My last dumb question of the night ?

[Colin Wilson]

Do bath taps have a "standard" spacing centres for the holes ? (and if so, what is it please ?)

It occurred to me if I buy a tap/shower mixer from Screwfix it might not fit anyway :-(

[Set Square]

The standard - for modern baths at any rate - seems to be 180mm between centres.

[John Rumm]

Yup pretty much standard (unless your bath is well old).

If you are talking about a new bath the note that some modern baths come undrilled anyway, to allow more flexibility in choice of tap position and type.

[Colin Wilson]

Thanks (it went in about 15 years ago) - time to dig out the tape measure !

[Set Square]

Or, more likely, to allow for wall-mounted taps - where you don't need *any* holes in the bath.

[Set Square]

Correction - any *tap* holes!

[Lobster]

Don't even these baths or sinks normally have 'half-depth' holes cut into the underside in the correct (ie standard) positions, that you can cut or punch out?

David

[John Rumm]

I have also seen some "taps" that are like an oversized overflow knob - they mount in the overflow hole and fill the bath from there!

[John Rumm]

The one I did for SWMBO's aunt last week did not alas...

I also did not think to take a suitable hole saw with me! Supprising what you can drill with a 32mm spade bit and a rather odd plasticy smell ;-)

[Set Square]

Good job it wasn't a cast iron - or even sheet steel - bath!

[John Rumm]

Twould have been ok.... I had the SDS and a chisel! ;-)

(did make me think I should have kept my mouth shut when she said she was buying a 5mm thick bath... I persuaded her to go for the 8mm)

[Ed Sirett]

Yes they are 180mm apart. One exception might be some very old cast iron baths (pre WWII at least). The other exception is some baths put in social housing where the taps holes are on the corner (think it might have been to make maintenance easier or possibly to prevent water bylaw infringement).

[chris French]

The bath that I fitted didn't , but it was quite easy to cut the hole. given that you can get single hole mixers, twin hole mixers, separate taps etc. having them not drilled seems sensible approach really.

[chris French]

In message , Set Square writes

Or too have the choice of single hole mixer taps, or separate taps/twin hole mixers. Otherwise they would need to supply different baths