Plan and order your bathtub early to avoid disappointment! Our built-in bathtubs sells out super fast. Please check with us before ordering!
Plan and order your bathtub early to avoid disappointment! Our built-in bathtubs sells out super fast. Please check with us before ordering!
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Basic Types of Basin Taps Explained

Choosing a new basin tap for your bathroom sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? But unless you know exactly what you’re looking for, it can be anything but. There are a multitude of things that you need to take into consideration, including: the water pressure you have; what style of tap you want; what finish you want; whereabouts on or around your basin you’re planning on mounting your tap.

In this extensive guide, we’ll talk through the different types of basin taps that are available, specifically, in Singapore and the region.

 

1. Pillar Taps 

 

Everyone’s familiar with basin pillar taps, even if you might not have known what they were called. With basin pillar taps, you have two taps - one for hot water and one for cold - and they are more common in traditional-style bathrooms or in bathrooms in older houses. The UK is one of the only users of basin pillar taps and it’s often something that confuses foreign visitors who aren’t used to having to choose to wash their hands with either scalding hot water or freezing cold water. 

In this part of the world, namely Singapore and South East Asia, pillar taps are also sometimes known as Mono Tap or Cold Tap. It is the most commonly seen taps around due to the tropical climate where the temperature of pipe water is at a comfortable 25-30 degrees Celsius all year round.   

Its popularity in Singapore, however, is on the decline as all new flats, public or private, built after the 1990's have hot water supply pipes provided. Pillar taps is therefore not available on our e-shop. 

 

2. Single-Hole Basin Mixer Taps

 

Basin Mixers are the most common type of basin tap in modern bathrooms. As the name suggests, they require a single tap hole and have a single spout from where both hot and cold water is dispensed. Most come with just a single lever which control the flow and temperature, however, there are some twin lever taps with one lever for the hot and one for the cold water, giving you better control over the temperature. Below is an example of a twin-lever mixer.

Basin mixers are available in a huge range of styles, both modern and traditional, curved design and square, waterfall spout or aerated spout. There are a huge amount of finishes as well, with chrome being the most popular, but you can also get matt black, stainless steel, gold, nickel and even brushed brass basin taps. 

Among our favourite and best selling basin mixers are the Stella Bamboo, the Nobili New Road, and the Stella Casanova

With the rise in popularity of counter-top basins we’ve also seen a rise in popularity of tall basin mixers. Tall basin taps all come in a monobloc form - that is, they only have one tap hole and one spout - so it work in exactly the same way as a basin mixer. 

Tall basin mixers are almost exclusively used with a counter-top basin. This means that they are mounted to your counter-top or vanity cabinet instead of the basin. This not only looks more stylish, it keeps your basin looking less cluttered.

 

 

3. Three-Hole Basin Mixer Taps

 

Three-hole basin mixer function much in the same way as single-hole basin mixers - with both hot and cold water coming out of a single spout - yet, as the name suggests, they require 3 holes. One hole is for the spout, whilst the other two holes are for the hot and cold levers. This gives you excellent control over both water flow and temperature, although it does mean that you might need both hands to adjust the controls to find that perfect temperature. 

Modern and traditional style 3-hole basin taps are readily available, and whilst there isn’t as much choice as with single-hole basin mixers and pillar taps, there are still a few here at Yuubath for you to choose from. 3-hole basin taps are, in general, more expensive than single-hole basin taps and pillar taps, but as with everything, extra style is going to come at a price.

Another thing to consider: 3-hole mixer taps are almost exclusively installed on vanity / counter top. There are counter-top washbasins that comes with 3 holes but it is not commonly found in Singapore and the region. You can, of course, specify a 3-hole requirement when ordering the washbasin. Based on experience, it is mostly the European brands that will respond well to such requests.

Variation: Bridge. 

If you're looking to combine old-fashioned style with today's technology, bridge mixer might be for you! “Bridge,” means that the levers and the spout all branch off of one singular part. This requires two holes in the counter-top as opposed to three. Below is an example:

 

4. Wall-Mounted Basin Mixer Taps

 

Along with tall basin mixers, wall-mounted mixers are the most modern basin taps, and again, they are ideal to use with a counter-top basin. By mounting the taps on the wall, it keeps the entire area around your basin clear and provides a much more minimalist look. It wasn’t so long ago that wall mounted taps would only have been found in the most luxurious hotels, spas and restaurants. Nowadays, however, you can pick up a wide range of wall mounted basin taps for less and get that luxurious look in your bathroom.

Like with all other basin taps, there are different types of wall mounted basin taps. There are of course modern and traditional designs, ones with just a single temperature and flow control, and ones that have a separate hot and cold water handle. There are also those that come with a backplate and those that don’t. If you want the most modern and minimalist look, it’s better to forgo the taps with a backplate. 

 

The great thing about wall mounted taps is that you can put them almost anywhere you like; you’re not tied down by where the holes on your basin are. There are still things to take into consideration though. Just because you can place it anywhere on your wall, it doesn’t mean that you should. Place it too high and the water’s going to splash everywhere when it hits the basin. Place it too low, however, and you’ll knock your hands on it or the basin every time you try and wash them. 

 

As we’ve seen, the world of basin taps isn’t as straightforward as you might have thought 5 or so minutes ago, and whilst we may have made the decision about what tap to buy slightly trickier, we hope that you’ll now be able to make a more informed decision. If you think we’ve missed something or you have any questions, let us know and we’ll do our best to help. 

 

 


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