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Basin Taps and Mixers

Basin Taps and Mixers

Basin taps and mixers! In this article you will find all you need to know about bathroom taps. What they are for and the best possible choice for you and your design tastes. I will try to explain in plain English which piece of equipment goes with which taps or mixer .

Basin taps and mixers come in so many designs.  There are lots of options. Here I intend to show you all there is to know about bathroom taps.

Pairs of Hot and Cold Basin Taps

Pairs of hot and cold basin taps are separate hot and cold taps used in a two hole basin. These were the industry standard for wash basins before the 1980′s when mixers came into use. They are ideal for low pressure gravity fed systems where mixing the hot and cold water is not always achievable.  Especially as we should be using cold mains fed water for brushing teeth. Using a mixer in unbalanced circumstances is difficult and you can feed water back up the low pressure hot system pipes via the mixer so separate taps were the ideal solution.

The downside of separate hot and cold basin taps is that the hot water is delivered at the supply temperature so can scald and is therefore not that suitable for children.

Monobloc Basin Mixers

Monobloc taps basin mixer

Monobloc basin mixers originally were available for a two hole wash basin. They were called bridge basin mixers, they are now called monobloc (one hole). They come with either one or two handles for on/off control by far the most common now is the single lever options.

With today’s market you can have low pressure gravity fed systems that do work with these mixers. But not very well if you use mains water for your cold supply. If however you have a mains fed or gravity fed pumped system then you get the function and the ability to use cold mains pressure water for brushing your teeth.

There are a wealth of styles available to suit most designs. The image shown is a standard but most widely used option of a round body with a simple single lever. These can be purchased with or without a pop up waste. Some basins come without an overflow so a Basin mixer tap with a pop up waste is not required. You would then need to buy a separate un-slotted waste (un-slotted meaning no overflow).

Three Hole Basin Mixers

Three hole basin mixers are a hot and cold valve. They have a separate spout in the centre of the valves.  Most basins have knock outs for a spout in the centre of the two tap holes. These can be carefully removed from the top downwards by a centre punch. Three hole basin mixers are now widely used by bathroom designers. This is because they are stylish and are now available in many shapes and styles. Some utilize the spout combined as a pop up waste as well.

Wall Mounted Basin Mixers 

Wall mounted basin mixers are available in both two and three hole versions. The pipe work is concealed and having the taps mounted separately above the basin keeps them looking clean and tidy, as water marks everything.  This is the top choice for bathroom designers wanting to give durability to their designs. You will need to utilize a separate slotted or un-slotted basin waste with these as there is no way of linking them up to the basin waste. But this is a small compromise for the best design.

Tall Monobloc Basin Mixers

Tall monobloc basin mixers are mainly used when you have a bowl as a basin that is on a worktop or freestanding wall mounted with a bracket.  The base of the tap would be level with the bottom of the bowl. Leaving a necessity to have a tall basin mixer. These are available both with and without pop up wastes and for both high and low pressure systems. Essentially these are just extended monobloc basin mixers giving the extra height to get over the bowls edge.  With standard basins they tend to splash and it is generally not advised.

 

 

 

 

 

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