Redoing your bathroom is always a good idea. You get better facilities, a redo on any faulty plumbing and it ups the resale value of your home.

Even if you live in a flat, some landlords aren’t opposed to you upgrading amenities as long as you don’t rip them out when you leave. Furthermore that you use reputable hardware and a qualified fitter.

Once you get permission from your spouse or landlord, there are few things to consider. Don’t rip the sink out before reading this article or you’ll be sorry.

Get the details on replacing sinks or bathroom taps only in this guide.

Deep Basins

Deep kitchen and bathroom sinks are in style now, they’re utilitarian and look nice. That doesn’t mean they fit in every space.

If a sink is too deep, it can mess with the plumbing. You want the pipes under the sink to have room to breathe so to speak.

The sink basin shouldn’t sit on top of any pipes, you want about 3-6 inches between the pipe and the basin.

Measure your pipe and the space underneath your sink before shopping for a new basin.

Check the Tap Hole Style

Some bathroom taps have one head, two handles, other have one head that you turn. These all translate to different holes in the sink basin.

If you’re not replacing the whole basin, you need to find a new tap that matches the holes you have.

You don’t want to order a new bathroom tap and find out that you only have room to connect hot or cold water, not both.

Silicone Caulk Vs Plumbers Putty

Plumber’s putty used to be the gold standard for plumbing, hence the name. Now, plumbers are moving away from it.

They find it dries out faster, leads to leaks, and then all that damages your sink area. Instead, they’re using silicone caulk.

You can get this in tubes from your local DIY store and expect better results. When you’re using it, make sure you wipe up any drips before they dry out of place. You’ll not be able to get them off later.

Read the directions and make sure your new bathroom tap is secure. Sometimes you may need a second coat.

Replace the Plumbing

If you’re changing the tap for looks, it’s okay not to mess with the plumbing itself. You can get away with turning off the water (important!) and connecting the new parts.

If you’re replacing the sink or bath, you want to refresh the housing components.

Over time, theplastic piping gets caked with hair and dirt on the inside. It causes water to drain slower and take longer to drain.

Drain assembly kits aren’t hard to come by or figure out how to assemble. We’ll touch on putting everything together next.

Changing Your Bathroom Taps

Before you start taking things apart, stop! Figure out what kind of tap you have. You should do this step before you even shop since you could buy the wrong model in the first place.

There are three main types of taps and they all have to do with the amount and size of the holes.

A single hole tap is the kind where you turn on the water and decide it’s temperature with one handle. Sometimes these are lift to turn on and then the temperatures are left and right.

Other types are a turning handle style. Either way, you only have one tap element and this is a single hole device.

Triple hole taps are classic bathroom taps. They have one fixture for the water to come out of, one handle for cold water, and one for hot. You choose your water temperature based on how far you turn which handle.

The difference between the four-inch triple hole and the eight inch? How far across the unit goes.

Buy Your Bathroom Tap

Once you know what you need, browse an online retailer with extensive choices. Look at the different finishes, sizes, and shapes and order to your home.

Get Ready

Before you add your new tap, you need to get rid of your old one. Before you start, lay out all the tools you need.

Then, turn off the water and put a bowl under the sink to catch any drips. Remove the old fixtures from down below.

With the fixture removed, tape or label the hoses to their appropriate holes, so you don’t lose track.

Read the Instructions

Many of us watch a video or read an article and assume we can ignore the instructions. If you’ve ever put together Ikea furniture, you know this is a bad idea.

Read the instruction manual your tap comes with before you give it a go.

Install the Tap

Follow the instruction packet. It will walk you through whatever you need to know, plus give you specific tips.

Once everything is in place, double check that your hoses are secure. Slowly turn the water back on and open the new tap.

Stay under the basin and make sure there aren’t any drips. You can put newspaper underneath to make sure you don’t miss anything.

Once you’re sure there aren’t drips, turn the water back on all the way.

Congratulations, you now have a new bathroom tap!

Choosing Your Tap

There isn’t a right answer on the correct types of bathroom taps. As long as you keep size in mind, you can choose whatever you like.

It’s up to you if you want to make this a statement piece in your bathroom or have it coordinate with all fixtures.

You can replace all the taps at once, do the whole bathroom, or just an accent piece. Shop for all these options on our site, we’ve got everything you need.

Turn it on!