Basin Wastes

This is definitely my last post for 2012....

We've improved the information given for the basin wastes we supply - better descriptions, more detail and correct keywords and metatags (some were totally wrong)
Could this help lead to more sales next year - lets hope so

Happy New Year!

Hand Hygiene Guidance

We have written a guide to aide in the selection of the  correct hand washing equipment for infection control & prevention to be used in Primary Care Premises Rooms
The guide can be seen both on our commercial advisory site: Notjusttapscommercial  and also on Notjusttaps

Notjusttaps Xmas Closing

We've decided to open the Notjusttaps warehouse on 28th December to send out all order placed over the Xmas holidays
This is to help those customers who urgently need spare parts for their showers and taps

RAK Ceramics

RAK ceramics special needs basins is being added to Notjusttaps range of medical use basins and sinks. The range includes compact 'no overflow' basins for restricted spaces and 'no overflow' wall and surface mounted basins with tap holes.

Intamix Pro-V

It's late Saturday and we're still working!
Just added to our health and safety products are the Intamix Pro-V range of thermostatically safeguarded mixing valves
These high capacity valves incorporate fast access isolation valves coupled with high outputs for high volume requirements such as shower blocks, multiple banks of taps etc

Replacement Tap Diverters

I know I go on about our aim of supplying as many products as possible that allow customers to repair their taps.
The newest products made by Nuovo Osmo in Italy are tap diverter mechanisms for bath shower mixers
These are the mechanisms that divert water flow from bath to shower and vice versa.
Intitially we'll offer them in 3 'pull up' versions - models which divert by pulling up the knob on the diverter.

Speciality Sidefixing Tap Valve

We like to offer valves to fix as many types of tap as possible so the latest in our collection is the Sedal 25mm sidefix valve.
Similar to the regular 25mm cartridge, this model has a 'lug' on the side of the body but has no lugs on the bottom.
It is designed to suit taps with a vertical groove running down the body such as Reich caravan taps

Filter Kitchen Taps

It's long overdue, in fact very long overdue but at last we are now supplying Kitchen Filter Taps
Made by The 1810 company, the Trio range of taps are state of the art contemporary kitchen taps fitted with additional lever controls for the provision of pure carbon filtered drinking water.
the Trio designs come in a choice of polished chrome and brushed steel finishes.

How to brace a stainless steel sink

If you suffer from the problem of your stainless steel sink flexing and moving where the tap is fitted, the solution is actually very simple  (normally the simpler the solution the better)
Fitting a brace support under the sink will go a long way towards stiffening the sink and reducing flexing.
We've just launched a simple to fit 'Under Sink Tap Brace' that goes under the tap hole and is held in place by the horseshoe shaped nut used to secure the tap. It's shape spreads the loading over a wide area and therefore provides additional stiffness compared to using just conventional tap fixings

Value Tap Valves

Our professional use quarter turn valves made by Fluhs in Germany are outstanding quality - we always recommend them as the best long term tap repair valves
Having said that sometimes customers just want the cheapest solution they can get away with so to cater for those customers we have introduced Sedal Tap Valves - replacement quarter turn  tap valves that will repair most taps but priced roughly 25% below the cost of our professional valves

Tidier Taps

We've very belatedly tidied up Notjusttaps' contract taps section 
It was looking wrong with poor images, no proper theme and poor product information.
The images and layout have been corrected which leaves the copy and product information to be done
Guess I'll be busy tonight!

Medical Sinks With Tap Holes

To meet the needs of trade customers requiring medical use sinks (sinks and basins without oveflows) but with tap holes, we have created a new sub section (medical sinks with tap holes) which to start will have an inset style ceramic basin by Lecico and a self contained wall mounted handrinse basin by Pland Stainless
Each are drilled for a monobasin tap but have no overflow in line with hygiene guidelines.

