A lavabo is a basin for washing the hands. The word comes from the Latin lavabo, ‘I shall wash’, after the psalm verse the priest says while washing his hands during Mass. In church architecture the lavabo is therefore the basin beside the altar; in French and in Belgian usage it is simply the everyday word for a washbasin.
The term thus carries two meanings that are worth keeping apart: one architectural-historical, one domestic.
The lavabo in a church
In medieval and later churches the lavabo is usually a niche in the chancel wall, on the epistle side near the altar, with a stone basin and often a drain hole. The niche can be richly detailed with an arch, small shafts and tracery, which makes it a datable feature for the building archaeologist.
Related fittings often found in or beside the same niche:
- Piscina — the drained basin in which the chalice and the fingers are rinsed after communion; the rinsing water runs through its own outlet straight into the ground rather than into the drains.
- Credence table — the side table holding the cruets of water and wine and the towel.
- Aquamanile — a pouring vessel, often in animal form, from which water was poured over the hands.
Monasteries have their own version: a washing basin or fountain house in the cloister at the entrance to the refectory, where the monks washed before meals.
The lavabo in the house
In French-speaking regions and in Belgium, lavabo is the ordinary word for a washbasin: the bowl in a bathroom or cloakroom with tap and waste, wall-hung or built into a vanity unit. British and American usage rarely follows this.
So when reading a continental sanitaryware quotation, take the meaning at face value: ‘lavabo’ there almost always means a standard washbasin.
Practical points for installation
- Height: a washbasin is generally fitted around 80 to 90 cm above finished floor level, depending on the height of the users. Settle the height before the wall tiling goes on.
- Adequate support. A filled stone basin is heavy; fix to a solid wall or to a built-in support frame, not to single-layer plasterboard.
- Plan the waste. Allow for a trap and for sufficient fall to the soil stack.
Related terms
- Piscina
- Cloister
- Chancel
- Niche
- Cloakroom basin
- Sanitaryware
Want to know more about building terms? Take a look at our knowledge base on fredsdiyplans.com.