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Thread: Plumbing fixtures?

  1. #16
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    Mar 2016
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    Millstone, NJ
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    Whatever you end up with ESPECIALLY plumbing items burried in the wall, buy it from a local plumbing supply. The stuff you buy in Homedepot/lowes/amazon are an inferior product made cheaper by request of the big box stores.

  2. #17
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    Oct 2006
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    Minneapolis, MN
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    I highly doubt the same exact model/part number of faucet sold at a big box store and a plumbing supply house are going to be any different. Now, faucet companies make some models specifically for big box stores. I wanted a specific Moen faucet for my bathroom and the plumber said the plumbing supply house told him that model was only sold at Home Depot and other big box stores.

  3. #18
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    Feb 2003
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    Doylestown, PA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Dufour View Post
    I would put in 2x6 blocking all around at garb bar height for "future proofing" . Also consider garb bars as towel bars for now, outside the stall.
    Bill D
    That's sort of what we did. We wanted the grab bar ends to be about 32" apart so as to screw into studs. We couldn't find 32" grab bars but as good luck would have it the grab bar end fittings were exactly the right diameter to fit 3/4" copper tubing and we could certainly get the right length copper tubing to fit between studs.

  4. #19
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    Mar 2016
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    Millstone, NJ
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Elfert View Post
    I highly doubt the same exact model/part number of faucet sold at a big box store and a plumbing supply house are going to be any different. Now, faucet companies make some models specifically for big box stores. I wanted a specific Moen faucet for my bathroom and the plumber said the plumbing supply house told him that model was only sold at Home Depot and other big box stores.
    There is usually a difference in the model number but most shop by the name of the fixture/faucet. There may be dozens of sub models of the same name 1 or 2 usually are made with less expensive parts. The average person doesnt want to spend 300 on a bathroom faucet but 99 sounds appealing.

  5. #20
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    Oct 2006
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    Minneapolis, MN
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    Quote Originally Posted by George Yetka View Post
    There is usually a difference in the model number but most shop by the name of the fixture/faucet. There may be dozens of sub models of the same name 1 or 2 usually are made with less expensive parts. The average person doesnt want to spend 300 on a bathroom faucet but 99 sounds appealing.
    I would pay extra for a faucet if the manufacturer could detail exactly what is different between a model sold at Home Depot and the one sold at a plumbing supply house. However, the biggest issue with supply houses is they most often won't sell to DIY folks. You have to have a plumber involved usually.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Waterford, PA
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    1,225
    We installed Swanstone sheets in our shower when we remodeled the house 5 years ago. Despite it being made to look like Beadboard, it is the easiest shower to clean. Compared to both Tile and Molded 1 piece units, this product is much more resistant to discoloration, mold and soap scum.

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
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    I am planning to redo my tiled bath tub with Swanstone. The cost is hard to swallow, but it should clean up a lot easier.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Michigan
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    2,758
    Our Kohler fiberglass one piece shower stall is 35 years old and still looks almost new. Used daily.

    I am 66" tall and wife is 64", bottom of shower head is 78" - where we can both reach it but don't have to stoop to get under it. Grab a tape measure and spouse and work out what you'd like.

    I'm disappointed with Delta faucets.

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
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    8,973
    When I built the last addition on our house, we did a big shower with 12" square Marble tiles, including on the ceiling. I put a fan to circulate air, on a timer in that bathroom. While that shower does have grout joints, much like regular ceramic tile, the circulating air from the fan, I guess, makes mold, and mildew a non-issue. We really enjoy that shower, but I don't think we would like it nearly as much if it was some synthetic. We do have a Quartz seat in it, and Corian shelves.

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    65,685
    Tom, I absolutely agree that stone is a step above when it comes to this kind of thing...I miss the Vermont green slate we had at the old property. The cost factor comes into play, however...that's also a step above!
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  11. #26
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    Feb 2003
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    Doylestown, PA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Friedrichs View Post
    The pessimist in me says those $300 Delta/Moen faucets are sold at the BORGs next to the $79.99 "easy replace" cartridges because they intend for you to buy a new one every 3 years and feel good about how much money you saved "doing it yourself"... Given that the cost-per-use ends up being so trivial, I'd take Brian's advice and find a premium brand not sold at home centers...

    Jim's suggestion of non-tile materials is also good. At one point, ceramic tile kitchen countertops were considered reasonable, but I bet most people hear that today and say, "Ewww". Well, all the new solid surface materials used in kitchen countertops are also being used in shower enclosures, for the same reasons - no grout joints to dirty, actual waterproofness (grout - like any cementitious product - is water permeable), easy to clean, non-mildewing, etc.
    Solid surface material is very easy to work with and as you say, no visible joints. I'm not sure where one would find a color matched solid surface shower pan though. Use another material for the shower pan and solid surface for the rest of the enclosure? Anyone can buy solid surface material and supplies from solidsurface. com. I think they recommend 1/4" thick instead of 1/2" thick for vertical surfaces though I'm not certain about that.

    Edit: I just noticed that the solid surface web site also has shower kits.
    Last edited by Curt Harms; 09-11-2021 at 9:36 AM.

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Elyria, Ohio
    Posts
    45
    Based on nearly 40 years of manufacturing faucets parts, there's Moen and Delta, and then everyone else. Buy at a plumbing supply house, not a big box store. Just my .02

  13. #28
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    NE Ohio
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    6,982
    I'm on the fifth (and last according to Moen support) "lifetime warranty" replacement cartridge for my 13 year old Moen valve.
    Moen told me they would no longer ship replacement parts to my address.
    Needless to say, I'm not a fan of Moen.

    I'll have to rip the wall apart one day to tear out the Moen piece of garbage some day. I would have done it before but - it means ripping out the old valve by tearing out the tiled wall. There is no access from the rear.
    My granddad always said, :As one door closes, another opens".
    Wonderful man, terrible cabinet maker...

  14. #29
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Michigan
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    "I'll have to rip the wall apart one day to tear out the Moen piece of garbage some day. I would have done it before but - it means ripping out the old valve by tearing out the tiled wall. There is no access from the rear."

    You mean to say that the access from the rear is even more difficult than tearing out the tile.

    My disappointment with Delta is their lack of modulation. The shower valves (one for hot, one for cold) can only be configured with cartridges that go from off to full in 90 degrees which is hard to adjust. In the kitchen the single lever faucet has only cold and hot, difficult to find any middle ground. Resetting the water heater to 'just right' is even worse.

  15. #30
    Join Date
    May 2005
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    Highland MI
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    Quote Originally Posted by Walter Mooney View Post
    Make sure it’s a “pressure-balancing” valve. They compensate for water pressure (i.e. volume) such that they maintain the water temperature that’s been set even if someone somewhere else in the house flushes a toilet or otherwise runs or uses water. They’re great!
    I would go a step further and recommend a thermostatic mixing valve. You set it for a specific temperature and every time you step in, it is at your perfect temperature. Advantage is that it doesn't waste water to get up to your temperature, it runs hot water only until it needs to start mixing in cold. I have the American Standard Elite thermostatic valve installed nearly 20 years ago and still going strong. Not available now, but they have plenty of others to choose from. https://www.build.com/product/summar...E&gclsrc=aw.ds
    Last edited by Ole Anderson; 09-13-2021 at 8:07 AM.
    NOW you tell me...

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