Didn't Know Toilet Spindles Were So Popular

I really didn't know that replacement toilet roll spindles were so popular. Well apparently they are!
So we've added them to our collection of affordably priced toilet spares.
Made from white plastic with an inner spring that allows it to go from 95mm to 135mm, it should fit just about any toilet roll holder  (I'm sure we'll still find the odd customer with one that it won't fit)

Extending The Extended Levers

The title of this post is a bit of a play on what we do as extended lever taps are a core part of the service that we offer to our healthcare and medical end users
We have supplied monobloc taps, deck mounted mixers and  wall mounted taps in a variety of styles but up till now bib taps have not been an option.
This has changed with the introduction of the heavy duty Cobra series of medical lever bib taps. Produced to a very high standard they are designed to withstand extensive use in the most demanding conditions.

Are We Coming Out Of Recession?

There are loads of statistics bantered around that suggest we've come out of recession
Anecdotal evidence shows that things are still very tough for many people but we've noticed that both the visitors and order numbers at Notjusttaps has risen noticeably over the last month and the good news is that it's consistent and regular
Hopefully this is a small sign that things are turning - a bit more confidence all round could really get things moving!

Plumbers Tap Repair Box

We've just launched our special value Plumbers Tap Repair Box
Containing four of the most commonly required valves  & cartridges for repairing most makes of taps, this is an indispensible aid for plumbers, maintenance or facility managers
There are even two 24mm aerators included

Arley Professional Vanity Units

We're adding to our range of vanity units with the introduction of the Opal professional vanity units collection from Robert Lee.
Available in a choice of 3 sizes to suit all sizes of bathroom or cloakroom they come as complete vanity unit and ceramic washbasin sets in gloss white finish only

Just in, the new collection of cheap shower curtains from Blue Canyon.
At just £7.95 each they're a great way to give a bathroom a bright new look - and they even include the curtain hooks!

Free Delivery

We've always tried to offer free delivery as a way of supporting customers purchasing goods over a certain value.
As from November our free delivery rate will be increasing from £70 to £100.
Below this amount our small delivery charge of £3.95 remains the same - which we feel still represents excellent value.

Luxurious German Bath Mats

We've added some funky new Textile bath mats by Ridder of Germany to go with the bath mats from Blue Canyon.
Made from supersoft polyester textile, they come in 3 wild colours to brighten up the dullest bathroom and they're lovely to step onto after a nice bath or shower.

Trending to the medical

We are trending more and more towards medical customers and this has been further enhanced with the introduction of our hygiene and washroom category.
With products from Nofer of Spain and Pland Stainless who proudly make in the UK, we now offer hygienic washing, handwashing and paper dispenser products plus stainless compliments
These products are for food areas, public canteens together with washrooms and toilets.

Why pay more for tap spares?

It's always tempting to go for the cheapest prices and we know full well that there are online suppliers offering some spare parts cheaply. So why do many professionals choose Notjusttaps as their preferred supplier for tap spares?
Here are 5 reasons why they choose Notjusttaps:
1. Our spares are made by leading European manufacturers rather than budget Chinese factories
2. We carry probably the most extensive range of spares in the UK - in fact you can virtually rebuild any tap buying spares from us (everything from valves and cartridges through to special length flexitails)
3. Our spares are made to last - they'll last a lot longer than many of the cheap parts available elsewhere
4. Orders are sent fast - if you've a faulty tap we know it needs fixing fast!
5. Our tap spares suit most makes sold in the UK and most European brands too!
You can see the Notjusttaps' complete range here: Tap Spares & Parts

Blue Canyon Textile Bath Mats

We now have a range (it's only 3 mats to start) of pure cotton textile bath mats.
Available in cream, mocha brown or slate grey they are washable, reversible mats by Blue Canyon Designs
They're priced at less than  £15 which is great value considering similar mats can cost twice as much.

Armitage Shanks Markwik & Pegler Performa

We are delighted to now offer to special order the Armitage Shanks Markwik taps together with the Pegler Performa taps
Both are well respected brands within the hospital and healthcare markets and are available as special order products through our partnership with Robert Lee Distributors
Details are on our special needs page: Armitage Markwik & Pegler Performa

Gold Kitchen Taps

We can now supply any of our standard kitchen taps in a gold finish as a special order.
The cost is £85 per tap (although this will no doubt change as the price of gold bounces around).
As this is a bespoke sevice, customers should allow 10-14 days for delivery.
Details are on the gold kitchen tap page.

