for them is in demand. Freestanding bath taps or standpipes must be used, as deck mounted taps don’t fit. You can also get them with a shower mixer, so you have all the options you need.
Are Bath Taps And Basin Taps The Same?
Basin taps and bath taps, although similar on the surface, are different. A bathtub tap uses a larger diameter water supply pipe instead of a smaller pipe for the connection to the water supply. Make sure your bathroom fixtures match. In doing so, you will create a theme, and selection will become easier.
Could Bath Taps Be Used On A Basin?
Absolutely, you can use a basin tap on a bath. It means less water drains from the spout due to the smaller supply pipe. Additionally, you’d have to heat more hot water because the bath will cool down while you wait.
Have you ever been in an old bathroom with separate hot and cold taps? Turned the tap and water gushed out the spout in all directions. The addition of new mixer bath taps to your basin will transform your morning routine.
Another consideration is the predrilled holes in the tub. There is a standard distance between the hot and cold pipelines between your tub and your taps. Mixer basin taps usually have holes 195mm apart, whereas bath taps have holes 180mm apart. In most cases, your new tub comes with predrilled holes, and it is difficult to cover up holes that are not aligned with your taps.
Determine Your Home’s Water Pressure
If you want to get a decent flow of water from your taps, make sure they are suited to your home’s water pressure. Low pressure is found in gravity-fed systems, and mid-to-high pressures are found in combination boiler systems. Generally, mixers with one lever, floor standing-, and wall mounted taps depend on high water pressure, while taps with two handles and pillar taps operate well with low pressure.
Low-pressure taps will work well with high-pressure systems, but high-pressure systems will result in slower water flow, making it harder to fill a bath and taking longer to fill a basin. If you choose a tap, make sure that it is compatible with your water system.
Establish the distance between the tap holes
A tap’s style will depend on the type of sanitary-ware you buy. Your tap must match the number of holes on your bath, basin, or bidet.
Basins
Bathroom sinks usually come with one, two, or three pre-drilled tap holes. A mono mixer tap will likely fit into most modern basins with a single tap hole. There are usually two holes in traditional-style basins for separate hot and cold basin pillar taps. The basin has three tap holes, each with hot and cold controls and a separate water spout.
Bathtubs
Baths with acrylic construction do not normally come with tap holes, so tap holes can be drilled by your installer. With stone resin, steel, or cast iron baths, drilling holes is not possible, so if the bath has no drillings you’ll need to install a separate floor-standing or wall-mounted tap.
Bidets
Bidet taps are usually easy to find as many bidets have just one tap hole.
Choose the appropriate style
You can make your bathroom look more elegant by choosing a beautiful tap that can become a focal point. Changing out tired old faucets is a simple way to breathe new life into your existing bathroom suite. You don’t want a bathroom with mismatched taps. Make sure the taps complement each other visually.
Oftentimes, modern bathroom taps are more angular in their design and frequently have lever handles for controlling the water flow. Traditional or classic taps may be curved or arched.
Rotational handles are available in a variety of styles. The four distinct knobs on cross handle taps make them easy to grip and offer a lovely classic look to any basin or bath.
With so many different types of taps on offer, it can sometimes be confusing to pick the right one for your bathroom, family, or home. You can combine your own personal tastes and the functionality you need into finding the style of tap that best suits your needs.
Traditional
With classic elements such as crosshead handles, elaborate details, and ceramic inserts with a vintage flair, you can convey the feel of yesteryear. The elegance of traditional pillar taps and bathtubs with ornate bath shower mixers is timeless and never dated.
Contemporary
Make your bathroom look more modern by selecting taps with clean lines, geometric shapes, and minimalistic designs. Contemporary faucets can be equipped with waterfall spouts and touch-sensitive controls.
Choose the right material for your bathroom taps
It’s important to look at several aspects of a tap’s construction that indicate if it will stand the test of time. The material you choose will have an impact on the durability and functionality of your bathroom taps.
Solid brass
Solid brass taps are extremely corrosion resistant, so you should prefer them whenever possible. Crosswater, a luxury tap manufacturer, makes models of its taps from pure “virgin” brass. Metals contain no impurities, which means that the water won’t taste like normal bathroom tap water.
Ceramic discs
These ceramic washers outperform traditional rubber washers in terms of durability and wear and tear resistance, making them easier to maintain. In most ceramic disc taps, turning them on from off requires just three to four turns, which makes them easier to use.
Select a stylish finish
We’ve looked at what’s inside the tap so now it’s time to look at what’s on the outside. The finish of the tap is another important factor in terms of practicality and overall bathroom design.
Chrome
Bathroom taps are most often finished in chrome, a finish that can be found on the vast majority of market taps. The shiny, reflective finish of chrome-plated taps makes them easy to clean and ensures a clean, modern look while offering corrosion and scratch resistance.
Gold
There has always been a taste for gold in period style bathrooms, but the gold finish was only plated on rather than dipped, so it has a reputation for peeling and tarnishing easily. An increasing number of new taps feature a lighter, shinier chrome gold known as “Antique Gold” which has been dipped for greater strength. The new Antique Gold taps have a distinctly different colour from the old darker gold. If you’re replacing like-for-like, you should be aware of the colour difference.
Nickel
High-end faucets with nickel finishes are popular with brassware brands. Nickel is also a relatively new high-end finishing material that is becoming increasingly popular. With its lustrous, light gunmetal look and durability, a nickel finish is not only strong and durable but it also looks more elegant.
If you know what type of tap you need, why don’t you contact our team or browse our extensive selection of bathroom taps?