What is the best plumbing fixture brand?

17 years ago

I need help, we are redoing our whole house and need advice on the plumbing fixtures. Has anyone tried Rohl? Is it worth the extra money for all 4 bathrooms? should I put it in the MB and then use Moen/Delta/? on the rest? How about kitchen faucet brands and prepsink faucets?

Everyone on this site seems to like Bain Ultra tubs but they don't use jets, just bubbles, what is the best one that uses jets? and finally toilets, we are used to the Kohler low boy quiet one piece, is Toto better? and finally, what is the best shower head? Rain?, pressurized?

Thank You all in advance,

Jerry

Featured Answer

goutgrec

17 years ago

The general differences in plumbing fixtures lie in the use of brass vs plastic parts. High end fixtures from German and English manufacturers including Dornbracht, Barber Wilsons, Samuel Heath, also Waterworks are brass fixtures. That goes for lavatory and kitchen faucets.

To some degree you can feel the difference when you pick them up. Brass is heavier.

Grohe and Hansgrohe are high middle range. Moen and American Standard are mid-range. Rohl is high range but just under the ones mentioned above.

There are many, many other brands as well.

The life of a faucet is determined by how long the parts hold up and also whether the surfaces are integral to the metal or are coatings. Quality is also determined by fine finishing. If you look closely up the "snout" of a Dornbracht faucet and a Moen faucet you can start to see what I'm talking about.

However, brands such as Delta, Moen, American Standard are good quality products with long lives.

These are all things to consider when judging quality vs price.

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Comments (6)

giacomo_it
17 years ago
Jerry,
I mostly deal with contemporary product,
pluming fixture I suggest german products for the quality
hansgrohe, or grohe

for quality and also design
I will suggest, gessi, bonomi, zucchetti, newform.
those company they have bath and kitchen products
jcgreen1000
Original Author
17 years ago
Thank You Giacomo, DW has picked out grohe for the kitchen, I had never heard of it. Is there really that much difference between say American Standard and these other brands in terms of extended working life of the product?
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lwolff
17 years ago
On toilets we just got a Toto after doing lots of research both here & on the Terry Love site. I am very happy with the purchase. Got a great value & awesome toilet.

The advantage of an airtub is that they are significantly more sanitary. With a jetted tub, a small amount of water will sit in the jets when it is not in use. The longer you do not use the tub, the longer mold & bacteria can grow in there... Next time you turn on the jets, guess what thrusts into your bathwater?
dchall_san_antonio
17 years ago
I look for the ability to repair the equipment easily. I bought all Moen faucets because I can go to any parts store on any day of any week and get replacement cartridges for $10. Moen has used the same cartridge for 30 years or so.

I bought an American Standard Cadet "3" toilet after using a Toto for six months and pricing the Toto. The performance of the two toilets is as identical as I can see and hear, but the AS is only about $150. Terry Love is a shill for Toto, so you won't find much about anything else on his site.

For shower heads I like to feel the force of the water washing the soap off. I also try to stick with water conserving heads. Rain type heads are neither of those. The one I like is called a Europa. It's under $15 hanging on the rack at Lowe's and/or Home Depot. It is not in with the official shower heads but in with replacement heads. It is easy to disassemble if it gets clogged.

For a tub we got a Jacuzzi brand. They claim their internal plumbing all points down so any water in the piping will drain out when the water drains out of the tub.
jcgreen1000
Original Author
17 years ago
Thank you all for your responses. We went back to the plumbing supplier and are redoing the quotes.
I had not thought about the replacement cartridges for plumbing but I can see where there could be a problem if we don't get product that is 'standard'.
I also never thought about the bacteria in the jets (yuck!) I will check on Jacuzzi brand.
On the toilet issue, the Toto one piece, elongated is $398. is the Cadet 3 elongated and one piece? Thanks dchall for the info. Thanks also to you goutgrec and 1wolff. I appreciate your help a great deal. Hopefully we can get the right stuff at the right prices.