Medica Exhibition Dusseldorf

This year we'll be attending the Medica Trade Fair in Dusseldorf for the first time.
As Notjusttaps is already a well respected supplier of sanitary fittings for medical & healthcare environments, we look forward  to finding new suppliers to allow us to further build the products and service we can offer our customers.

I Wasn't Going To Post Again...But

I wasn't going to post again but today has been the biggest day for sales we've ever had.
This has followed a noticeable upturn in sales over the last week
The strangest thing  (I'm not complaining) was receiving 2 very large commercial orders within 5 minutes of each other
I'm not sure if the pickup is due to more confidence, pent up demand , or more people using Notjusttaps because they trust us more than other retailers,  but as I say...I'm not complaining!

Funky Stick On Bathroom Accessories

Stick on bathroom accessories are fun, easy to fit (you don't need to drill or screw) additions for your bathroom
We're adding a range of cute animal characters (cat, pig and frog) to our fun products range, and at only £5.75 each are an inexpensive way to add some cheer to your bathroom - and they're practical too!

Our Upgraded Site Is Going Live

After lots of testing, checking and amends, Notjusttaps new upgraded site goes live next week
Visitors to the site will not see much difference but the backend controls give us much more control and allow areas such as metatags and  image management to be better
We also have a sneaking feeling that the changes will be better for search engine visibilty - we'll soon see!

Pland

We will soon be adding 'Pland' to our suppliers
A long established and well repected name for stainless steel products for the medical, laboratory, healthcare and food preparation markets, Pland have been manufacturing in the UK for nearly 100 years so it'll be nice to support a UK manufacturer whilst further extending our range of medical products

Seriously Commercial

The commercial sales at Notjusttaps have been pretty varied to say the least
Customers have ranged from an Estonian ferry company through  one of the biggest superyachts in the world to dental and cosmetic studios
In order to build on notjusttaps' commercial sales, we are creating a new sister website www.notjusttapscommercial.co.uk that will provide more technical information, case studies and  customer and supplier features

What replacement tap valve do I need?

We often get asked 'what replacement tap valve do I need?
We can help over the phone but if you want to e-mail us a photo showing the tap and a close up of the valve you want to replace, we will be happy to look at it and work out which valve will be the right replacement for you
It's just a part of us giving proper old fashioned customer service (and we think it works as we get a lot of customers writing to tell us how nice we are)

Our site upgrade is imminent

The work to migrate Notjusttaps to a new more efficient content management system  is nearly complete.
We're going to be testing over the next 2 weeks and once live , the new CMS will allow us both a lot more flexibililty and greatly improved on site marketing capabilities

Notjusttaps is on Facebook

We're finally on Facebook!
Gary, our wonderfully talented Design Director has created the new Facebook page and I guess we'll be busy over the next few weeks and months filling it with relevant stories, photos and product information
You can see it here: Notjusttaps' Facebook Page

Overlooking The Obvious

Sometimes you overlook the obvious simply because it's right in front of you.
We had a phone call last week from a customer thanking us for our help
He said how nice it was that we had a normal phone number rather than a premium 0845 type number that many companies seem to adopt
We don't shout about it as it's something we just take as the normal way to be contacted so if you want to call Notjusttaps just phone 01923 268843 and you'll get through to a helpful human ( if we're busy just leave a message and we'll get back to you)

Do you think Notjusttaps service is fantastic?

We regularly get told that Notjusttaps' service is fantastic - really fantastic!
In fact far better than other companies with the time and care we take making sure customers are given advice and help.
If you think we have gone out of our way, please give us a mention online - it could be your blog, Facebook or anything else but whatever it is, online comment and feedback is the best thanks we could have and is the best way we can advertise our site

Cistern Spares

Cistern spares has been a growing category for us.
Partly because mordern cistern have more parts and therefore more parts that need replacing, but also because we have been continually extending the ranges of products that we offer.
The latest additions are cistern pulls for high level cisterns (the old chain pull types) and we now offer a choice of traditional ceramic, rubber and polished solid wood pulls

Home Page Redesign

We've tweaked the look of Notjusttaps' homepage to reflect the growing importance of our healthcare, medical and dental markets and to make it easier for customers to find our spares and replacement parts for taps.

