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Good value mixer taps


vivienz

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I shall be buying basin and bathroom taps soon.  The choice is mind boggling, as is the array of prices.  Are there good reasons to avoid the cheaper ones and are there pricier ones that should be avoided too?  For instance, I was looking at reviews of a Grohe tap and it seems that the connection is 12mm when the UK standard is 15mm, so a converter was required.

 

Thoughts, anyone?

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I’ve had Grohe basin taps in the past, don’t recall any special convertors though, plumber just fitted them..

 

I would always buy a decent tap, its something that gets lots of use...like a door handle....if the thing starts dripping a year in its a pain. A good one should last, I think false economy to buy cheap.

Edited by lizzie
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12mm connections are easy these days - converters are cheap and very good. 

 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/fltt38-flexible-tap-adaptors-15mm-x-3-8-2-pack/6089r

 

Grohe have two different sets they produce - one is for the DIY market and one for the “decent” ones and the hotel market...

 

I’ve fitted a lot of Twyford stuff recently and been very impressed by the quality of the brassware - it’s contract manufactured but not sure who by. 

 

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, vivienz said:

I shall be buying basin and bathroom taps soon.  The choice is mind boggling, as is the array of prices.  Are there good reasons to avoid the cheaper ones and are there pricier ones that should be avoided too?  For instance, I was looking at reviews of a Grohe tap and it seems that the connection is 12mm when the UK standard is 15mm, so a converter was required.

 

Thoughts, anyone?

 

Depends on your measure ! I think in taps to a large extent you do get what you pay for, until the level when you start paying for the badge.

 

Personally, for a house newly built I was living in I would want something good enough that I would expect to pay perhaps £150-250 if buying at retail price for a kitchen sink mixer. I think that is the starting price level for good ones.  It is something to be used umpteen times a day, so it wants to be pleasant to use and just ‘work’. Similarly I would want an equivalent quality for bathrooms. one of the little things that makes the house enjoyable.

 

But the last 3 lots I have bought have been discounted by 30-80%. My own came from B&Q of all places in a half price clearance 5 years ago. For a recent renovation they came from Wickes at 75% off due to a range change.

 

So I say fix a level of price / quality that you are looking for, without being too demanding on individual model, then wait for a deal, and save enough for a theatre trip.

 

Single single lever and with a pull out nozzle, and it is a basic spec that I can get a normal sized bucket or watering can or kettle under it to fill.

 

It may be that you get satisfaction or a deal from a German superbrand; if so, enjoy them.

 

I seem to recall a woman on GD with a tap fetish who spent £1500, and Kevin McCloud was finding it. That is not me, but good luck to them.

 

Ferdinand

Edited by Ferdinand
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We have Grohe right through 

The lady that we bought the plot off paid £1500 for bath and basin taps 

I can’t rember the brand But they have lasted less than ten years 

Replacement cartridges are sold in a set of four for £750 plus 

She said the salesman told her they were the best tap on the market ?

We had Briston for the last twenty years No issues I can’t rember how much but money was tight back then 

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Thanks, all.  I'm having a quooker for the kitchen sink but I think I will use Hudson Reed for the rest.  @Nickfromwales described them as the VW Golf of the fittings world, which is just fine for me.  Some of them look rather nice, too, which is what really counts - just like what colour a car is!  Stereotype? Me?!

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43 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

 

.. £150-250...

 

I think that is the starting price level for good ones. 

 

Thats top end ..!! Anything over £300 for kitchen brassware is a joke as there is about £40 of material in a tap. At £250 you’re paying for a name, you can pick up nice Grohe kitchen taps from £90 upward if you shop around. 

 

 

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I have a Grohe eurosmart M in our current bathroom and may well get them for our new house - but probably not with the pop up waste option as the seal isn't great. Megabad was v. reasonable when I looked, a U.K. based store price matched them for Duravit & Hansgrohe, but couldn't get near the Grohe prices. 

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  • 8 months later...

