Two questions really:
1) Measurement wise, I see 1/2" and 3/4" bathroom basin taps for sale. Which is most common and what does one measure to find out (I'm presuming the stem bit that screws in, but I need to find out without dismantling the current ones)?2) Pressure wise - does it matter? I have mains pressure cold for the bathroom basin and normal hot from the tank. Do I need a special tap or will it make any difference?
a
It refers to the diameter of the threaded portion that connects to the pipework, under the basin. The idea is that you use 3/4" taps with 22mm pipework and 1/2" taps with 15mm pipework (again, the idea is normally that you use 22mm pipes for filling the bath (so it's quicker to fill and 15mm for the basin (cos there's no point in using bigger, more expensive and awkward 22mm). That's wny you'll normally see basin and bath taps sold as matching sets, one of each size. That said, it's not 'compulsory' and it's very common to see 3/4" taps on 15mm pipes for example.
Are you swapping old taps for new on the same basin, is that it?
Most (if not all?) modern taps will take mains pressurem but it's worth double-checking that whatever you want to buy does.
David
And if you don't have much head of water, the flow from a lot of modern taps will be very disappointing.
Yes, so it should be safe to assume 1/2" onto 15mm pipes. I'm trying to put an interim "liveable" with solution in while I sort stuff out. Long story - dispute over basin damage and a faulty tap. I want a working tap, without replacing the sink at my expense. I therefore want to get something cheap until I replace the lot.
Only the last one of the following even mentions pressure:
Well, sort of - but don't use a ruler to measure it!
They refer to 1/2" and 3/4" BSP (British Standard Pipe) - which is the diameter of the *outside* of an iron pipe whose *inside* measurement is 1/2" or 3/4" respectively.
The threaded portion of a 1/2" tap actually measures 0.825" (21 mm) and a
3/4" tap 1.041" (26.4 mm)HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.