Bathroom Faucets, Shower and Tub Faucets

The bathroom is where most of the homes plumbing exists; the sink, shower and tub all need a faucet to control water flow and temperature. Whether you're brushing your teeth, taking a morning shower, or filling the tub, the bathroom faucets must work through thousands of uses. The bathroom is where you rejuvenate, refresh, and clean up, so the right bathroom faucet should accent your style and personality. Below is a guide to help review some good to know pointers about bathroom faucets.

Varieties of Bathroom Faucets

The bathroom sink faucet should accent and fit the current sink application. The sink could be a widespread double handle faucet, or single handle faucet. If you measure the distance of the bathroom sink holes, then you will have the faucets center dimensions. The most common three hole measurements are 4” or 8” spread. Then there are single hole faucets for vessel sinks or sinks with only one hole.

Types of Bathroom Sink Faucets

• Single Hole Bathroom Faucets: One handle and valve controls hot, cold, and volume control. This type of bath faucet only takes up one sink
  hole. An optional escutcheon plate can also cover the other holes on the center spread sink.

• Centerset Bathroom Faucets : Three holes in the sink, with a 4” spread from the center. Centerset faucets come all on one base, with either single or double handles.

• Widespread Bathroom Faucets : Most commonly 8” from center faucets. The spout and two handles are spread 8 inches apart. Most the time the hot, cold, and spout are three different parts.

Factoring in the Tub and Shower Faucets

As for the tub and shower faucets, there are many different applications to check out. For a tub and shower faucet, one valve controls the tub spout and showerhead. For separate applications, deck-mount tub faucets fill up just the bathtub. And shower-only faucets include a showerhead and valve to control the shower. For the luxury shower systems, body sprays, shower panels, and hand showers enhance the shower experience. Or for the environmentally friendly, choose a water-saving faucet to limit the amount of water flow from the showerhead or sink faucet.

• Tub and Shower Faucets: Includes a tub filler, thermostatic valve and shower head assembly. The diverter valve on the tub spouts diverts water to the shower head.

• Tub Fillers: Specifically to fill up a bathtub, options include a hand shower.

• Shower Faucets: Faucet for a shower enclosure. Includes thermostatic valve and showerhead.

• Shower Systems: Include a variety of shower faucets and accessories. Shower systems include everything from shower heads, body sprays, thermostatic valves and hand showers for the ultimate shower experience.

Bathroom Faucet Styles and Finishes

After penciling out the applications, finding the right style is your next step. Most bathroom faucets are part of a larger coordinated collection of fixtures and accessories. For example, Kohler’s bathroom faucets from the Forte collection are designed with the same shape for every faucet. Whether it’s a single-, double-handle, or a shower faucet, they all have similar features and design elements. This makes matching the faucets, with all the accessories much simpler.

The finish and color of your bathroom faucet is a final consideration. The silver metallic finishes are stainless steel, brushed nickel, and chrome, while other finish options include oil rubbed bronze and brass. Each of the following collections have a full line of bath faucet applications and accessories.

Bathroom Faucet Collections and Styles

With all the great options for faucets, sticking to these basic guides lines should you on you way to finding a new faucet. Many times reading a faucet review or spec information should help you. For further assistance you can talk to one of FaucetDirect.com’s friendly representatives at (800) 864-2555.