Bathroom Taps Installation

If you are installing bath or basin taps you should know that they are dependent on your particular bath or basin. The tap will have either one or two holes.

One hole taps will require a mono-bloc mixer. If you have a basin with two holes for the taps, you can use a two-hole mixer or you can have separate taps for the hot and cold water. Many taps will also include the waste lever on the top, used to open or close the plug of the drain.

Removing the Old Taps

The first thing you will want to do is turn off the water supply to an existing tap then open the taps to make sure all of the water leaves the system. Removing existing taps can sometimes be awkward and difficult because of space and access restrictions but they will come off with a little hard work and patience.

Begin the removal by taking off the nut connecting the water supply pipes to the taps and remove the pipe from the tap. Then you will loosen the second nut, the one that secures the taps to the basin. Remove the taps, having a towel ready to catch any leaking water that remains in the taps. You should then clean off any old sealant from the holes in the bath or basin.

You will need to compare the old and new taps to ensure they are of the same size. If the old ones are longer than the new ones you will need a shank adapter that will allow the new taps to fit.

Fitting the New Taps

Use a connector to connect the tap to the supply pipe. You will need a reducing coupler if you are fitting a mono-bloc mixer.  This will allow the smaller mixer to connect to the larger supply pipe.

Place the new tap, with washers in place on top, in the mounting hole of the bath or basin. You should have received a back nut with the new tap. Use it now to lock the tap in place then connect the supply pipes to the tails of the taps using either tap connectors or corrugated copper piping.

The advantage of using copper piping is that you will be able to manipulate and adjust it to cover for any misalignment of the supply pipe going into the taps. Connect the tap ends before the water supply pipe end. Initial tightening should be by hand and when both are connected, tighten them with your spanner.

After connecting the taps to the water supply pipe, turn the water back on. Check for leaks and open the taps. Usually stopping a leak is simply a matter of tightening any connections. If this does not solve the problem, you will need to turn the water off, drain the pipes, and look into the cause.