Medical Basins & Sinks

Our sales of Lecico medical sinks has started growing and we are extending the range with the addition of basin and semi pedestal sets specifically designed for medical, dental and healthcare use
These will be avalable in either 50 or 55cm basins and are designed to go with wall fitted extended lever and HTM64 taps

Tap Spares for Screwfix & B&Q

Our service spares are compatible with most taps from Screwfix & B&Q
We've created a page to assist their customers: Screwfix & B&Q tap spares
The best course of action is to remove the valve or cartridge and identify our matching part but as part of our service, we are normally able to identify the correct part by phone if the customer needs any help
I guess this comes from years of experience within the bathroom industry

Cheap Vanity Units

We've slashed the price of the Elgin vanity unit by 50%
It comes as a flatpack, easy to assemble mdf base unit with a matching slimline resin bowl
Being slimline, it is ideal for cloakrooms and small bathrooms alike and is on sale for only £74.99 whilst stocks last!

Fixing a dual-flush cistern

Unfortunately the mechanism in todays' dual flush cisterns seem to go wrong quite often
To deal with this, we have added to our range of cistern spares with the addition of replacement cistern push buttons
Made by SIAMP (often considered the very best) and Wirquin of France, these will fit many leading brands and save the hassle and cost of replaceing the entire internal mechanism

A Clever Little Mirror

We love our new 'Flexi' table mirror
It has a flexible shaft that can be bent to any shape so that the mirror is in the exact position you want it to be. Great for  close up jobs such as putting in contacts, make up etc!

Taking Notjusttaps Forward

It's amazing to think that Notjusttaps is coming up to 10 years old
That must make it one of the veterans of the bathroom industry
Having said that the technology of the site whilst still very robust is getting rather ancient so over the next 3 months there is a major backend upgrade taking place
Nothing much will change from the visitors point of view but the control side should be greatly improved

Plugging A Gap

Up till now when someone asked for a replacement basket strainer plug, all we could offer was a complete basket strainer waste - fine if you wanted to fit a complete new waste but overkill if all you want is a replacement strainer plug
Well at last the gap is filled with the introduction of a replacement basket strainer plug for sink wastes
It is made by McAlpine and comes in a polished stainless steel finish

Lecico

Lecico are Notjusttaps' latest supplier with the introduction of three speciality medical basins.
Made from high grade vitreous china, each basin comes without overflow, tap holes or chain hole to meet HTM64 and NHS guidelines that require elimination of potential bacterial traps
The basins are deigned for wall fixing in conjunction with wall fitted taps.

Top 5 Kitchen Taps

What's the best kitchen tap?

To answer the question, we've added an article highlighting the 5 best kitchen taps (well it does depend what you want it for)

Extending UMBRA

Umbra are a well recognised brand for designer home accessories.
We've added a few new accesories for bathroom and kitchen.
Our favourite is the Mountie kitchen roll holder - a brilliant roll holder that fits anywhere: over doors, under a cupboard or simply screwed to the wall!

Specifications for HTM taps

The fitting specifications for HTM 64 taps are particularly important so we have added detailed technical drawings illustrating all the key sizes.
In particular the fitting centres are 200mm whereas domestic taps invariable have centres of 180mm
In addition to meeting HTM64 standards, each tap meets NHS engineering D008

Touch Activated Taps

We've added the Intatec range of touch activated taps to our collection of sensor taps
Whilst providing good hygiene for public use, these taps are a suitable alternative to infra red sensor taps that may not perform properly due to excess dirt, problem lighting etc
The taps are activated by simply touching the cap on the top of the tap to switch on a timed water flow

Intatec Safety Showers

We already sell the Intatec range of safety taps, sequential mixers and blending valves. To add to these ranges we have added their sequential and safety shower valves.
Available as both concealed and exposed sequential valves together with safe-touch bar valves, they are ideal for use in public access building such as care homes, nursing homes etc.

