Talk to me about taps

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I’m getting a new bathroom as mine is falling to pieces. Can’t wait.

Keep reading not to scrimp on taps. Maybe a stupid question but why not? I can’t ever remember washing my hands and thinking “Gosh, this is a really substandard tap.”

I feel like I’m normally quite picky. What am I missing?

I'm with you on the subject of taps. We always buy taps from ebay shops and have never had a problem with them.

You can spend an absolute fortune on taps even in the DIY sheds (B&Q, Wickes etc) and then see a near identical tap for a fraction of the price in an ebay shop.

B&Q:
www.diy.com/departments/franke-olympus-chrome-effect-kitchen-mixer-tap/54192_BQ.prd

Ebay shop:
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kitchen-Tap-Monobloc-Round-Sink-Mixer-Twin-Lever-Handle-Chrome-or-Brushed-Steel/333861338740?hash=item4dbbafbe74:g:2soAAOSws9VgBS6M

If there is a difference, I'm not seeing it.

Substandard taps are more likely to fail early or suffer early signs of cosmetic damage.

When we bought our old house the previous owners had installed a (hideous) mixer tap on the bath where you could see the water coming our through a channel before it poured in the bath. The edges had all sorts of corrosion round it and the on / off mechanism wasn’t smooth. It looked and felt cheap.

You don’t need to spend a fortune, but buying good quality from a decent manufacturer such as Hans Grohe or similar definitely makes a difference.

Hmm, thought the same as you OP when speccing the bathroom.
Place we were buying bath and wall panels from was a Bristan dealer.

Think we spent ~£85 on pair of basin taps from Bristan.

They certainly have a heft to them (though once installed you won’t necessarily feel that ) but the turning on/off also has a quality feel to it.
Time will tell of course but we’re happy with our decision , in fact , bought a Bristan mixer tap for en-suite refurbishment.

We have been using eBay bought taps for several years. No problems so far.

DO scrimp on taps, the farty designer jobs sold in the showrooms spray water everywhere. Try to avoid aerators, rip them out if they are there. To save water, turn the tap off.

Whilst I am not in the spend a fortune/ designer taps camp, we bought a tap for one bathroom that was from Victoria Plum, was cheap, and it annoys me every day. The handle is squeaky as it turns and lifts, the surface is corroding and it has needed extra work to get it fixed into place as the fittings were crap.
When we did another bathroom, we bought (not flashy), but more expensive, Bristan taps. They are world apart. I'd spend the extra £50 any day now.

I've had two cheap kitchen taps ( I used to go for cheap taps)
Both corroded on the spout, so water was spraying out underneath. I'm not confident with my plumbing skills, so have had to get plumbers out to fix- which costs much more in the long run.

Now I buy better taps

I don't have strong views on bathroom taps but for things I use several times a day and you'll have for 10+ years I think it's worth paying a little more. Levi's Vs Tesco for jeans. Our kitchen tap seemed crazily expensive but it's really nice to use (detachable hose, push bar so you can turn it on with back of hand etc). I'm not sure I'd be so fussy with a bathroom tap..

My kitchen taps leak slightly and so got furred up with lime scale at the joints. My bathroom sink taps won't stay tight, so the whole thing turns when I turn the top, and the hidden bit is too hard to get to, to tighten them up every week.

I'm never economising on taps again.

There are good cheap taps and bad expensive taps. But hard to tell which until you are using them!
I buy regular taps (mid range) but one has corroded alot on the top - I've never had that happen before and I think I bought it the same time and same brand as my other taps. Maybe there are 'lemon' taps just like cars.

We bought cheap taps and they broke, leaked etc. I ended up with blown kitchen cupboards due to water leaks, and a tap that literally fell off and was peeing water everywhere. Ive bought much better quality taps this renovation, and had some decent taps in our bathroom in last renovation and they really do make a difference, particular if you have wooden sink units - last thing you want is leaking taps- it's not the expense to look out for, get a decent brand

Basically it's not about how taps look. It's about the engineering of the bits you don't see. That's where manufactures scrimp to save the money. It's not something I ever gave a thought to until I ended up with really bad taps.

I agree with saraclara it’s about the engineering you don’t see. As you’re fitting a whole new bathroom think about the tap design. Wall taps are plumbed into the wall and if there are any issues they have to ripped out. And as they are tiled in with a vanity unit that can get very expensive. Counter taps are the easiest to replace.

I have just done two bathrooms. We spent a lot of money on the taps (Hans grohe and grohe) as we live in a hard-water area and the limescale builds up. (Should get a water softener but that’s a whole other expense.) Having a new bathroom is expensive and time- consuming and I really don’t have to have any problems in the future.

This is all really helpful, thank you. Particularly the brand recommendations. I want this bathroom to last! Our current tap is falling apart, but so is the toilet, bath, and consequently the ceiling below... So the crap tap is the least of my worries! A tap with good engineering and a nice feel does sound lovely.

Trouble is the extensive taps often have design, not engineering. If the former is done by art students there is an issue.

Expensive. MN also has design. Not engineering.

I used cheap taps in my first house. Never again. I then used Grohe in my second, third and fourth and have had no problems at all with them. So I have become a bit of a fan.

From experience the thing not to skimp on is the fitting of the tap. Cheap or expensive a badly fitted tap will drip, leak, get furred up with limescale.

When we refitted our kitchen the thing we spent out on was a good quality sink which was rigid and wouldnt flex when the tap was turned between the two bowls.

I have been wondering the same thing. Though i have to say I saw the tap I'd been eyeing up on Ikea website in person the other day. I know you can spend extortionate amounts on taps. This one was £99 so definitely not up there in price but not cheap cheap either.

It definitely didn't feel well made. Was very unstable/wobbly when pivoting etc and the on/off bit (valve?) was flimsy.

I believe there is also a difference in the ceramic discs (used where you used to have washers) and in some taps if they fail you get a dripping tap and then you're only option is to replace the tap. Not sure if that is true for all taps or if some have replaceable discs?

Interesting thread as I’m just looking at replacing our bath and sink taps, dh says they’ve both had it. I’m pretty sure they’re the ones we’ve had since we redid the bathroom 17 years ago and they would have been b*q own brand. So to last 17 years for taps which probably cost £30 is ok in my book.

We used Bristan too - got some cheaper Bristan showers for current house in the kids bathrooms and guest bathroom - really good with a fairly decent price tag