RE: Bathtoom/kitchen fixtures. Kohler, Moen, Delta, Newport Brass. Any others to consider? I don't mind paying high end price for high end quality. Thanks for any input.

My master bath shower is being rebuilt due to a leak. The plumber told me it would be best to dump the 2 handle Price Pfisters in there now and go with a single handle Moen.

The job is not yet done so I don't have any experience with it yet, but that's what the man said.

Good luck to you.
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I’ve had Delta or Moen in all the homes I’ve lived in since I was a kid 1970s. My dad was a plumber. Either brand is the top of the line and very rarely fail.

Understand that the big companies like Delta and Moen have several "tiers" of fixtures. These are often almost idential in appearance/name, but different in quality and internal construction.

The lower end ones (including most of the ones sold in big box stores) are more cheaply made. But there are higher end ones that are sometimes only offered through plumbing supply stores and online distributors that are better quality.

For example, there may be two nearly identical shower heads offered, one of which is made with mostly plastic parts and the other that has more metal parts, with the latter being $100 or so more.

So check their websites and compare specs between models to identify the higher end versions of whatever you're looking for, then search by model number. It's often worth the extra money for the better made, sturdier, longer-lasting higher end models.


Also, all building supplies - including plumbing fixtures - are in short supply currently. Don't be surprised if the model(s) that you want have lengthy backorders or are entirely unavailable.

We put Moen in when we built 12 years ago. We’ve had to replace 2 faucets and Moen’s lifetime warranty is fantastic. Basically a no questions asked replacement. I would assume Delta has a similar policy.

Go Moen, they have a no BS lifetime parts replacement program. and if the faucet is so they no longer make parts they will offer several different current design faucets to choose from and it was a few of something like $20 for faucets that would have been $300-400.

The wife made the wise choice to replace every faucet in the house with Moen when she remodeled and it has been well worth it. Have had one that had finish corrosion from being left on all the time (cat was a sink drinker), the strainers get gunked up and free replacements, kitchen sink started dripping after 15years of hard use, parts mailed right out to fix it found small corrosion spot in finish on back and that main housing was no longer available so that's when the did the replacement for $20, old faucet is still working fine and have the new one with a lifetime warranty in waiting.
I never buy anything but MOEN just for the no BS warranty!!

^^^ this right here.

quote:

I would assume Delta has a similar policy.

They don't - or at least when I needed parts for a Delta Faucet they charged me for them.

Delta's parts may not be free, but their plumbing has done right by me.

I had Delta for all fixtures in the last 2 houses I lived in, total of 38 years and to date I've had 2 leaky faucets and nothing more.

That being the case, why should I care if parts are free?

pluming supply house Moen.

Not big box store

Try Ferguson Bath, Kitchen and lighting. I had Delta in my last house and replaced everything with Moen this go around. No complaints. Good Luck

thank you for all the comments and information. I appreciate it.

quote:

Originally posted by sig2392:
pluming supply house Moen.

Not big box store

You can also get the model number off Moens website and find them on eBay. We did that when building and saved a significant amount of money.

I have Moen in my kitchen and both restrooms. The faucet in the master and kitchen both developed eruptions of the surfaces. I couldn't find my receipts but I contacted Moen anyway. They replaced both for a little over $50. If I'd been able to find the original receipt there would have been no charges.

I carried Moen and Delta repair parts on my Plumbing truck. Delta parts were purchased by the dozens, Moen by the pair.

I installed a Grohe kitchen faucet 4 years ago and we have been really happy with it. They are made in Germany.

https://www.grohe.us/parts-and-services/about-grohe


https://www.grohe.us/

They also have a military discount program that gives a big discount on select items. Easy verification process that gets approved within 30 minutes.

https://www.grohe.us/military

Paying for the higher tier products can seem expensive until you consider paying a plumber (or yourself) to replace cheap stuff. In the medium term it makes a lot of sense to go top tier…

We have Delta in a hospital we constructed in 2006 (about 600 units) and they have performed well. I have Delta at home in a 10 year old bathroom with no issues.

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:
Paying for the higher tier products can seem expensive until you consider paying a plumber (or yourself) to replace cheap stuff. In the medium term it makes a lot of sense to go top tier…

Speaking of paying a plumber, just a few days ago I had a problem with the cold side faucet handle thing (of a 2 handle unit, hot and cold) in a bathtub.

A friend recommended a plumbing company. They came out, the guy looked at it, and said he could fix it in 15 minutes. He did fix it in 15 minutes. He then told me I owed him $300.00 !! Three Hundred Dollars!

I usually ask for an estimate, but I figured if it would only take 15 minutes to fix it there was no way it should cost a lot of money. This is usually true, but won't happen to me again.

He only replaced the stem thing.

WE had a bit of a debate, then he decided to pull out his IPad and show me the "standard rate" for replacing such as part. He said they now price things like automotive mechanics who use a flat rate system. I told him I didn't give a flip what his IPad said.

Charging $300 for 15 minutes work!

I asked what their hourly rate is, and he wouldn't say, he said it was all standard rate or flat rate now.

He decided to call his boss from his truck.

He came back in and said his boss said to cut it to $150 even for me, as a gesture of "good will".

Then he said they charge $96.00 bucks just to come out and walk inside.

I figured that was fair enough. I don't know how much the part cost, he wouldn't break it down to parts and labor. I doubt the part cost $54.00 but I could very well be wrong.

I told him I'd pay the $150.00 but I wanted to check his work (I don't "helicopter" workmen, I went to another part of the house while they were working on it).

Crazily enough, when I turned the handle on, it was leaking. Not just a drip, but a small stream flow out water out of the handle and down into the tub.

The look on his face was priceless when he saw is work leaking. Priceless.

Sloppy. Greedy. Messy (left me a mess to clean up).

I have a friend who is a Master Plumber but he is not living and working in my immediate area. I called him and he laughed and said that Yep, a lot of plumbers are no longer doing jobs by the hour. He told me of a job he just did where a homeowner refused a $350 charge to fix a running toilet by putting a kit in the tank. Homeowner ran off that flat rate plumber and called him, he went out and fixed it for an hours labor/trip out and $20 bucks for the kit. I don't have a problem at all for any worker, be it plumbing, electrical, heat and air, etc, having a 1 hour drive out time/come in and diagnose. Their time is important too and they deserve to get paid, without ripping off people.

Yep. My plumber is great, and works by the hour.

He charges $65/hour, or $95/hour if it's a two person job that requires his apprentice, plus the actual cost of parts.

And if something doesn't work 100% right, like when the pipe from my recirculating pump started a slow leak after he replaced my water heater and hooked the pump back up, he comes back and fixes it for free.

But it took me trying two other overpriced plumbers first before finding him.