A new trend in bathroom design is installing block colour tapware. Some of the colours include red, yellow and black.
While they may look great now in your designer bathroom they will date and be difficult to keep their colour in the future.
I remember a couple of months ago doing plumbing maintenance work to a property at Indooroopilly. None of the taps matched in the bathroom. There were two basins with one yellow mixer and one red mixer
(both by Dorf) and the shower taps… I couldn’t make out what colour they used to be because the paint had worn off from constant use! The bathroom did not look appealing at all.
White and ivory tapware are also common in houses built in the 1990’s. The problem with these taps though is that when it comes time to replacing the washers or ceramic disc spindles, the white enamel can come off the flanges when using multigrips to disconnect the taps.
When purchasing taps for your bathroom or kitchen, chrome is the best choice. It’s modern, it won’t date and chrome taps are affordable.
Purchasing your taps from a reputable supplier like Reece Plumbing Supplies or Tradelink will ensure that there will be no issues with the warranty.
I have had one client who bought a $29 kitchen mixer from Bunnings, only to have to buy the same one two weeks later due to the lack of warranty. It needed to be replaced a further two weeks later costing the client nearly $90 for 3 mixers! The cost could have gone towards a more reputable brand of tap and would have saved less time and headaches in disconnecting the faulty tap 3 times!
It’s also important to note that the plumber that installed your taps is not liable for the warranty of the taps they install. The warranty starts from the time of purchase and installation of the tap ware. If the taps break down outside the warranty time stated, it is not the plumber’s responsibility or liability to disconnect them and install new taps for free. It is the manufacturer’s liability.
Read the fine print of what the warranty says. For most mixers, they have a 12 month full replacement and installation warranty (meaning if the tap becomes faulty within 12 months, the manufacturer will organise a new replacement and pay for the installation costs).
If the warranty has fallen outside the 12 month warranty, often the manufacturer will supply the new tap, but won’t pay for the installation, which means you will have to pay a plumber to do the installation.
In most cases, if you buy from a reputable brand and plumbing supplier, you shouldn’t have any issues.
Do you like coloured tapware? Would you use it in your own home?
