Basin Taps
Basin taps might not sound like the most romantic of topics to discuss, shop for or buy, but just imagine a dimly lit bathroom, the bath and basin surrounded by flowers and scented candles, with steam gently rising from the bath.
Best Selling Basin Taps
Look through the steam at the beautifully contoured taps and they remind you of a work or art. So the right choice of tap could be the making of your atmospheric bathroom. Likewise a Victorian style set of basin taps might just put the finishing touches on that new period kitchen, especially the long nose variety with genuine ceramic indices. That’s the bit that goes into the top of the head and tells you if the tap is for hot or cold water. Basin taps are an inexpensive way to change the appearance of your bathroom of kitchen without going to the trouble of redecorating.
But basin taps are about functionality as well as style and you’ll want to choose a set that works for you. Do you want mixer taps, dual flow, pillar or monobloc? And what about material? What do you want your taps to be made of? That can vary from nickel plated, chrome plated, solid chrome, solid brass to gold plated. A quality chrome plated tap, for instance will be engineered from solid brass then double dipped in chrome to give a final finish that shouldn’t fade.
The type of tap you buy may well depend on the basin you have, whether it has two holes for pillar taps, three holes (where the handles go through the two outside holes and the spout through the middle one) or one hole only, for a minimalist mixer tap. A wall mounting will need to be considered as well if the basin has no holes as with some larger kitchen sinks. Wall mounted units need a wall cavity, or course and the tap instructions should specify the minimum cavity depth required for fitting.
Prices can vary from the very inexpensive to the very expensive, especially the hand-made variety.
Mixer Basin taps
These taps mix hot and cold water in the main body of the tap. There are handles on each side to control water flow. These can be of a lever variety or the more traditional cross head variety. Usually mixer taps have a swivelling spout for ease of use.
Pillar Basin taps
These are the traditional taps that many of us grew up with. They’re made up of a pair of taps, one for cold and one for hot water and used in two-hole basins. They’re the easiest to fit and the least expensive to buy. You can get them with lever type handles, knob type or cross head ones and with a variety of head materials from plastic to brass. Cross head items probably look the best and make the head easier to turn.
Dual flow Basin Taps
Dual flow is a kind of mixer tap, except that the flow of cold and hot water are kept apart in the body of the tap. This stops unequal pressure between hot and cold water supplies from causing trouble.
Monobloc Basin Taps
The monobloc tap, sometimes referred to as the ‘mono’ is a favourite in contemporary bathrooms of kitchens. It features a single lever control for both hot and cold water and mixing. You usually move the lever up and down for flow and to the left or right for changing water temperature.
Pull out spray mixer
The pull out spray mixer is a flexible tap that can be pulled out of the main body and used to rinse or wash with maximum control of the water direction. It’s a good idea if you have to wash and rinse a lot of dishes. It’s also good for washing vegetables or fruit.
Waterfall
These taps have an open or flat spout or flat top rather than a regular spout that disperses the water as it comes out of the main body and causes it to fall in a waterfall affect. The top can be made of metal or glass. The glass is usually heavy duty tempered to cope with hot water. A minimum 1 bar water pressure is generally required.
Water filter
Until recently if you wanted to filter water you had to fill a Brita filter from the tap and then pour it into whatever you wanted to pour it into. But not now… Now you can get a water filter tap in a variety of styles that produces the same end result, getting rid of residues, chlorine and lead.
Pop up waste
This is simply a modern basin plug. It works by pulling or pushing a lever that closes off the opening. Usually the working mechanism is hidden behind the tap. There are various types to choose from. Pop up wastes often come with the tap.
Appearance
The appearance of your taps should reflect the type of room your putting them in. A Victorian brass item would not look right in a minimalist bathroom or kitchen, While a brushed metal item would fit in perfectly, especially a monobloc one. Chrome items look good when they’re shiny and clean, but tend to tarnish or fade more quickly, especially if they’re used a lot by children… Gold plated taps don’t tarnish as easily but they are a little more expensive. Solid gold, well if you can afford it… You can get nickel plated items as well.
There are enough styles and types of basin tap to suit anyone and they come at a wide variety of prices. So it’s best to spend some time browsing and picking what will suit you best, whether it’s a pair of Victorian long spouted pillar taps or a minimalist monobloc item with a brushed finish to compliment your modern bathroom. And don’t forget, they may look as if they come from a different era, but most period taps use the most up to date technology, such as double sealed valve systems for long life and quarter turn technology for a quick flow of water.