No--but I WANT one! Any sources?

I haven't seen the adapter for the original separate faucets but I installed a reproduction "bridge" faucet on my cast iron bathroom sink last year. I prefer original hardware but I really like the look and the function of the bridge faucet. If the old sink in question has standard spacing (i.e. 8 or 12 inch) for the hot and cold lines, the bridge faucet will work.

http://www.signaturehardware.com/product2394

We had one of these in our house growing up - mostly so that we didn't burn our hands on the hot water, but also so my mother was assured we were not washing with cold water!

The best part about it was rotating that middle section so that the spout pointed up and using it as a water fountain!

Good times...good times....

Why would you want to do this to your beautiful sink?

bluelittlegirl - Because you want warm water.

Out old apartment had a sink like this and although it was charming it was not easy to wash one's face.

I ran into this at my sis' house in the UK. You mix a little H&C water in the basin then wash your face from that.

We did that for hands too, then rinsed them in cold.

Wish I'd known about THAT years ago. Sheesh.

@Pipsqueak -- that's all fine and wonderful, but you don't mind washing your face in water out of the same basin that people wash their hand in after using the bathroom? not to mention spit in when brushing their teeth?

bridge faucets are the way to go.

Where do you get one????

the dorms I lived in had two separate faucets and I wish I had knew about one of these before they renovated! Washing my face in ice cold or scalding hot water was horrible I had to mix them both in!

We're in the midst of replacing the separate taps on our cast iron corner sink with this set:
http://www.vintagetub.com/asp/product_detail.asp?item_no=p0152qs

Separate taps are hard to deal with on a daily basis, otherwise we would have kept the original fixtures. I love the old sink, though!

My mother tells me that growing up in Sweden they had a connector for their taps that was made out of rubber, but was conceptually the same as the metal one pictured above.

Oh my! I lived the first 18 years of my life with a sink like that, and never knew such a connector existed. I wish I had! Great find.

I, too, spent my childhood with one of those sinks, and no adapter. It was almost a challenge to get just the right amount of hot water in your hands (already cupped and filled with cold) so that it was warm, but not scalding. Good times, indeed.

This seems like a much better idea.

Why not just change the faucets and add a hot and cold water mixer under the sink? Make one side cold only for brushing teeth and drinking water and the other side hot (but adjustable) for washing. Then you don't wreck the aesthetic.

Wally:

Is there a product or attachment that mixes underneath?

I guess I envisioned this existing, but I can't find anything. I would think a plumber could do this rather easily. My other thought is to use two mixer faucets, one in each hole. They could be mixed/cold or both mixed. (Bathroom too small for his and her sinks? How about two faucets in the same sink!) I do like the faucet that you posted above. That is probably cheaper and and easier than what I'm thinking.

I had the same issue when i moved into my San francisco, 100 year old Mission neighborhood apartment.

I went to a salvage yard and was able to find a cool, German vintage spout w/hot-cold knobs that threaded into only one hole. The other empty hole I installed an under pedastal soap dispenser. I did all the work myself after a quick stop to a hardware store. It was actaully quite easy.

So start looking for a faucet that only uses one hole, which unfortuantely seems to be quite uncommon.

sniplet - the water would not have to stay in there the entire time. it could be on a person by person basis.

ae.woodford, you miss the point. If people's germs are in the sink, then filling it with water to wash your face is using that germy water for face-washing.

I don't like the way it looks. I appreciate the function, though.

i wish i would have had one of those when i lived in the uk for six years. it is SUCH a challenge to wash hands.. either you get scalded or freezing water.. so you do the back-and-forth thing really fast.. not fun..

the brits mostly do the fill up the basin thing.. but i also knew a girl (english) who would wash her dishes in a basin of water in the sink and didn't rinse them off after washing.. my friend asked her why she didn't rinse off her dishes.. she's like, "i'm supposed to?" ick.

Wish I could find where to get on of these. Every night I have to race to brush my teeth and wash my face before I get scalded. I’m going to print the picture and do some sleuthing around the city.
There can be no water mixing in the bowl of my 100 year old sink that then go into my mouth. The idea gives me the chills.

Like wheels on luggage, once you experience the thrill of warm water, it is hard to go back to separate taps.

I remember one apartment that had separate taps in the kitchen sink, they were nearly two feet apart! What a pain in the ass it was.

I think that is absolutely hideous.

don't listen to the idiots who say the bridge adapter is hideous. truth is, it is much truer to industrial age design and certainly much more "mid-century modern" to *have* the adapter, as anyone who grew up in NY during the actual mid-century will tell you (rather than a bunch of folks who are so barren creatively all their design relies on the creativity of another era).

