What is it?
The tap is where water is delivered at the sink, usually a single fitting that blends hot and cold through one spout. It sits on the sink ledge or the worktop just behind the bowl, fed from the hot and cold supplies below through flexible connectors, and it is in use constantly, so it needs to feel good to use and stand up to years of daily handling.
Taps range from a simple mixer up to all in one taps that also give filtered, chilled, sparkling or instant boiling water. They come in a choice of finishes, from chrome and brushed steel to black, brass and gold, and mount either on the sink or through the worktop. The type and any extra features decide what goes on below, since filtered and boiling taps need a filter or a heating tank in the cabinet.
- 1Water Hoses
- 2Tap
- 3Sink
- 4Worktop
What does it do?
Delivering and mixing water
The tap brings hot and cold to the sink and blends them to the temperature you want through one or two levers, giving controlled water for washing, rinsing and filling.
Making everyday jobs easier
Features like a pull out spray, a high swivel spout or instant boiling water speed up rinsing, filling pans and making drinks, which is why the type is chosen around how the kitchen is used.
Setting the look
As one of the few pieces of hardware on show, the tap is a design feature in its own right, with its shape and finish often chosen to match the handles, the sink and other fittings.
Where is it used?
The usual spot, on the sink ledge or the worktop just behind the bowl, over the sink base unit.
A second, often smaller tap serves a prep or island sink, sometimes a boiling or filter tap for drinks.
A plain, hard wearing mixer is common in the utility, where looks matter less than a tough, practical tap.
Types
Taps are chosen by what they do as much as how they look. The options run from a simple mixer up to all in one taps that add filtered, chilled or instant boiling water.
Mixer tap
The standard kitchen tap, blending hot and cold through a single lever or twin handles and one spout. Simple, reliable and the most affordable, in a huge range of shapes and finishes.
Pull out spray
A mixer with a spray head that pulls out on a flexible hose, giving extra reach for rinsing the sink, filling pans and washing awkward items. A very popular upgrade.
Boiling water tap
Delivers near boiling water on demand from a tank in the cabinet below, replacing the kettle. Many also give filtered chilled or sparkling water. Quooker leads this category.
Filter tap
Provides filtered drinking water, either through a separate spout alongside the mixer or as a three in one that also gives hot and cold. The filter sits in the cabinet and is changed from time to time.
Bridge and traditional
A twin lever period style, often with the hot and cold arms joined by a bridge, suited to classic kitchens and Belfast sinks. More of a design choice than a functional one.
Typical sizes
Most taps fit a standard hole and connection, with the extra features deciding what is needed below.
| Feature | Typical figure |
|---|---|
| Tap hole | 35 mm |
| Number of tap holes | 1 for a mixer, 2 for twin or bridge |
| Supply connection | half inch tails to 15 mm supply |
| Boiling or filter tap | tank or filter in the cabinet, plus a socket for boiling |
How to specify
Choose the tap alongside the sink and worktop, since the number of tap holes and the mounting have to match, and any boiling or filter features need space and services below.
Type and features
Decide what the tap needs to do, whether a plain mixer, a pull out spray, filtered water or instant boiling, as this drives the cost and what goes in the cabinet below.Mounting and holes
Confirm whether it mounts on the sink or through the worktop, and that the number of tap holes matches the sink or that a hole can be cut. Check the water pressure suits the tap.Finish and services
Pick the finish to suit the kitchen, and set the services below, isolation valves on the supplies, a socket and tank space for a boiling tap, or a filter housing for a filter tap.
Other considerations
Interacting elements
The tap works closely with the elements around it.
- Sink holds the tap in its ledge or just behind it, in a hole matched to the sink.
- Plumbing feeds the tap through the hot and cold supplies and isolation valves, and houses any tank or filter.
- Worktop a deck mounted tap passes through a hole in the worktop behind the sink.
- Sink base unit holds the connections and any boiling tank or filter below.
- Splashback the tap and its backplate sit against or just in front of it.
Popular manufacturers
Quooker
The Dutch inventor of the boiling water tap, delivering instant near boiling water from an insulated tank in the cabinet, with filtered chilled and sparkling water through its CUBE. The name specifiers reach for on boiling taps, with a strong focus on safety.
Grohe
A German maker since 1936, known for precise, hard wearing mixers and pull out taps, plus the Grohe Blue filtered range and Grohe Red boiling water range. A premium mainstream choice in many finishes.
Franke
Crossing over from its sinks, Franke offers a full range of kitchen taps from mixers and pull outs to filter and boiling water taps, designed to match its sinks for a coordinated look.