Crosswater look very good value and aesthetically look good too.  Has anyone any experience of them 5/10 years after installation?  They are not an expensive brand so I'm immediately thinking the quality can't be as good.  Does anyone have any experience of using them longterm?

 

Thanks   

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I thought Crosswater was a respected brand! The plated metal stuff in my bathroom is crosswater and looks and feels quality. Not very old though. All came in very fancy padded boxes and packaging. I know your paying for this and it only ends up in the bin anyway.

I have a mixture of AXA crosswater, grohe, bauhaus, Kudos and Hudson Reed in our two bathrooms all expensive stuff but the quality is there. The downstairs toilet/ kitchen (over five years old now) are  ideal standard and Bristan and again good stuff which still looks new.

I did a friends bathroom with all budget stuff and it didn`t have the same "feel" but he and his partner wouldn`t appreciate the differences.

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2 hours ago, CH1 said:

Crosswater look very good value and aesthetically look good too.  Has anyone any experience of them 5/10 years after installation?  They are not an expensive brand so I'm immediately thinking the quality can't be as good.  Does anyone have any experience of using them longterm?

 

Thanks   

 

I fitted 100% Crosswater (taps, mixers etc) in three bathrooms in a barn conversion I did in 2002. I sold the barn this year and not one single failure. 

 

Of course the quality of the product may have been higher back then. A lot of stuff (in my opinion) is not of the quality it used to be as production has moved to the likes of China. 

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Thanks for your comments. I didn't mean to imply Crosswater are poor quality, it's just that I'd never heard of them before looking at bathrooms, and my architect said his plumber steered him towards Hansgrohe over Crosswater on the basis of quality.  But who knows, maybe that was just a case of vested interests!

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2 hours ago, CH1 said:

my architect said his plumber steered him towards Hansgrohe over Crosswater on the basis of quality.  But who knows, maybe that was just a case of vested interests


Or cost ...! HG is probably 150-200% the price of Crosswater and is probably a bit better quality however not that much ..!

 

on the other end of the scale, I’ve just fitted a load of Twyford brassware and very surprised at the quality on that at the price point. Remains to be seen how it lasts but initial thoughts were it was very good quality. 

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That's the problem I'm trying to work out - if you pay more upfront, say 100-200% - does that reduce the costs down the line.  If a lower quality piece fails then I'm paying for a replacement part, a plumber's fee and possibly repainting or tiling if they are wall mounted.  

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  • 1 year later...
On 10/03/2019 at 22:46, Onoff said:

Just looking a bit deeper into the Hudson Reed guarantee and it would appear to be 12 months on serviceable parts / those subject to normal wear and tear. I have a feeling the long term guarantees are on the finishes only.

 

guarantees-policy.pdf 44.07 kB · 0 downloads

I fitted Hudson Reed thermostatic shower three way valve at my old place. Lasted about 2 years before i needed to replace one of the cartridges which was bloody fiddly to do. 18 months after that it needed replacing again. Never again!

Now considering crosswater which is a bit more than Hudson Reed, but has a 15 year guarantee if registered on the tap itself and a 5 year guarantee on the o-rings, diverter and cartridges. Going to install a water softener too, so hoping taps will last.

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13 hours ago, Adsibob said:

Now considering crosswater which is a bit more than Hudson Reed, but has a 15 year guarantee if registered on the tap itself and a 5 year guarantee on the o-rings, diverter and cartridges. Going to install a water softener too, so hoping taps will last.

 

We have Crosswater throughout our house. Just ticked over 5 years after moving in and not a single drip from any of them. 

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10 minutes ago, jack said:

 

We have Crosswater throughout our house. Just ticked over 5 years after moving in and not a single drip from any of them. 

Good to know @jack. Which finish did you go for? I'm torn between unlacquered brass that develops a nice aged pattina over time, or lacquered that keeps it looking new until the lacquer eventually deteriorates at which point it looks pretty awful.

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