Having said that... (well, having ranted for a bit...) Does anyone have good ideas for dealing with the rust in an old sink link this?

sniplet and Monkeyme - just wipe out the sink before washing your face. I mean, men shave using the sink, don't they? And you'd generally use soap to wash your hands, and either soap or a cleanser to wash your face, so I wouldn't imagine there'd be enough germs to really harm you unless you had a terribly suppressed immune system. I'm always slightly fascinated with how germ-obsessed Americans seem to be.

kushkush, this is not a mid-century sink, nor is it a mid-century faucet. It's from the early 1900s, most likely the early '20s. By the middle of the 20th century, mixer taps were the norm. That's not to say, of course, that there weren't plenty of these older sinks still in use (as there are now), but I'm a bit put off by your comment about "creatively barren" people who, presumably, are guilty of being younger than you. Frankly, I'm not even exactly sure what your self-described "rant" is about. This sink and its adapter are no more "mid-century" than they are contemporary!

That said, if the rust you're seeing is superficial, you should be able to remove it with Barkeepers Friend. If the sink is rusting because the enamel is worn away and the cast iron underneath is exposed, your only option is to have it either sandblasted and powder-coated (offsite), or to have the surface chemically etched and recoated (onsite).

This is my sink actually. Before moving in I had certainly never seen anything like this before. And I'd been dealing with dual faucets for a while--so as a renter.. this was a better solution than installing something new.

@Anna at D16, thanks a lot for the Barkeepers Friend suggestion. I think the rust is a combo of both superficial and something deeper.. :/

I'm sorry but I must admitI'm on the team "don't like the bridge" thingy...although it easier to say since I don't have to deal with the daily hot and cold mixing to get warm..I do remember my grandma had a sink just like it, so it is nostalgic.

Anyone ever seen these for sale? This is a great idea especially for renters who can't/don't want to spend money to upgrade someone else's bathroom. Maybe not the most attractive thing but how much time do you spend in the bathroom looking at it anyway?

Hi, great and interesting comments everyone . . . but does anyone know where to find one?? I really want one -- I am renting, so can't alter things, and I hate the separate hot/cold thing (the suggested bridge faucet is nice, but expensive and not sure my landlord would allow me to install one). The look is secondary to the (very essential) function for me in this case.

Paul Irish, you said this is your sink? Any idea where the previous owner/renter/building owner may have bought this?

Thanks!!

****FOUND ONE!!

A-Ball Plumbing Supply, Portland, OR
1-800-228-0134

http://www.a-ball.com/

While the item is not listed on their website, they are able to special order it. Note: in order for A-Ball to place any order with this company, there is a minimum dollar amount they have to reach first, so you may have to be patient . . . but I think it's worth the wait. Cost is about $10 (significantly different from the few hundred for a bridge faucet) -- I was told it works and does what's needed, but is not great -- but well, it's $10. I am waiting for mine, so can't say anything else about it.

SORRY (re: above posting) . . . I just got a call from the store . . . they found out that they are no longer being made by the manufacturer and cannot get them anymore. I am so bummed. The search continues . . .

If anyone is looking for one of these, I couldn't find one either so I made one:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2478352&id=502531261

I admit that it is not the prettiest thing but I, like many others, prefer being able to use warm water and not have to wash/rinse in a murky sink full of soapy/dirty water. The only negative is that because of the rubber connectors, the faucet ends up being out over the middle of the sink, rather than closer to the back where faucets normally are, but it's still pretty convenient.

I would be happy to make these for anyone that wants them for the cost of parts/reasonable labour/shipping. My email address is below the photo in the above link

To tenvolt above: I'd love to see your faucet and maybe have you make one for me. Unfortunately your link doesn't work for me though.

I just order on of these hot/cold water bathroom combiners from:

Burke & McCowen Hardware Store
20 East Post Road #1
Whilte Plains, New Yoirk 10601

ph.. 914.949.2389 fax. 914.949.3215

Attn: Jimmy

I forgot to mention the cost of hot/cold water combiner .... $20.00

Hope this helps.... edward

Hi edward/joe - can you please post a pic (or a link) to what this hot/cold water bathroom combiner looks like? is it plastic, metal, does it connect to the 2 taps?

i'd like to order them too, but need to know if it will work for my bathrooms.

thanks!

Did you find one of these connectors? I've got to get my hands on one. Please advise.

Did you find one of these connectors? I've got to get my hands on one. Please advise.