Bathroom Tap and Fitting Decision Checklist

Count the tap holes in every basin and bath you are considering, and note whether each one is drilled, marked or left blank.

A blank that has to be opened is a very different conversation from a hole that is already there, and it is easy to check now.

Ask whether a basin is available with no tap hole at all if wall mounted or freestanding fittings are what you want.

Basins are often produced in more than one version, and the version has to be ordered rather than adapted once it arrives.

Note how thick the surface is where a deck mounted tap would sit, and ask whether the fitting suits that thickness.

Thick stone tops and thin metal basins need different fixing arrangements, and that is settled by the maker rather than on site.

Ask the supplier and the installer to confirm the fitting suits the surface thickness before either item is ordered.

Where two separate taps are being considered, ask what spacing the basin expects and whether the pair you like suits it.

Separate taps look like the simplest option and depend on hole spacing that varies between basins, which catches owners out regularly.

Decide the order in which the basin and the tap are being chosen, and write down which one is governing the other.

Naming the governing item avoids two people each assuming that the other decision has already been fixed by somebody else.

Ask whether an overflow is present in the basin you are choosing, since that changes which waste fitting can be used with it.

The waste has to match the presence or absence of an overflow, and the two are frequently ordered separately by different people.

Note how far the spout would reach over the bowl, and whether water would land near the centre or close against the back.

Water landing at the back runs down the bowl, while water landing directly on the waste is the usual cause of splash onto the surround.

Consider whether anyone washes hair, rinses a cloth or fills a bucket at this basin, and how much clear height that needs.

Tall taps are chosen for their looks and earn their place by filling things, which is worth deciding on rather than discovering later.

For a vessel or countertop bowl, ask what height of tap suits that particular bowl rather than assuming a tall one is right.

Raised bowls change the geometry completely, and the wrong height produces splash that reaches the mirror behind the basin.

Note whether hands fit comfortably beneath the spout in the arrangement you are considering, including for the tallest user.

Low clearance is the commonest daily irritation with a basin tap and it is entirely visible before anything has been ordered.

Decide whether a bath filler should sit at the end, at the side or away from the bath entirely, and note who bathes there.

Filler position decides which end anyone leans back against, and it is settled by pipework long before the bath is ever used.

Ask how noisy the fitting is likely to be while filling, particularly where the bathroom shares a wall with a bedroom.

Filling noise carries through walls at night, and it is rarely mentioned until somebody on the other side is trying to sleep.

Decide between a single lever, a pair of handles and a cross head arrangement, and note who in the household would struggle with each.

Grip varies enormously between people, and the household member who finds a handle hard to turn is usually the last one asked.

Consider whether a tap needs to be operated with a forearm or an elbow at any point in an ordinary day.

Cooking, nappies and paint make this an ordinary requirement rather than a special one, and it rules out some handle shapes entirely.

Note how the handle indicates which side is hot, and whether that would be obvious to a visitor or to a child.

Unmarked handles are common on plainer fittings, and the discovery tends to be made by the person least expecting it.

How hot water reaches a bathroom outlet is a question for a qualified professional and for the requirements that apply in your area.

Ask how far a single lever has to travel to reach full flow, and whether it would foul the wall or splashback behind it.

Levers that hit the wall behind cannot be lifted fully, and that is discovered only once the tap has already been fitted.

Write down whether anyone leaves a tap running while doing something else, and what that says about the fitting you choose.

Habits decide how a fitting is judged in use, and being honest about them changes which handle arrangement actually makes sense.

Ask what depth a concealed body needs and what the wall behind it would have to be built up to in order to take it.

Wall mounted fittings need room behind them, and that requirement drives the wall build-up rather than the other way round.

Ask a qualified professional what build-up a concealed fitting needs in this wall, and treat their answer as the one that governs.

Ask how the concealed part would be reached if it ever needed attention, and where any access would have to be formed.

Access is straightforward to arrange before tiling and close to impossible afterwards, so the question belongs in the conversation now.

Ask a qualified professional how a concealed fitting would be reached for servicing before the wall is closed up.

Note whether the wall behind is shared with another room or a cupboard that could more easily accept an access panel.

A panel inside a cupboard or on a landing is far less intrusive than one in the middle of a newly tiled bathroom wall.

Write down how far the spout would project from the wall and check that against the bowl it is meant to serve.

Projection and bowl position have to be settled together, because the fitting is fixed in the wall long before the basin arrives.

