Hib Acoustia Mirror Clock and Radio

Radio Star Acoustia by HIB is a bathroom mirror which has a clock and a radio with LED back lights. Is it a gimmick “no way” explained my wife then I thought how many times she shouts “whats the time” from the bathroom as she squeezes every last second out of her relaxing bath away from the kids.

I like the landscape design and the neat bevelled edges to the mirror, the LED lights are good but you would need background lighting as well, and being LED they do not need any maintenance, the clock well its a standard 24 hr clock with a sleep timer and a alarm.

Hib Acoustia Remote Control

With the built in radio which is FM and stereo speakers with auto tune and a 10 station preset memory, but the bit that is essential is the remote control (see right) which I can see my wife relaxing in the bath tuning in and not shouting at me as a bonus.

The width of the mirror is 800mm with a height 600mm.

You can buy the Radio Star Acoustia mirror clock radio for £293.00 by clicking here.

Square Bathroom Taps

Looking around at new ranges of square bathroom taps and I came across the Navona collection which is a brand new range which I had not noticed before, it has a lever that is flush to the top of the handle which is a slightly unusual approach but very neat in design, although this is a small range it has every thing that is required for a bathroom, in the collection is either a pair of basin taps or a  mono block basin mixer, there is a bidet mixer and for the bath the choice of a separate pair of bath taps a bath filler or a bath shower mixer.

In the picture to the left is the mono bloc basin mixer and a bath filler, to know the quality of the product the handles have to be smooth in operation which is generally a good test of the quality brassware and these are certainly up the the standard I would expect.

Value for money is where this range really stands out the basin taps come in at just £55.00 with the basin mixer just £63.00 even the bath shower mixer is well priced at £156.00 which makes this range my choice for quality at a price, if you would like to view the whole range on offer then just click here.

The Modest is a compact bathroom suite comprising of just six choices. The Modest 50 basin is designed to be either wall hung, on an optional pedestal or counter top for a piece of furniture, it is supplied with a single tap hole for a mono bloc basin mixer and a built in overflow.

There are 4 choices for the Modest toilet the close coupled toilet is available in two types both with a projection of just 655mm which is one of the smallest on the market and a great space saving. Both versions come with a dual flush of 3 and 6 liters and are fully internally glazed for hygiene and easy cleaning. So the only difference is you get an open backed version for side entry of the soil stack connection, or if the outlet is straight into the floor or out the back wall the Modest close coupled closed back option makes a neater look and even easier to keep the bathroom clean.

The last two options for the WC is the Modest back to wall pan where you can conceal a cistern in furniture or a wall cavity, or for the ultimate in minimal design use the Modest wall hung pan which will make the room look larger.

All the WC’ s have a soft close WC seat available.

For a professional installation use the basin support frame and the Bauhaus WC support system also available.

View the full range of the Bauhaus Modest bathroom suite at tapstore.com by clicking on the advert below.

At number 5 Crosswater have the Prima range of bathroom taps (shown left), this will work on low pressure and comes in at £76.00 a small range with just a Monobloc basin mixer, monobloc bidet mixer, deck or wall mounted bath shower mixer and a manual shower valve, to see the full range click here.

At number 4 Bristan have the Blade range of bathroom taps (shown right) these will also work on low pressure systems and start from as little as £54.00 for a pair of basin taps, again a small range with basin and bath taps a bath filler and a bath shower mixer if you wish to see the full range then click here.

At number 3 Home of Ultra Have Orion bathroom taps (shown left) the prices start from just £38.00 for a pair of basin taps this is quite a large range which includes showers and valves as well to complete the look.

There are basin and bath taps, monobloc basin mixers, bath fillers and bath shower mixers and for the Orion shower valves you get both options of square or oval back plate all are thermostatic and come in one or two way valves with an intergeral diverter.

At Number 2 Bristan’s Sonique range of bathroom taps (shown right) is an easy choice for good design at very reasonable price with basin taps from £38.00 they also offer bath taps, monobloc basin mixers , bath filler, bath shower mixer and matching Sonique mini thermostatic shower valves. Tapstore.com are offering tap packs with saving up to 37% off retail price and they are also offering complete bath and shower packs as well so very worth a look.

