Three mount types cover almost every basin sold in Singapore. A counter top basin sits on a vanity or slab with the whole bowl above the surface. A wall hung basin bolts to the wall with nothing underneath it. An inset basin drops into a cut-out in a vanity top so only the rim shows.
Which one you can actually use is decided by what the bathroom already has: a counter deep enough to hold a bowl, a wall solid enough to carry one, or a vanity top you are willing to cut. Across the basin collection on this site, 330 listings are tagged counter top, 57 wall hung, 31 inset and 11 semi-recess, so counter top is what you will meet most often while browsing.
The three mount types at a glance
| Mount type | How it sits | What it needs | Example sizes on site (L x W x H, mm) | Small bathroom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Counter top | Whole bowl above the counter | A counter that carries the footprint, plus a tap tall enough to clear the rim | 400 x 400 x 115 (D1001122MW), 500 x 395 x 145 (D1001105MB), 560 x 420 x 140 (D1001102BW) | Workable, though the bowl height stacks on top of the counter height |
| Wall hung | Fixed to the wall, open floor beneath | Solid fixing or a concealed frame, plus a trap you are happy to see or hide | 400 x 280 x 125 (ATK211), 470 x 395 x 500 (D1005800) | Usually the strongest of the three |
| Inset | Dropped into a cut-out, rim resting on the top | A vanity top big enough to cut, and a cut-out matched to the basin | 410 x 410 x 165 (NC-9048), 760 x 465 x 175 (D1003103), 810 x 470 x 175 (NC-9080E) | Decided by the vanity, not the basin |
Those sizes are real listings, not category averages. Read them as examples of what each mount looks like in practice.
Counter top, and what your counter has to do
Counter top is the biggest group on the site by a wide margin, and it is the one people most often get wrong on measurements.
The bowl sits entirely above the counter, so the counter carries the full footprint with clearance at the front and back. Take the second number in the size, the W, and hold it against the depth of the counter you have or are ordering. A 400mm deep bowl on a 400mm deep counter leaves nothing at either edge.
Tap height is the other one. The rim on these bowls sits 115mm to 145mm above the counter in the examples above, so a mixer sized for an inset basin often spouts at or below that rim and splashes. Counter top bowls want a tall vessel mixer, or a wall mounted spout set high enough to clear. The H figure on the listing is the number you check the tap against.
A worked example. The D1001122MW Counter Top Basin is 400(L) x 400(W) x 115(H) mm in matt white, listed at SGD 225 as this is written. Square, compact, and shallow enough that a mid-height vessel mixer clears it comfortably. Drop it on a 500mm deep vanity and you have 100mm of counter left over, most of which you will want behind the bowl for the tap.
Last thing to check before you order, and it is easy to see in the listing photos: whether the bowl has an overflow hole. A bowl with an overflow takes a slotted pop-up waste. A bowl without one takes an unslotted waste. It is a cheap part that can hold up an entire install if the pair is wrong.
Wall hung, and the wall behind it
Wall hung buys back the most floor of any mount. Nothing sits underneath, so a small bathroom reads larger and the floor is one continuous surface to mop.
The catch is the wall. Every bit of load goes into whatever is behind the tiles. Solid masonry takes a through bolt or a heavy anchor without much thought. A hollow partition needs a concealed frame or a backing plate fixed before the wall is closed up, which puts the decision early in the renovation instead of the week the basin arrives.
The trap is the second thing people forget. With no cabinet, the bottle trap and supply pipes are on show unless they are chased into the wall or covered. A chrome bottle trap looks deliberate. A white plastic P-trap does not.
Read the H figure carefully on a wall hung listing too. It is the basin's own overall height, not the height it will sit at. The D1005800 Wall Hung Basin is listed at 470(L) x 395(W) x 500(H) mm, and that 500 describes the basin. Where the rim ends up is set by where the bracket goes, so settle that height before the wall is chased, because the waste and water points are cut in at the same moment.
Useful if the vanity question is still open: some basins are built for either mount. Aalto's ATK211, at 400 x 280 x 125mm, is listed as Top/Wall Hung and carries both mount tags, as does much of that range. At 280mm deep it is also one of the narrowest options on the site.
Inset, where the vanity decides
Inset is the smallest of the three main groups, and the mount where the basin is rarely the constraint. The vanity top is.
The basin drops into a cut-out and the rim rests on the surface. That cut-out is smaller than the basin's listed size, because the L x W on the page is the outer edge of the rim. Cut to the manufacturer's template, and have the basin in hand before anyone puts a jigsaw near the top. Nothing else in this section matters as much as that order of operations.
The top has to be wider than the basin's L and deeper than its W, with room left behind for the tap, and the spread of sizes is where that bites. NC-9048 at 410 x 410 x 165mm sits happily in a compact vanity. NC-9080E at 810 x 470 x 175mm wants a serious slab. The D1003103 Inset Basin lands between them at 760 x 465 x 175mm in white, with the same model available in matt black as D1003103MB.
If the counter is too shallow for a full inset, semi-recess is the variant to look at. The bowl sits partly into the top and partly proud of the front edge, so it needs less depth while still using the vanity. GZ 175 is 480 x 370 x 130mm and GZ 8020 is 500 x 420 x 130mm. Only 11 basins on the site are tagged semi-recess, so it is a narrow shelf to shop from, but on a shallow counter it solves a problem the other mounts cannot.
Buying the top and the basin together is generally easier than matching a basin to a top you already own. If that is the stage you are at, the vanity cabinets collection is worth going through alongside this guide.
Three checks before you order
- Counter or vanity depth. Measure what you have, then compare it against the W in the listing, not the L. Depth is what runs out first in an HDB bathroom.
- What is behind the wall. This only matters for wall hung, and for wall hung it matters completely. Find out whether it is masonry or a partition before you order.
- Tap hole count. Zero, one or three, and the listing photo shows it. No hole means a wall mounted tap, or a deck mounted one drilled into the counter. One hole takes a single lever mixer. Three takes a widespread set with separate handles.
Common questions
Which basin type suits a small HDB bathroom?
Wall hung, in most cases. Nothing occupies the floor beneath it, so the room reads larger and the floor is easier to clean. It does depend on the wall being able to take the fixing, so check what is behind the tiles before committing. Narrow counter top bowls are the fallback where the wall cannot be used, and some models, such as Aalto's ATK211 at 400 x 280 x 125mm, are listed for either mount.
Do I need a special tap for a counter top basin?
You need one tall enough to clear the bowl rim. Counter top basins on this site run roughly 115mm to 145mm high, and that height sits on top of the counter, so a standard basin mixer designed for an inset installation will often spout too low. Check the H figure on the basin listing against the spout height on the tap listing.
What is the difference between inset and semi-recess?
An inset basin sits fully inside the cut-out with the rim on the counter, so it needs a top deep enough to swallow the whole basin. A semi-recess basin sits partly in the top and partly forward of the front edge, so it works on a shallower counter. Semi-recess examples on this site include GZ 175 at 480 x 370 x 130mm and GZ 8020 at 500 x 420 x 130mm.
Prices quoted here were live when this guide was written and can move. The product page carries the current figure.