Suction Bathroom Accessories

Koziol of Germany are renowned for their fun designs in plastic where they combine great design with well researched solid quality
To compliment their existing ranges, we have added their new  Loop and Plug'n'Roll suction bathroom accessories, each supplied with a strong suction cup
Available in orange, blue or purple they add a touch of 'cool' to any bathroom

HTM64 Compliant Taps

We've further extended our already extensive range of medical taps with the introduction od Inta's HTM64 compliant taps
These include safetouch sequential wall mounted, deck mounted and non touch sensor activated thermostatic taps
Each tap complies with HTM64, WRAS and TMV3 requirements

Black Showers

Black is probably the coolest colour for the bathroom so we are delighted to be able to offer matching black shower handsets and black hoses.
Each is made from gloss black plastic with standard 1/2" BSP fittings to suit all standard UK shower or taps connections.

Intatec safety products

Our ranges of safety taps and temperature control products has taken a big step forward with the introduction of Intatec as our newest supplier
Their products include anti-scald sequential taps, HTM64 compliant mixers and temperature control blending valves

Shower Baths

Now that we have sorted out a service for delivering large sizes or pallet sized products, we have added shower baths to our bathroom suite ranges.
Supplied as complete ready to go shower baths that come with matching bath screen and bath panel, these will be 'white glove' delivered by Sprintshift including 2 man assist to bring the order inside our customers house or premises.

Taps for Opticians

In order to help opticians meet the high standards required for hygiene and to comply with local healthcare requirements, our taps and sinks are being increasingly specified to help them meet these standards.

We also pride ourselves on being able to offer knowledgeable advice to help select the most appropriate products

These recommended products can be seen here: Taps & Sinks for Opticians

HTM64 Rigid Tap Tails

We get asked for rigid tap tails for medical taps. These have just been added to our selection of ntap connectors and speciality hoses initially in 10mm diameter only but with plans to add 15mm diameter pipe sometime
These will be ideal for compliance with some local authority healthcare regulations

Showcasing Taps

We've updated the Notjusttaps home page gallery to showcase a selection of bathroom tap & kitchen tap ranges
Can't remember when we last updated it but it's a long overdue change

Bathroom Suites & Furniture

We find that pictorial range pages are helpful both for customers and for us to better lay out our site.
The latest group range page is for bathroom suites and furniture
This incorporates wooden furniture, basins, vanity units, toilets, urinals and complete '4 piece' suites

We're doing Urinals

To compliment our choice of basins and toilets, we now offer professional use ceramic urinals and multiple urinal systems for installation in public buildings, restaurants, hotels, clubs etc

A developer with a problem

A developer building 7 flats contacted us with an interesting problem - the windows on his kitchens were right behind the tap and couldn't be opened because the tap was in the way of the arm
A bit of an unusual problem but one that was neatly solved by using our Access kitchen tap.
It has a spout that drops flat and thus allowed the window arm to be opened
He was delighted and we were pretty pleased too!

Grab Rails

We've extended the choice of bathroom grab rails with the addition of 3 professional use safety grab rails

Made from chromed steel, they come in 3 lengths (30, 45 and 60cm) and will support up to 100kg loading when securely fitted to a solid wall

Prices offer outstanding value starting from just £12.75

New Bathroom Accessory Collections

We've added 2 ranges of wall fitted bathroom accessories

Made by Roman Dietsche of Germany Style and Minimal SQ are smart contemporary bathroom collections made from chrome plated brass and designed to compliment todays' clean modern bathroom designs

Concealed Cistern Levers

Normal cistern levers are too short for fitting to a concealed cistern, as there is a much longer reach to the syphon than in an exposed cistern.
The answer is to fit an extended cistern lever which has a shaft length of 305mm to reach into any concealed cistern and can also be cut down where required

On a March

Following on from Februarys' record, March seems to be continuing the sales growth and is running at 10% over February
The fact is we are in a tough, unforgiving economic climate but there is still business there - you need to keep working and trying new things to find that business

Bathroom Information

Did you know we have a bathroom information page
It is a simple resource explaining what we have, what we do and also providing some useful tips, advice and a few practical links: Bathroom Information

The Complete Medical Resource

We are working steadily to becoming a full resource for taps and spares for the medical markets
We probably have the widest range of taps already but will be extending this with the addition of new high neck extended lever sink taps and more wall fitted sink mixers
Our taps and sinks are selected to comply with the latest healthcare requirements including NHS requirements and HTM64/01-05 specification (Healthcare Technical Memorandum 64)

Where do I start?

