New taps for bath and basin came with just the 'top hat' to secure the tap underneath, no washer for the top.
What's the consensus as regards using either silicon or a washer between the tap base and the basin/bath?
Cheers
Martin
Don't think I've ever seen taps that don't come with washers. Moan at the supplier?
You need a seal, otherwise water will get past the tap base & dribble down the supply pipes. I've often come across 'leaks' like this - which are a bugger to trace.
Silicone has the advantage of holding the taps more firmly, especially if you are using flexibles.
Many modern ones have a small rubber ring set into the base of the tap which does the same job.
I've had a few like that, and even the ones that came with a "washer" were useless at providing a seal. I've ended up using silicone between sink and tap and also filling the hole in the sink/bath with silicone so there is very little chance of water being drawn under tap then down the tap thread.
Last time I fitted taps, I used a thin layer of Plumber's Mait on the top of the sink, a washer underneath then the top-hat nut but, to stop the tap moving around, I cut down a pair of top-hat nuts so that they fitted /into/ the hole in the basin (my taps were OK centrally located in the hole; the cutting down can be biased if wanted) and this method avoids the overtightening usually needed to hold the tap still.
I have seen a bath damaged (splits from the holes) due to overtightened nuts and there were also marks due to the taps sliding, so the tightness hadn't helped at all.
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