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How to Choose a Clawfoot Tub Faucet

A clawfoot tub sets the tone of a bathroom, and the faucet is the part you touch every day. Before you choose a finish or a handle, answer three questions: where the faucet mounts, how far apart its two water connections sit, and whether you want a handshower.

Start with your tub

Look at the rim and at the end of the tub. A tub drilled with two holes on the rim takes a deck-mount faucet. Many of ours come drilled at 7" centers, like the Arcadia, the Huron and the Lewis. A tub with no holes, like the Como or the Echo without faucet holes, takes a faucet that mounts on the wall or stands on the floor.

The four ways a tub faucet mounts

  • Deck mount. The faucet sits on the tub's rim, in two pre-drilled holes. The usual spacing is 7".
  • Tub wall mount. The faucet fits through two holes in the tub's end wall, and the spout reaches over the rim. The classic spacing is 3 3/8".
  • Wall mount. The faucet comes out of the bathroom wall behind the tub, so the tub needs no holes. The pipes run inside the wall, so plan this one before the wall is closed.
  • Floor mount. A freestanding tub filler stands beside the tub on its own supply lines through the floor. Our freestanding tub filler guide covers it.

Measure the centers

"Centers" is the distance from the middle of one faucet hole to the middle of the other. Most tubs measure 3 3/8" or 7". If yours measures something else, an adjustable-center faucet can fit it. See our guide to variable center tub faucets.

Handshower or not

A handshower makes it easy to rinse hair, wash a child or a dog, and clean the tub itself. Our British telephone-style faucets hold the handshower in a cradle above the spout, and many of our other tub faucets include one too.

Thermostatic or a standard mixer

A standard faucet mixes hot and cold with two handles. A thermostatic faucet holds the temperature you set, so the water stays steady when someone runs a tap elsewhere in the house. See our thermostatic tub faucets.

Plan the supplies and drain

A freestanding tub also needs a way to bring water to the faucet and a drain with an overflow. Supply lines can rise from the floor or come from the wall. Our faucet and over-the-rim supply set includes the faucet and its supply lines, and the Royal Aqueduct brings supplies and a drain together.

Then choose the look

Pick the handles (cross, lever or porcelain) and a finish that matches the rest of the room. Every faucet page lists its finishes. Our faucets are assembled by hand in Elk Grove, California. Browse all tub faucets, or ask us which one fits your tub.

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