When you’re working on home improvements, each of the choices you make can have a real impact on the final result, right down to even the smallest of details. From colour schemes and carpets, to fireplaces and light fittings, there’s no better way to make a home your own than with some changes or additions that are perfect for your tastes.
If you’re updating your kitchen or bathroom, there will come a time further into the project where you will need to consider your taps. Although functionality is the main role of a tap, the different styles, features and characteristics of taps on offer these days means that you can continue to make the room your own, right down to these fittings.
The first thing to do when investing in some taps, is choosing whether to opt for separate taps or mixer taps. Read on to discover more about the differences between separate taps and mixer taps, as well as which of the two might be best for your own home.
Differences in their functionality
By separate taps and mixer taps, we’re referring to two different ways in which your new taps could function. Should you invest in separate taps, you will have a pair of taps that provides hot water from one and cold water from the other. With a mixer tap, however, you’ll be installing one single tap that provides both hot and cold water, with the temperature changing as you move the lever.
Consider their style
One big difference between separate taps and mixer taps is the way they look and the style they bring to your home. Separate taps tend to have a more traditional appearance, whereas mixer taps usually display more modern features.
The style of these taps could help to determine which of the two may be best for your home. If you have a more traditional style running through your home, then separate taps may work best with the room they are to be installed in, whereas if you have a modern, contemporary home, then the sleeker mixer taps are likely to be your best bet.
Feel free to mix it up
If you can’t decide between the two, then there’s always the option of adding both to your home. Whether that’s in separate rooms, or one with the sink and the other installed into your bath, feel free to invest in a mix of both separate taps and mixer taps as part of your home improvements. Both tap designs typically work in sinks and baths, so you don’t have to worry about buying the wrong type.
Think about how much control you would want
This might sound strange, but there’s a huge difference in the amount of control you have with separate taps, compared to how much you have with mixer taps.
With separate taps, you will be required to mix the hot and cold taps to reach your preferred temperature, whereas with mixer taps, you can simply turn the lever to reach the temperature you like.
The same thing goes for the water pressure, too. Mixer taps are much easier to control when it comes to the amount of water flowing from them. Not only that, but you may also save some money on your utility bills, by being able to control the amount of water being drawn from the tap at once.
Make sure they fit your basin
This is probably one of the most important parts of investing in some new taps, particularly when choosing between separate taps and mixer taps. You’ll want to make sure that any taps you intend to buy will fit your current basin, or the basin you’ve already decided on.
Choosing your taps before making sure they fit could slow the improvement process down, and could even cost you more money than it would by double checking in the first place.
While it may not be the biggest of decisions you will have to make during your home improvements, choosing the right taps for your home could well be the icing on the cake and a fantastic addition to your brand new room when it is completed.