It's been a mad week and mostly good
On Monday we hit numerous records - record number of order for the day (well joint best), record value of orders.
Our visitor numbers for February have shot up to new record levels - way over January which in itself had record visitors
And on the product front we've added a range of Waterfall taps which has been an area missing from our portfolio.

Clinic Line Medical Taps

We sometimes get asked if we have medical taps with a more modern designWe do now with the introduction of our new Clinic-Line taps
Based around the latest minimalist designs, the taps feature extended lever control together with spouts below the water inlet feed

If it's cheap you want

Let's face it, we all like upselling but in todays market people are on limited budgets and want the cheapest product they can buy
We've catered for this with the introduction of 3 new patterned cheap shower curtains priced from only £7.95 which breaks the critical sub £10 barrier

Oversize Hotel Shower Curtains

I'd like to think we offer a pretty comprehensive range of shower curtains. It's got even better with the addition of plain colour fabric shower curtains and oversized hotel shower curtains
Each is supplied with curtain rings and have been priced some 30-50% less than curtains that we have previously offered

Record Value Orders

It was a funny old day yesterday!
We had the best ever day for value of orders but not a record by number of orders. This suggests that people are increasing their average spend which may be a good sign for things to come
Maybe it's psychological but when you have a good day, everything seems to work right - and even the sun shone!

A Busy Day

We've been busy....
We've done a 48 hour e-mail promotion offering 15% off all orders till midnight Thursday and we've added a 'Fitted bathroom accessories' range page to pictorially list all the fitted accessories that we offer

French Style Kitchen Taps

A nice new addition to our kitchen tap collection, the new Baroque French Kitchen Tap adds a classic country house look to your kitchen.
And it works on all water pressures which can often be a problem with some modern taps.

Adapta-Tap Tap Revivers

New to our stable of spares, the Oracstar 'Adapt-A-Tap' tap reviver kit is an all in one kit for replacing faulty tap and heads that are the old style BS1010/BS5412 type valves

Nearly Nearly

January was an interesting month to say the least
Most people I have spoken to say that business is very tough yet we saw sales grow, visitor numbers up dramatically and daily order numbers virtually hitting record levels each week yet not quite beating our all time record
It's got to be imminent that notjusttaps sees a new daily record
We're so nearly nearly there!

Evershower Shower Descaler

Unless you have a water softener, limescale is a big problem
It builds up surprisingly quickly so to combat this we have added the Evershower Shower Descaler to our selection of convenient consumables.
It not only cuts through limescale but is a wonderful degreaser and general bathroom and kitchen cleaner

Flexible Tap Connectors

As part of our goal to supply as many items as possible to help our customers fit or fix any tap, we've extended the range of flexible tap connectors so that we we now offer flexi connectors with either 1/2" Female end fittings or comression fittings to go straight onto 15mm copper pipe.

Cheap Bathroom Accessories

We tend not to do 'cheap' but with the introduction of our essentials range of bathroom accessories, we now have a range of 'cheap bathroom accessories ' that are actually surprisingly good.
With prices for most accessories under £10, they are a great way to decorate a bathroom on a budget

Shower Hose Reducer

Our latest addition is a shower hose adaptor - simple but very useful
It reduces from 3/4" female thread to 1/2" male thread thus allowing any standard shower hose to be connected to an oversized outlet

A bit more fun in the bathroom

It's easy to make your bathroom a happy place with our latest additions - fun bathroom accessories including bathroom ducks,bath pillow and kids bath mats
They're bright, colourful and great value too

On the Up

There's a lot of doom and gloom talked about at the moment but this weekend has been one of the best for business in a long time
I'm not sure if it's a sign that the economy is picking up or if it's something we've done but either way it's nice to see