Bath Taps

Bath taps split by what you need them to do: fill the bath, or fill it and feed a shower.

Filler or shower mixer?

A bath filler does one job and does it faster — the right choice if you have a separate shower. A bath shower mixer adds a handset and diverter, which is what you want where the bath is also the shower.

Be realistic about the shower from a bath shower mixer: it draws on whatever pressure reaches the tap. On a gravity system that means a weak spray unless you fit a pump.

Tap holes

Most deck-mounted bath taps need two holes at 180mm centres; some are single-hole monobloc. Check your bath before ordering — holes cannot be added neatly to an acrylic bath, and cannot be filled at all.

Mounting

Deck mounted sits on the bath rim. Wall mounted looks cleaner and is easier to clean around, but the pipework must be planned before tiling. Freestanding taps stand on the floor beside a freestanding bath, with pipes coming up through the floor — that has to be set out before the floor goes down.

Flow rate

Matters more here than on a basin. A slow filler on a large bath means a long wait with the water going cold at the bottom. Check the rated flow against your system pressure.

You will also need a bath waste.