Widespread - Today's Word of the Day

How wide does your faucet spread? Where did the term widespread actually come from? Widespread actually comes from to words, wide – and spread – meaning to separate. Most faucets were the handles for greater than 4 inches apart are considered widespread. Most Kohler widespread faucets can be installed with handles 8 inches to 16 inches apart or either faucet handle can be a maximum of 8 inches from the spout.

First, some history on widespread faucets. When faucets were first introduced they were all widespread. Typically, all faucets were 18 to 20 inches apart. There was a separate faucet for the hot water and a separate faucet for the cold water, and these faucets were usually 18 to 20 inches apart, and placed at the rear corners of the sink bowl.

The plumbing industry usually has more than one term and/or terminology used to describe products. Other terms used to describe wide spread faucets are, 8 inch centers. The term “centers” is sometimes confusing. “Centers” is a specific measurement that originally meant from the center of the hot handle to the center of the cold handle. More specifically, it is the measurement from the hot stem to the cold stem. The confusion came in describing “center of the handle.” When lever handles were introduced many were confused exactly where the center of the handle was. I have made some graphic representations that we include with faucet descriptions to help eliminate any confusion there may be in the size of a faucet.