A new bath tap can give a breath of fresh air to a tired bathroom. Changing the tap however can be tricky. If you are fortnuate, this can be straightforward as the correct tools and some know-how can go a long way. If this job, however, is looking to be difficult due to awkward pipes or living in an old property, we recommend advice from a trained professional.

Firstly, a list of tools you will need to change your bath tap:

  • Adjustable Wrench
  • Box or Cranked Spanner
  • A Towel (for any leaks)
  • Wet Cloth
  • Flathead Screwdriver

Once you’ve got everything you need, you can get started.

1. Turn Off The Water Supply

First things first, you can’t change any taps in your bathroom without isolating the water supply. This can be done in two ways:

  • Turning it off via compression fittings
  • Turning it off via the mains

Turning it off via compression fittings

This is usually found on the pipework to your old tap, to turn off the water supply use a flathead screwdriver and turn the compression fitting 90 degrees clockwise. Do the same for the hot and cold taps, then test them to drain the taps of water and make sure no issues have occurred.

Bath pipe work

Turn off water via compression fittings

Turning it off via the mains

This is normally located in your kitchen under the sink, or in a utility room if you have one in your home. Turn off the valve by turning it clockwise.

Once the water supply has been isolated, we recommend putting the plug in the basin to prevent any bolts and fixings falling into the drain and causing any issues.

2. Disconnect the Flexible Tap Connectors and remove the Nut

Next you need to disconnect the flexible tap connectors that hold the supply to the tap tails using an adjustable wrench. After that you will need to remove the nut that clamps the tap to the bath. This is located on the underside of the tap, beneath the bath. This can be a tricky job to do if space is an issue. Make sure you are using the appropriate tool, for example a cranked spanner or a box spanner.

Use spanner to disconnect compression fittings

Remove nut

3. Remove the Old Tap

When you disconnect the flexible tap connectors, there may be some water trapped, so keep a towel handy during this process. The old tap should lift easily out of the tap holes once the nut has been removed, if you’ve followed the steps correctly so far. There may be some dirt and grime around the tap holes, clean with a wet cloth to get it back to its sparkling best.

Remove old tap

4. Insert the New Tap

Make sure your new tap sits comfortably in your tap holes, using the washers supplied with your new tap, if so then you can start the process of getting your new tap fitted. Begin with the hot tap, which should always be on the left side as you look at it from the opposite end to the taps. Unscrew the nut from the bottom of the new tap and place it into your tap holes. Ensure it’s at 90 degrees to the rim of the bath.

Reach under the tap holes and screw the nut on by hand. Repeat this process with the cold tap. Once you’re happy the new tap looks good and is secure, take your spanner and tighten the nuts, make sure you hold the main body of the new tap as steady as possible to prevent any damage to the basin.

Align new tap

5. Reconnect the Flexible Tap Connectors

If you’re happy that the tap is positioned correctly and tightened with your spanner, you can move on to reconnecting the flexible tap connectors. Connect the pipe to the end of the flexible connectors.

Reconnect flexible tap connectors

6. Tighten the Nut Beneath the Basin

To hold everything into place, you’ll need to hand tighten the main nut against the fitting. Once it's firmly in place, use a spanner to hold the fitting and turn the nut by a single complete turn with the second spanner. Once this is done, it’s important to recheck all of the fittings and joints, if it all looks good and feels tight, you can move on to turning the water back on.

Tighten main nut

7. Turn Water Supply Back On

Once you’re happy that everything is connected properly, turn back on the water supply by turning the compression fittings 90 degrees anti-clockwise with a flathead screwdriver and check for any drips or leaks. If there is a leak, check the connections and tighten as required.

Turn water supply back on

There is our step by step guide to replacing a bath tap.

Free Advice

If you’re struggling with advice regarding replacing bath taps, ring our dedicated experts on 0800 112 3134 or 0333 577 3134.
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