Help - tap numpty

[NumptyMum]

We are due to be getting a small extension, and due to this and consequent shifting of half the house, I need to get to grips with taps not just for kitchen, but also bathroom basin and bath (and possibly a shower). Also, because of all the above, we are on a tight budget so I'm not doing to be able to pay hundreds for taps - if it really comes to it, I guess we might have to do without shower although given DS is due to enter teens in next couple of years that might be a bad idea...

So I've been looking around, and see that people generally recommend Grohe/Hansgrohe, but a) these are too pricey for us and b) I'm not keen on the style, I prefer taps that have an easily identifiable hot and cold lever/tap, probably more drawn to utility/simple traditional style (but not OTT trad). Happy to look at either separate pillar taps, or mixers for both bathroom and kitchen.

Please could you come and give me your suggestions on what to look at (brands, particular taps) or what to avoid? It's doing my head in to think of so many things all at the same time (extension, kitchen, bathroom, shifting bedrooms... as well as whether to get vanity units and these are mostly single tap hole etc etc) so any help is really appreciated ...

Frontline, Bathroom Origins, Mereway, Heritage. Tavistock. If you're in Norfolk pm me.

Oh fab - thanks for all those names! I'll go have a look at those. We're in Scotland.

I've heard good things about Bristan taps. But watching with interest as we're very close to embarking on exactly the same thing.

Oh - another thing to add re the taps (basin taps especially) is that they need to be ones with separate tap handles for hot and cold, as MIL with alzheimers will not be able to remember which does what and everytime we will get the conversation about how hard it is to remember what to do with the taps in the bathroom... but on the other hand, it seems to be hard to find a vanity unit sink with 2 tap holes... sigh.

Anyone got any experience of Methven as a brand??
I quite like these...
Milan

Have you got a hot water cylinder? What colour? That will help determine what sort.

You won't find a better brand than Bristan, though you will find some that are more flashy novel.

Hi - sorry, was off on phone! We have a combi boiler, no tanks at all. I like the Bristan taps (more the utility ones) but finding a bathroom mixer in the ranges I like seems impossible, not sure how easy it is to find a vanity unit/inset sink with two tap holes....

By the way, are Bristan good at all price points? I see the costs of them range from very expensive (comparable to Grohe etc) to really quite cheap... if we like the utility type taps, will they be OK do you think?

you have a combi, so you can have mixers if you want. To get an idea of the flow, fill a bucket at the kitchen cold tap (and the utility room and garden taps if you have them), time it, calculate how many litres per minute you get.

The cheaper Bristan taps seem to be properly made, but usually have simpler or thinner knobs or levers, so they look cheap and people buy the dearer ones. If you look carefully you can see some of their taps are the same one with different heads.

They do some individual lever-operated taps (quarter turn) as used in hospitals, they are very easy to use if you have limited strength or dexterity. The big capstans (e.g. the Regency range) are very easy to grip and turn. None of them need to be screwed down with great force.

You may find the cheaper ones have red and green indexes, not sure. The ones I use say "Hot" and "Cold" or H and C. You can get replacement indices and other parts.

I am not in favour of taps with square corners or thin operating rods that you can bang your hand or face on. Mixer taps hit people in the face more often of they bend over the basin, because they are usually in the middle.

btw, pop up wastes leak,

PigletJohn thank you very much for that info, I'll go away again and have a look at the Bristan taps. I actually like to be able to wash my hair over the basin, so must admit I'm not a huge fan of mixer taps but it's hard to find basins with 2 tap holes. I'll maybe try having another look for those instead...

Re the pop-up wastes, what would you recommend instead? Our current set-up probably dates from the 1970s ('gold' taps with 'shell' shape bathroom suite, luverly...) so involves normal plugs. In our last house we redid the bathroom and did have a pop-up (pull up??) plug thing, I remember it being a bit of a faff so am happy to avoid this in favour of something else.

Thank you for all your help!

sadly, the most trouble free is the humble plug on a chain.

I have Bristan ones with a metal top, rather than plain rubber or plastic, but I fear this is heavy and liable to scratch or even chip the bath or basin. Some plastic ones will press onto or into the overflow, which is very neat.

There are also tilt-over, pull-up, and click-clack types, but I don't suppose any of them will work as well as a humble plastic plug. Some of them let the water leak slowly away even when new. Which might not matter much in a basin but is annoying in a bath.

The bath pop-ups with a Bowden cable are not as troublesome as the basin types which have an array of jointed and pivoted rods.

When looking at basins, try the manufacturers websites, or phone them. I know that companies like Twyfords, Doulton and Armitage make varieties that are not often stocked in the High Steet, including some for hotels and offices that want replacements to match their other 600 suites.

A white basin can be any brand and will be a pretty good match for any other brand.

Great - thank you for all your help. I've got lots to be trying to figure out; I have managed to find various 2-tap hole sinks now (some 'semi-recessed' and others semi-countertop, I'm guessing that's a different name for the same type of thing...). If I'm not buying a vanity unit as such, how easy is it to figure out storage below such sinks? That's the reason for looking at vanity units, it's going to be a fairly small bathroom... anyway, I don't want to take up all your time - thanks so much for the info you've given so far!

semi-recessed, I don't know the name, but it might be the sort that look as if they are cut through the front of the worktop (in fact it is a fake, and the porcelain is moulded to spill over the front to give that impression). I like them because they reduce the amount of water that gets into the joint and damages the worktop.

this sort of thing. You'd think the front of the unit was cut away into a perfectly-fitting curve, but it isn't

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Designer-Bathroom-Vanity-Basin-Sink-Unit-Storage-450-550-650-750-850-1000-White-/321443425405?var=&hash=item4ad7856c7d:m:mmvM8i5lvUeS-kVpQlwXFVQ