You can pretty much buy every single piece individually! I have done eleven bathrooms in the past 15 years and was never forced to buy a "package". I actually prefer certain brands for certain things, so I always mix and match.

Personally I like having a fixed shower head and a handheld for maximum flexibility.

My favorite brands for different components:

- fixed shower head - Speakman Icon

- slide/grab bar w/ ball joint holder for the handheld - Jaclo (once someone points out the difference you wouldn't want any other!)

- hose - get a long one and it has to be the metal type.

- I have used valves/trim/handles from several brands and been happy with most of them. In the current house I used Brizo.

What needs to match is the valves that go in the wall and the trim/handles, so if you are going to use Kohler handles/trim, then the valves inside the wall need to be from Kohler.

Try to find a local plumbing showroom that isn't part of some huge nationwide chain and hopefully they will be more help than a sleazy salesperson.

Wait, just reread your post. If this is a new build, doesn't your builder have a preferred vendor/showroom that he usually works with? Is this a production build or custom?

Here is the articulating joint on the Jaclo bar. You have to ask for it, the standard is just a basic up/down. The bar and holder are also further out from the wall compared to most other brands, so you can tilt the handheld all the way down so you can spray the water straight down. You can't do that with most other holders as they are too close to the wall to allow the handheld to to be tilted down.

Also get a long bar ( 4 ft) so the handheld can be raised or lowered enough to be used by tall people and short kids.

Thanks Chispa! This is a custom build. And yes, my builder did recommend Ferguson and Keller, but he said I can get my fixtures anywhere I want. I know he does get a discount at Ferguson and Keller. Are there certain websites/vendors you recommend to purchase these pieces separately? I've been perusing build.com.

I've read about the Jaclo bars on this forum and made a note of those. I didn't think about getting a long bar for children since it's just the 2 of us, although we're both kind of short at 5'8 and 5'3. We have 2 young nephew/nieces but I don't think they'd visit often so I'm not sure if a long bar is that necessary?

I would not order online for a whole house. We got our builder's discount at 2 local plumbing showrooms, neither of which was a national chain. If there was a problem with a product, I called the sales guy and he took care of getting it replaced. They also sent the invoices to the builder.

Go with a long bar. If you are injured/old and need to sit on a teak bench to take your shower, then you want to be able to get that handheld much lower, specially if you don't want to get your head/hair wet.

You need a thermostatic valve, a transfer valve, a drop ell, a hose, a bracket, a bar, and a head.

I also like to have a "volume control" valve. Nothing I hate more than a shower that is only ON/OFF. Sometimes I want a shower to be full blast, but sometimes I want a trickle of water. Faucets have volume control, so your shower should too!

Your builder should have some Pro pricing at build.com... They are owned by Ferguson. I'd not hesitate to use them. I've also used SupplyHouse and they are WONDERFUL (and will offer pro pricing) . I've probably bought $50K with them.

You definitely can get a shower without a fixed shower head.....the only part that has to be fixed is the place where the hose attaches to the water pipe behind the wall.

We did this exact same thing last year with our bathroom remodel and ordered everything from Build.com - the bar, the hand held and the valves.

@chispa we try to when we can, unfortuately we live in a fairly rural area so for things like this, online is our best option. But we have plenty of other small local places we support on the daily!

" still tries to support local brick-and-mortar stores? "

I'll support them if they offer me what I want, even if it means paying a bit more. But I won't shop there and buy something I only kinda want, when I could go to a national store or an online retailer and actually get what I want.

Plus, as has been said, not all of us have local brick-and-mortar options that sell quality goods - it's so dependent on where you live. There are no bathroom or hardware "showrooms" where I can see and handle options (outside of the box) within about 90 minutes of where I live, and even then I'm limited to what they choose to display.

We just have a handheld on a slide bar in our master. No need for a fixed head. I use it fixed for taking a shower and handheld for rinsing the shower down. I am only 5ft while my husband is 6ft. It works well for us because I can slide it lower for me and he can have it higher for him. I can also slide it low enough for times I do not want to wash my hair.

It is my understanding that the manufacturers package the faucet, spout, and fixed shower head as one unit, and package the hand held shower head separately; this simplifies it for them. Chances are the supplier that said you could configure it any way I want will buy both packages, charge you for both packages, but you will never see the fixed shower head.

Well, one issue with buying at a "local" brick and mortar store is that our new build is more than 2 hours from us, and we're still working full time. I love our local Ferguson showroom but it certainly does not showcase all their items. I've found that on their build.com website, I can put together each of the separate components, so I'm happy about that. My builder does have PRO pricing with Ferguson.

Toronto Veterinarian- thanks especially for your photo. That is exactly what I want in our master shower!

Chispa- I was just reading an old post of yours about the Jaclo slide bars where you included a link to their website. I discovered you had actually purchased one of their GRAB bars and added the slide/holder articulating joint. I was going to put a grab bar in the master shower anyway so it seems like I can kill 2 birds with 1 stone. If also used for a grab bar, is the 48" length preferable? I initially found this Jaclo wall bar with slide but the style isn't to my liking, and I really like yours much better. Here it is:

Jaclo traditional wall bar

No, I didn't just buy one of their grab bars! They sell it as a slide/grab bar and it has to be ordered with the holder from the factory. You can NOT add the holder later. Make sure it specifies the articulating holder and not the basic one.

Mine is a simpler design.

https://www.jaclo.com/detail/48-g40-straight-grab-bar-g40-48-

I would do the 48" length. I have used 7 or 8 of these over the last 15 years. Never had any issues. Good quality, solid product.

Thanks again Chispa. Did you buy it from a local retailer? I'm trying to find this stuff on build.com and Keller. build.com shows the grab bar you separately but doesn't show the holder as an add-on, and my searches for the holder separately aren't yielding any results. But I can find both separately on Keller. And boy, they're pricey! But strangely, the prices are much higher on build.com and Keller than on the actual Jaclo site! I'm not sure what to make of that.

Delta sells their various valves and trims as separate items, so you can have options for the locations and types of devices.

Some of my projects were in CA and I bought at two local independent plumbing showrooms. The other projects in FL, and I also bought at two local independent plumbing showrooms. I got designer/builder discounts for most of the projects.

You can not buy the bar and holder separately. It has to be ordered as one, because the bar supports are sealed at the ends and can not be removed, which means the holder can not be attached later. It has to be done when it is manufactured, before the supports are attached.

ALL manufacturers sell their bits and bobs as separate items, so as to be able to customize an install to whatever you want. The only "prefab sets" are ones boxed up for box stores, and then you throw half of that away and order more bits and bobs.

Minardi, I am talking about specific Jaclo bars have to ordered with the correct attachment before the rest of the bar gets welded at the factory. When building I got one with the wrong attachment and the plumbing showroom told me to bring it back and they would re-order with the correct attachment. There was no option to just ship me the attachment and have my plumber make changes.

If you are talking about the shower components, then yes, those definitely can be bought a-la-carte.