How to choose plumbing for a home renovation
In a home renovation “plumbing” often means four different things on one shopping list: a mixer tap, a basin or WC, a drain and trap chain, and a pipe/fitting line. If you start with the prettiest catalogue photo, you can easily buy the right colour and the wrong connection. This guide teaches you to think in order — then go deeper in each category.
The range we use for examples: Plumbing at Inventars (Komforts supply). We skip prices here — they change; sizes, connections and what you will do in the bathroom on a Tuesday evening matter more.
Start with the job, not the brand
- What is being changed? Only the mixer? The whole basin “package”? The whole bathroom up to the stack?
- What connections are already in the wall? Cold/hot height, pipe diameter, built-in body or surface mixer, WC — wall-hung or floor-standing.
- What is the water quality? Hardness and grit from the network often “kill” cartridges and aerators faster than bad habits. Then filtration is not an “extra”, but protection — see the water filter guide.
If the answers are fuzzy, photos of existing connections and the old product label save one wrong order.
Map: which guide to read next
| If you need… | Read | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen / bath / shower mixer | how to choose a mixer tap | Mixer taps |
| Understand spout and cartridge | what spout and cartridge mean | Mixer taps |
| Replace a mixer yourself | how to replace a mixer | Mixer taps |
| WC type (floor / wall-hung) | how to choose a WC | WC |
| Basin | how to choose a basin | Basins |
| Drainage and trap | drainage · siphon | Drainage · Siphons |
| Pipes and fittings | pipes and fittings | Pipes |
Three decisions that save money
1. Do not change “everything” if one joint is broken. A dripping aerator is not a reason to replace the whole mixer. A worn gasket or supply hose is often a gaskets and installation zone. If it leaks from the body or the cartridge “plays”, then it is the mixer.
2. Match the basin / bath with the mixer. A low spout on a deep kitchen sink and a long spout on a narrow basin are two different mistakes. Parameters: spout and cartridge.
3. Drainage and the water line are not “pretty” choices. Diameter, material and pressure class are functional. Here the “cheapest metre” without a fitting system often becomes more expensive in installation.
Practical examples from the range
Mixers. Kitchen workhorse with a clear spout: Jika Lyra Smart, spout 143 mm or Jika Talas Trendy, spout 210 mm — they differ in spout length, not “brand in the ad”. A premium example often searched by model: Hansgrohe Logis 160. Bath/shower line: Jika Talas bath mixer, Jika Talas Trendy shower mixer.
Basin + WC. Compact basin: Jika Zeta 400×320. Typical 500 mm: Jika Euroline 500×400. Wall-hung WC with modern rimless logic: Jika Mila rimless.
Drainage and filter. Indoor HT example: Ostendorf HT DN50 × 250 mm. Filter housing for cartridges: Atlas Senior Plus 10″ 3/4″, compact: Atlas DP 10 MONO 3/4″ KIT.
Typical mistakes
- Buying a built-in mixer when there is no built-in body in the wall (or vice versa) — see built-in or deck-mounted.
- Mixing kitchen and bath mixers “because both are chrome” — kitchen or bath.
- Replacing a WC without measuring to the stack and frame.
- Fitting a fine cartridge on a dirty network without a filter.
A short path to buying
- Photograph existing connections and read the diameters.
- Choose a category (mixer / WC / basin / drainage), not “the whole list in one click”.
- Read the matching “how to choose” guide and only then compare 2–3 product cards.
- Check the kit: supplies, eccentrics, siphon, gaskets — often sold separately.
Start from the Plumbing category and go deeper via the links above. If the main goal is specifically a mixer — open the mixer tap guide.
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