Double Pillar Sink Taps

Double Pillar Sink Tap: Single, Double, Deck or Wall

A pillar sink tap stands on the sink. It rises from the tap hole in the sink deck or the counter, with a swivel spout that reaches over the bowl. It is the standard cold tap for a wet kitchen, a yard sink or a laundry trough.

A double pillar sink tap has two spouts on one body. Both run from the same cold feed and the same tap hole. It suits a double-bowl sink, where each bowl gets its own spout, or a sink where one spout serves the bowl and the other fills a pail or a washing machine hose.

The wall version does the same from the wall. A double wall sink tap mounts on the wall above the sink, so the sink itself needs no tap hole. It is the usual choice for a stainless steel trough or a tiled wash area. If you only need one outlet on the wall, a plain bib tap does the job.

Cold only, by design. These taps are single-feed. Where a wet kitchen or laundry needs hot water, look at the mixer taps or the kitchen faucets instead.

Fitting and the Order of Work

Check the tap hole against the tap base. A pillar tap needs the sink's tap hole to match its base diameter. Confirm this against the kitchen sink before buying, because a hole that is too small is awkward to enlarge on site, and one that is too big needs a cover plate.

Spout reach decides whether the double works. On a double-bowl sink, each spout should land near the centre of its bowl. Measure from the tap hole to the centre of each bowl and compare with the spout reach. A short spout on a wide sink runs water down the divider.

Mind the height under a wall cabinet. A pillar tap with a high arch may not clear an overhead cabinet or a window sill. Measure the clear height above the tap hole first.

Wall-mounted taps are fixed at first fix. The outlets go into the wall before tiling, at a height that clears the deepest pot you will wash. A deck-mounted pillar tap can be fitted or changed at any time, which is worth remembering if the wet kitchen is already tiled.

Fit a stop valve on the line. Wet kitchens and yards are where hoses get left on and washers wear. A stop valve on that branch lets you fix a drip without shutting the house.