EMPOLO Factory Notes

Faucet Sizing Guide: Basin Holes, Height, Reach & Standards

By the EMPOLO export team · Heshan Empolo Sanitary Ware Co., Ltd · Since 2003

Why sizing errors cost everyone money

Ninety percent of "wrong faucet" complaints are decided before anyone opens a carton: a tall vessel mixer ordered for an undermount basin, a widespread faucet sold into a single-hole drilling, a spout that lands water on the counter rim instead of the drain. The returns eat distributor margin, the project punch list eats contractor time, and nobody blames the spec sheet that caused it. This guide is the checklist we give our own sales team before they confirm an order — it is worth reading even if you never buy from us.

Step 1 — Count the holes (and measure the spacing)

Single-hole (1-hole): one central drilling; takes a single-lever or single-knob mixer with combined spout. Our 73 1101 and 57 1101 are this format. Common in Europe, Australia and modern hotel guest rooms.

4-inch centerset: three holes with 100 mm between outer centers — the centerset faucet hides the outer two with a plate. Rare in new US construction now, still a live replacement-market SKU.

8-inch widespread (3-hole): separate spout and two handles across roughly 200 mm of drilling. The North American vanity default — specify our 73 7001 here and nothing else; a centerset on an 8-inch drilling is the classic customer-photos-on-the-counter failure.

Measure center-to-center of the outer holes, not edge-to-edge, and check the basin's overflow and rear flat before assuming the faucet's tailpiece clears the trap. If a basin is imported without published drilling specs, order one sample before the container.

Step 2 — Match faucet height to basin style

Undermount and drop-in basins (rim under or on the counter): standard-height mixers, spout clearing the rim by a comfortable hand-width. Vessel and back-to-wall basins (bowl sits above the counter): you need a tall/vessel mixer — deck height typically 250–330 mm, chosen so the spout sits a hand above the bowl rim at its peak flow. Too tall and it shadows the basin aesthetically and sprays off the rim; too short and it cannot fill without drowning the counter.

The fast rule our showroom uses: bowl rim height + roughly 100 mm clearance = faucet deck height. Then sanity-check the spout outlet actually points into the bowl's footprint at full swivel, not just at center.

Step 3 — Spout reach, where splash math lives

Reach is drain-center to aerator. It should land the water column within the bowl's inner third — for oval basins, angle the faucet toward the drain, not the front rim. In kitchen sinks, reach must cover the deep bowl (standard double-bowl: 200–250 mm arc is the sweet spot; farmhouse deep bowls want high-arc plus swivel or you will lose half the water off the rear ledge).

Step 4 — Threads, hoses and the boring part that ships the container

Supply threads are regional even when faucets are global: US residential standard is 1/2″ NPSM; much of Europe works on 3/8″ compression; Australian plumbing uses its own union sizes under WaterMark-compliant assemblies. Hoses shipped with the faucet must match the market's stop-valves — this is exactly the kind of spec mismatch we machine at the CNC stage rather than solve with an adapter ring at the jobsite. When you request a quotation, name the country; the certified line, thread standard and hose pack come matched.

Step 5 — Print this before your next purchase order

• Hole count and outer-hole spacing (cm, center-to-center)
• Basin type: undermount / drop-in / vessel / integrated — with rim height above counter
• Drain position relative to faucet hole (center? offset?)
• Country → certified line (CUPC / WaterMark+WELS / SASO / TIS / CE) and thread standard
• One physical sample approved before bulk — always

Five lines, one sample, and almost the entire category of "wrong faucet" disappears. That is the whole guide — everything else is style, and style is your job.

More from the EMPOLO factory desk: brass vs zinc alloy — how to spot fakes · the faucet sizing checklist · hotel FF&E spec guide — or skip to the product range and request pricing.