Ask at what point the wall mounted decision has to be final so that the work behind the wall can allow for it.

There is a moment after which changing to a deck mounted fitting means opening the wall again, and it is worth knowing when that is.

Ask a qualified professional what your water system delivers to this room, and what that means for the fittings you like.

The system decides which fittings behave well, and the answer has to come from somebody who has actually looked at it.

What a fitting needs from your water system must be established by a qualified professional rather than read off a page.

Note whether the flow drops noticeably when another outlet is used in the property, and describe exactly when it happens.

Your own observation is genuinely useful evidence, and describing it precisely helps a professional answer the question properly.

Ask what happens to the temperature at a basin or shower when somebody flushes or runs another tap in the property.

Temperature swings are a system question and are far better raised before fittings are chosen than complained about afterwards.

Raise the subject of hot water temperature and any limiting arrangement, and write down exactly what you are told.

This is a topic with local requirements attached, so the useful owner action is to raise it and record who answered.

Hot water temperature and any limiting device must be settled by a qualified professional against the relevant local requirements.

Ask whether the fittings you are considering are intended for the kind of system you have, and get that answer in writing.

Suppliers describe suitability in their own literature, and having it in writing matters a great deal if a fitting disappoints later.

Decide between a plug on a chain, a push operated waste and a lever operated one, and note who would be using each.

Push wastes look tidy and collect hair, while a chain is unfashionable and never sticks, so this is a genuine trade rather than a fashion.

Ask whether the waste fitting matches the presence or absence of an overflow in the basin you have chosen.

This is the single commonest mismatch in a bathroom order, and it is entirely avoidable by asking the question once.

Note who clears hair from the basin and bath wastes now, and how the fitting you are considering would be cleared.

The person who does this is rarely consulted, and some arrangements come apart far more easily in the hand than others.

For a bath, ask how the waste and overflow are operated and whether they can be reached without leaning right in.

Bath waste controls sit at the wet end and get reached by somebody bending over, which is worth picturing while it can still change.

Ask what the trap arrangement beneath the basin would be, and whether it fits inside any unit you are considering.

Traps and cabinet backs collide constantly, and this is settled by whoever installs rather than by anyone in a showroom.

How the waste and trap are arranged beneath a basin is for a qualified professional to establish on site.

Ask to handle a sample of the finish and look at it under the kind of light you actually have in the bathroom.

Showroom lighting flatters metal, and a sample seen under your own light tells you far more than any photograph does.

Ask what dried water leaves on this finish in your area, and how visible that would be between one clean and the next.

Water marking is the commonest disappointment with taps and depends on the water where you live rather than on the fitting alone.

Note whether fingerprints show on the finish by pressing a hand onto the sample and then looking at it from an angle.

Dark and polished finishes record every touch, which matters most on a tap that is handled many times each day.

Ask which cleaning products must be kept away from this finish, and what the manufacturer information actually says.

Cleaning products remove some finishes and the damage cannot be made good, so the answer belongs in writing rather than in conversation.

Ask the supplier for the manufacturer cleaning information in writing before a particular finish is chosen.

Where fittings come from more than one supplier, ask whether the same named finish actually matches between them.

Finishes carrying the same name vary between makers, and the difference becomes obvious once two pieces sit side by side.

Decide whether all the metal in the room should match, including the waste, the towel rail and every door handle.

Wastes and rails are ordered by different people at different moments, which is exactly how a mismatched room happens.

Ask whether isolating valves are being provided for each fitting, and where each of them would be reached from.

Isolation turns a later repair into a small matter rather than a household event, and it is arranged during the original work.

Whether and how a fitting can be isolated is for a qualified professional to arrange and confirm on site.

Ask which internal parts are replaceable in the fittings you like, and whether they can be bought separately later.

Some fittings are serviced and others are replaced entirely, and the difference only becomes obvious on the day one starts to drip.

Write down the full description of every fitting ordered and keep it with the rest of the household papers.

A worn part is ordered from a description, and that description is almost impossible to reconstruct once the paperwork has gone.

Ask what maintenance the aerator or outlet needs and how that part is removed when it needs attention.

Blocked outlets are mistaken for pressure problems constantly, and knowing the part comes off changes the whole diagnosis.

Agree in writing who is responsible if a fitting is damaged by other trades before the work in the room is finished.

Taps are often fitted early, and polished surfaces suffer from everything that happens in the room after they arrive.