But at Number 1 for the best quality for value for money we have the Roper Rhodes Storm range of taps and Showers which also got the accolade last year and managed to get back to number 1 by introducing matching shower valves to boost the complete range.

The Storm monobloc basin Mixer is a touch at £53.00 and there is now everything you would want to complement the complete bathroom or shower room design within the range.

Starting with BasinTaps, monobloc basin mixers with and without pop up wastes, both high and low pressure bath shower mixers and bath fillers, recessed and surface mounted thermostatic shower valves.

The technology used in the basin mixers along help it be the number 1. Built in to the on off control (cartridge) is a flow limiter and and a temperature limiter to make it safe for use with children and older persons.

To see the full range of taps and showers click here.

1, Make sure that you buy branded bathroom taps from a reputable retailer through your local showroom or online shop, lots of people are being teased by very cheap prices into buying poor quality import brass ware through shops and the Internet, What I have noticed is that retailers are calling taps by a brand name but when you search for the manufacturer there are no details of them online. So make sure that the manufacturer has a base in the UK.

The reason retailers are now doing this is that it protects them against you finding the same product cheaper elsewhere.

2, It is critical that you select the brand you buy and check that it is suitible for your water system, you need to look for the minimum pressure that a tap or shower will work on e.g 0.2 bar which means you will need 2 meters of distance between the bottom of your cold water storage tank and where the water flows from the taps or shower.

So for each 1 meter in distance you will need 0.1 bar.

*Note If you do not have a cold water storage tank this does not apply unless the stated pressure is above 2.0 bar then call a plumber and get you pressure tested to make sure you have enough.

3, A cheap tap or shower is not good value for money as you will be paying out for a replacement and a plumbers bill which is a lot more costly than paying just a bit more for a recognized brand.

More to follow…

The range consists of a monobloc basin mixer, monobloc bath shower mixer with pull out spray handset, a monobloc bath filler and the mother of all taps a freestanding piece of architecture the Signature freestanding bath shower mixer.

All the items are made to give an exact flow of water from the spout to not over shoot the basin or bath and come with a 15 year guarantee.

To see the full range click here. prices start from £263.00.

The Refine cabinet will sit neatly above most bathroom basins with designer looks and practical storage, inside the cabinet is three adjustable glass shelves and two neat aluminum storage trays.

The doors are made from double sided mirrors and have a really simple but effective magnetic catch system.

The refine Double door bathroom cabinet is available from Tapstore.com at just £170.00 to see further details and buy click here.

For the shower you have my favorite part to the range which is a rather sleek slimline Central thermostatic shower valve which is as a standard dual control, same but with an additional diverter, a three handled 3 way valve and a three handled 2 way valve in either portrait or landscape versions.

To see the full range and buy click here.

To add to the range there is also matching Prism black and chrome bathroom taps a small but precise collection, starting with the monobloc basin mixer then there is a mini monobloc basin mixer, a deck mounted bath filler and a bath shower mixer to complete set.

The control levers in the range are still made from chrome to keep the original Prism chrome collections durability.

To see the full range click here.

I then called Tim at Tapstore.com he is their technical man, I explained that I needed to pump my shower in a new loft room and also a bathroom on the first floor, I am rather confused as one guy said just get a 2.0 bar twin and the other said that I needed more and felt that everyone I asked advised something different?

Tim’s answer was to go for a technically brilliant product a Electronic Sensor Pump he explained that ” because my shower head was higher than the cold water storage tank in the loft (negative head) there will not be the flow to start up the pump I needed, and with the downstairs shower there was no real issues about the flow to start the pump (positive head)”. In the end I went for a pump that did everything both the showers, my whole first floor bathroom and my hot kitchen tap which had also given me flow problems.

What I now know is a pump is simply not a pump for any job and each pump has a specific purpose apart from the one I bought. I bought a Salamander Electronic Sensor ESP 2.25 bar CPV twin pump and it does just the job perfectly, it is designed to work in positive and negative head with independent hot or cold supplies, WC even my dishwasher and washing machine.

RRP £599.00 Tapstore.com price £341.00 Inc VAT and Delivery.