Bib Taps and Shower Taps

Bib Taps: Threads, Nozzles and Where They Go

Check the thread before anything else. A bib tap screws straight onto the wall outlet, so its inlet thread has to match the fitting in the wall. Half-inch is the common size in Malaysian bathrooms, but confirm it with your plumber or by looking at the existing tap, because a mismatch cannot be shimmed.

Plain nozzle or hose nozzle. A plain bib tap fills a bucket. A hose bib tap has a threaded or ribbed nozzle that takes a washing machine hose or a garden hose. Put the hose version at the washing machine point and the yard; the plain version everywhere else.

Quarter-turn or full-turn. A quarter-turn tap with a ceramic disc opens with a flick and is far less likely to drip as it ages. A full-turn tap with a rubber washer is cheaper and the washer is replaceable. Both are fine; the quarter-turn is easier for older hands.

Heights that work. A bib tap for a bucket sits low, roughly knee height, so the bucket stands under it. A washing machine tap sits above the machine. A cold-water shower tap sits around waist height with the arm and head above it. Yard sinks usually take a double pillar sink tap instead.

Shower Taps: Exposed or Concealed

An exposed shower tap is a bib tap by another name. The tap is on the wall face, and a shower arm and head sit above it. It can be replaced at any time without touching the tiles, which is why it remains the common choice where the shower runs cold or from an instant heater.

A concealed shower mixer lives inside the wall. Only the cover plate and the handle show. The valve body has to be set into the wall at the right depth for the finished tile face, before plastering, and it needs a hot feed from a storage or multipoint heater. It is the cleaner look and the harder one to change. See the mixer taps category for the range of bath and shower mixers.

A bath shower mixer adds a diverter. One handle controls temperature; a second control sends water to the bath spout or up to the shower head. If there is no bathtub, you do not need the diverter.

Get the heights and centres on paper. Whatever the tap, the outlet position is set at first fix and the tiler works around it. Agree the shower tap height, the arm height and the head position with your plumber before the wall is closed, and check the shower category for the arms, heads and sets that will hang from it.

Put a stop valve on the line. A bib tap that starts to weep is a washer or disc change, but only if you can isolate it. Stop valves on each bathroom's supply make that possible.