Bathroom Taps (Three Piece)

The key factor is the height and style of your basin. For standard inset or semi-recessed basins, a regular deck-mounted basin mixer with a spout height of around 100–140mm works well. However, if you have an above-counter or vessel basin, where the bowl sits on top of the benchtop, you will need a tall basin mixer with a spout height of 180mm or more, otherwise the spout will sit below the basin rim and water will splash onto the benchtop. Wall-mounted mixers offer another option for above-counter basins, with the height controlled by your rough-in position. Always confirm basin rim height before purchasing your tapware.

The Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme is a mandatory Australian government rating system that measures how water-efficient a tapware product is. Ratings run from 1 to 6 stars, the more stars, the less water the tap uses per minute. For basin mixers, a 5 or 6-star WELS rating is considered excellent and translates to meaningful long-term savings on water bills, particularly important in drought-prone Australian states. All tapware sold in Australia must carry a WELS rating, and most reputable brands now offer basin mixers rated 4 stars or higher as standard. Look for the WELS label on the product or packaging before you buy.

While bath mixers and basin mixers may look similar, they are not interchangeable. The key technical difference is the water supply connection size. This difference matters because filling a bathtub requires a significantly higher flow rate, a basin mixer simply cannot deliver water fast enough to fill a bath in a reasonable time. Always use tapware specified for bath applications when fitting out a bath, and consult your plumber if you are unsure.

A shower mixer (or shower tap) is the control valve that regulates the flow and temperature of water to your shower. A single-lever mixer controls both temperature and flow with one handle. A thermostatic mixer maintains a pre-set water temperature even if pressure changes elsewhere in the system, a safer and more convenient option, particularly for households with children. Shower mixers in Australia must comply with AS 3718 standards.

A rail shower (also called a slider rail shower or shower rail kit) includes a hand shower mounted on an adjustable rail, allowing users to slide the shower head up or down to their preferred height. Rail showers are among the most practical and versatile shower options available, they suit users of different heights, are ideal for bathing children, and are easy to use for rinsing down shower walls. They are widely used in family bathrooms across Australia.

A rail shower with overhead shower combines a fixed overhead shower head at the top of the rail with a sliding hand shower below. A diverter valve (either integrated into the rail or fitted separately at the mixer) allows you to switch water flow between the overhead and the hand shower. This combination delivers the best of both worlds, the immersive feel of a rain shower with the flexibility of a hand shower.

A three piece tap set is three separate fittings, a hot tap, a cold tap and a spout, installed as individual pieces rather than one combined mixer. It's the traditional layout used on older Australian basins and is still chosen today for a heritage or period look. Each piece is plumbed and installed separately, so the basin needs three pre-drilled holes rather than the single hole a modern mixer uses.

Three. One for the hot tap, one for the cold tap and one for the spout in between. This is the main practical difference from a mixer tap, which typically needs only one hole (or occasionally two for a wall-mounted spout with separate wall taps). Before buying a three piece set, check the basin or benchtop actually has three holes drilled at the right spacing, since retrofitting holes into stone or an existing basin isn't always possible.

Hole spacing isn't fully standardised across basins, though many Australian three-hole basins use a common centre spacing that most three piece sets are designed to fit. Because spacing can still differ between older and newer basins, it's worth measuring the centre-to-centre distance between the outer holes before ordering, or checking the spacing listed against the basin you're pairing it with.

It usually involves more than swapping the tap itself, since a mixer needs one hole and a three piece set needs three. Moving between the two formats generally means changing the basin as well, or having a plumber assess whether the existing holes and pipework can be adapted. It's a straightforward job for a licensed plumber once the basin and hole configuration are sorted, but it's not simply a like-for-like tap swap the way replacing an old mixer with a new one usually is.

"Basin tap set" is the general product name and can refer to either a three piece configuration (separate hot, cold and spout) or, less commonly, a two-piece set. When people search for a basin tap set on a three-hole basin, they're almost always referring to the three piece version, which is why the two terms are often used interchangeably in Australian bathroom supply. Check the product listing description to confirm the exact piece count before buying.

Yes. The Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme is a mandatory Australian rating that applies to all tapware sold here, including three piece sets, and is shown as a star rating from 1 to 6. A higher star rating means lower water use per minute. Because a three piece set has separate hot and cold taps rather than one mixer body, check that both the taps and the spout carry the rating you're expecting, since the flow behaviour is controlled slightly differently than on a single mixer.

Installation typically takes a bit longer than a single mixer, since a plumber is connecting and sealing three separate fittings instead of one. Beyond that, cost is driven mainly by the finish and brand of the tap set itself rather than the three piece format specifically. A licensed plumber can give an accurate job cost once they've seen the existing plumbing and hole configuration.