The garden tap, and the hosethat trips you.
Quarter-turn lever taps for the outside tap, and self-retracting reels that keep the hose off the path instead of coiled across it.
Giving up the gardenis a big loss.
The garden is often the last thing somebody keeps doing outdoors, and it is worth more than the tomatoes. It gets people out of the house, it is a reason to move, and it is one of the few remaining jobs that is entirely theirs.
Two small things end it. The outside tap is the stiffest in the house — it sits in the weather, it seizes, and turning it takes a grip that arthritis takes away years before anything else. And the hose ends up coiled across the path, which is a genuine trip hazard on exactly the ground somebody is least steady on.
Both are half-day fixes. A lever handle on the tap and a reel that winds itself back in, and the garden goes back to being something a person can do on their own.
Accessible gardeningsolutions.
Two fittings that between them account for most of why people stop gardening.
Quarter-turn garden lever taps
A lever that goes from off to full in a quarter turn and can be worked with a closed fist, a forearm, or a wet hand. A top-assembly changeover, so the existing tap body usually stays in the wall.
Self-retracting hose reels
The hose winds itself back in rather than being coiled by hand. That removes the coil from the path — the actual trip hazard — and it removes the job of winding it, which is harder than it sounds with a wet hose and sore hands.
The outdoors, safely
Neither of these is a medical modification. They are what makes the difference between a garden somebody uses and a garden they look at, and they are usually quoted alongside a path rail or a step.
Vital Ease at a glance
- Projects completed
- 300+
Projects completed
- Agreements with Home Care Package and NDIS providers
- 100+
Agreements with Home Care Package and NDIS providers
- Valued customers
- 200+
Valued customers
Who we dothis for.
Anyone with arthritis or a weak grip
The outside tap is the stiffest in the house and usually the last one anybody thinks to change. It is often the first one that becomes impossible.
Households where the hose lives on the path
A coiled hose on a garden path is one of the commonest trip hazards we see, and it sits on the ground people are least steady on.
Anyone using a walker or a stick outdoors
Where both hands are occupied and there is no spare one for winding a hose or wrestling a tap.
People keeping the garden going
Which is most of the reason we get asked. It is a quality-of-life job rather than a safety one, and it is worth doing for that alone.
Before you book,two things to know.
A tap changeover usually damages nothing
Swapping the handle assembly on an existing garden tap needs no drilling and no tiling, and the tap body normally stays in the wall. It is the easiest thing here to get agreed in a rental.
A hose reel is fixed work
It is bolted to a wall or a post so it can take the pull of a full hose being drawn out. That means drilling, and it needs something solid to fix to — brick is straightforward, weatherboard and rendered foam less so.
It is licensed plumbing work
Tapware is carried out by a licensed plumber, as all tap work has to be. A seized outdoor tap sometimes turns out to need the body replaced rather than the handle, which is a plumber’s job either way.
Send us a photograph of the tap
Outdoor taps vary enormously in age and fitting, and a photograph tells us whether a handle changeover will do it or whether the whole tap has to come out. It is the single best thing you can do to avoid a second visit.
Brochuresand guides.
The documents an occupational therapist or a plan manager usually asks us for. We are preparing these now — ring or email in the meantime and we will send what you need.
Product brochures
- Quarter-turn garden lever tapsComing soon
- Self-retracting hose reelsComing soon
Quote request requirements
- Garden taps and hose reels — what we need to quoteComing soon
How the jobactually runs.
Quoting
Quoted to the occupational therapist’s specification where there is one. A photograph of the existing tap and of where a reel would go is usually enough. Funding is approved before we start.
On-site consultation and installation
A licensed plumber carries out the tap work and fits the reel where it can be reached and fixed properly. A single visit, and the garden is usable the same day.
Warranty
The work is carried out by licensed tradespeople and backed by the relevant warranties. If something is not right, ring the same number you rang the first time.
The same handle,indoors.
A garden lever is the same fitting as the taps at the basin, the kitchen sink, and the laundry trough — and if the outside tap has become hard to turn, those usually have too.
Doing them together is one visit and one approval rather than two.
Questions
What people ask aboutgarden taps & hose reels.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you change just the handle on my garden tap?
Where can a hose reel be fixed?
Is a retracting reel worth it over a normal one?
Can this be done in a rental?
Will the NDIS or my Home Care Package fund garden taps?
Can’t see your question? Call us on +61 3 8658 1358 — we’re happy to talk it through.
More from Vital Ease
The rest of whatwe do.
Let us make your homework for you.
Ready to start your modification journey? Contact our team.
Ready to make your home safer and more accessible? Our team is here to help from your first consultation through to the final handover. Let’s talk about what’s possible for your home.