Back-to-Wall Toilet
This is where the pan or base of the toilet fits against the wall, and the cistern is not visible. This may involve building a false wall or using a cabinet to hide the cistern. This give a clean streamlined look to the bathroom but bear in mind that you may need to get access to the cistern so if it is fitted into a false wall you should allow for some sort of maintenance access.

Bath Tub Spout
An output device through which water flows to fill a tub. A valve controls the flow

Bath Filler Tap
This is a tap that mixes hot and cold water through one spout into the bath tub. This allows you to fill the bath to a comfortable temperature from one tap fitting. It may have one inlet hole and mix the hot and cold supply under the bath, or two separate ones – one hot and one cold and mix them in the tap. They will be advertised as a one or two tap hole option accordingly.

Body Shower
A mini-showerhead that delivers water from a vertical position in the shower. It often targets specific areas of the body and offers a precise therapeutic and invigorating massage.

Bath and Shower Mixer
A single tap fitting that has hot and cold inlet and mixes the water in the body of the tap. It has a spout into the bath tub, plus a shower head with a valve that switches between the tap spout and the shower head.

Bath Tub
Baths can be made of acrylic, ceramic, enamelled steel, and occasionally stone or even wood. The bath tub itself can vary in size but standard lengths are 1700mm 1600mm and 1500mm. Normal widths are between 700mm and 800mm but again this can vary depending on the design. Corner baths and offset baths are also available and may fit into difficult sized or shaped rooms better than a conventional bath.

Bottle Trap
A bottle trap is a waste trap for a basin which is designed to be seen and is used where there is no pedestal.

Brassware
This is a term for taps and wastes. Although the finish is often chromed the interior is usually made of brass because it can be precision engineered and will not corrode when wet.

Cistern
A cistern is a tank for holding water. A toilet cistern usually sits on or near the pan and has a connection to allow it to flush the toilet. See back-to-wall toilet, close coupled and low rise for more information.

Cartridge
A part of the valve that controls the On/Off function and allows water to flow.

Central Hole Basin Mixer
A one-piece fitting with two handles. Hot and cold water are mixed and delivered through a single spout.

Close Coupled Toilet
This means that thee cistern is sitting directly onto the toilet pan. The benefit is that it forms a very compact unit which sits low on the wall. Often close coupled toilets are designed so that they appear to be one single unit. These are now the most popular types of toilet sold in the UK. It is vital that the toilet is sitting on a completely level surface otherwise the joint between the cistern and the pan may leak.

Countertop Basins
This basin sits on top of a counter, which could be the top of a vanity unit, storage unit or even a shelf. The basin has a central waste outlet (plug hole), and may not have an overflow, unlike conventional basins. Taps may be fitted to the basin, wall or the countertop, depending on the style of the basin and your personal preference in terms of styling. Some are designed to look like they are simply sitting on the counter-top and are sometimes referred to as vessel basins.

Digital Shower
This type of shower allows you to pick a temperature of water that suits you and at the touch of the button the shower will mix hot and cold water at the correct amounts to supply water at a temperature that is just right for you.

Deck / Table Mounted Tap
A tap that sits on the rim of a washbasin or bath (as opposed to being wall mounted)

Dual Flush
These are designed to save water when you only need a short flush, shall we say when the contents are just liquids? The short flush will typically use 3 or 4 litres of water. New UK regulations require a full flush to be less than 6 litres of water.

Dual-Flush
A cistern that offers two flushing strengths – a full-volume flush or a half-volume flush to save water

Electric Shower
Electric showers take water from the cold supply and heat it on demand when you turn the shower on. The greater the wattage of the shower the better the flow of hot water you can expect.

Enclosures
This term referrers to shower screens and shower cubicles. This normally encapsulates the shower, allowing you to keep any and all water within the enclosure, preventing it from soaking the rest of the room it is located in. This normally sits on top of a shower tray.

Gravity-fed Systems
This is where the mains water is fed into a tank at high level – usually in the loft, or in an airing cupboard. This usually delivers a low pressure of water but if you want greater pressure you can usually install a pump for a shower or even to increase water pressure to the taps.

High Pressure
Showers marked as high pressure are suitable for high pressure systems (such as a combination boiler, or unvented system).

Low Pressure- Showers marked low pressure are suitable for use on a low pressure system (such as a gravity-fed system).

Mixer Shower
A mixer shower takes the hot/cold water supply and mixes them within the shower unit to give you a shower at a temperature that you can control to suit your needs. Manual mixers are most common and rely on you adjusting hot and cold to suit your needs, digital showers and thermostatic showers are also available. They come in units that are surface mounted, or can be fitted into the wall, known as recessed.

Monoblock Mixer Tap
A single body tap fitting which only needs one inlet hole. It takes water from the hot and cold supplies and mixes them at equal pressure. The temperature and flow are easily adjusted using the lever on top of the fitting. These types of tap are suitable for kitchens, bathrooms and cloakrooms.

Offset Corner Bath
Like a corner bath an offset corner bath will not be as long as a conventional bath, because the actual tub is set at an angle. They are basically triangular in footprint, with a curved front edge and the two other edges being of different lengths. They are often used in ensuite bathrooms or where space is limited to give flexibility of design.

Overhead Shower
Shower outlets which direct water onto the user from above the head

Pan
A term for the base of the toilet (the bit that you sit on), directly below the toilet seat.

Pivot A pivot shower door swings open on a supporting upright bar or brackets.

Pop Up Waste
The plug on a chain is history with these systems which have an operating rod to raise and lower the plug either by moving a lever or turning a knob. They are available for basins and baths. The rod is concealed behind the taps, and basin or tub and so gives a tidy finish with clean lines.

Power Shower
The power part of the power shower comes from a pump in the system. This type of shower takes hot and cold water and mixes them to the desired temperature before pumping the water through the shower head. This usually gives a stronger flow of water than you would get from an electric shower.

Sanitaryware
Sanitaryware is a term for bathroom fittings that include toilets, bidets, baths and basins.

Shower Bath
These baths are designed with more room at one end either by being formed into a P shape or an L shape. The wider end is designed to give more space to shower and are typically 800mm or 900mm wide at the widest end.

Shower Tray
A waterproof base for a shower enclosure fitted onto the floor and with a waste fitted below.

Single
Hole Faucet Mount-Refers to a bathroom vanity countertop that has a single hole for the installation of a bathroom faucet

Shower Arm
A component which supports a shower head and connects it to the water supply.

Shower Hose
A flexible pipe that connects the showerhead and the shower control.

Shower Mixer
A shower that mixes hot and cold water supplies together to achieve the required temperature.

Shower Outlet
A fixture which allows water to be emitted in the form of jets or water droplets.

Thermostatic Shower
A shower with a thermostatic valve can changes in water pressure and will adjust the hot or cold intake to compensate. This means that if someone else if drawing water elsewhere in the house you do not get a blast of freezing or scalding water mid-shower.

Tap
Tap is synonymous with faucet. Tap also refers to the divergence of water from one fitting to another.

Wall-hung Basin
These basins are hung on brackets and have no pedestal. They can make a bathroom appear less cluttered and more spacious. This style means the trap beneath the basin is on show and so you should choose one that is chrome or coloured rather than the basic black or white plastic that is usually hidden by the pedestal.

Wall-hung Toilet
These types of toilets have a pan that is hung on brackets from the wall rather than standing on the floor. The cistern is usually separate from the pan and concealed in the wall. This type of fitting gives a stylish, minimalist finish, especially if combined with a wall hung basins, and they can make the room appear bigger. It also makes the floor easier to clean.

Wet Room
This is a shower that does not have a shower tray, but the water drains into a drain in the floor. Sometime the shower is open to the rest of the bathroom and sometimes it is separated by wet room panels (essentially a fixed shower panel).

3-Inlet Diverter
Used where a customer has 3 pipelines installed in the bathroom Hot (Geyser), Cold (Overhead Tank) and Fresh (direct from Municipal corporation / submersible)

Gasket:
A flat piece of fiber or rubber used to provide a watertight seal between metal joints.

Gray Water:
Waste water from fixtures other than toilets. Hand Shower: A detachable shower head with an integral handle and a flexible hose that allows the water spray to be directed onto any part of the body by hand.

Handle:
The trim piece on the faucet that turns the stem on the cartridge.

Hi-flow Diverter:
It delivers a high-flow rate to quickly fill your bath. Ideal for use on the top floor of buildings where there’s less water pressure.