Concerning Kohler quality, I have found (so far) that they seem to ship a lot of very flawed products, but are quite willing to replace them. I bought two Memoirs 2269 sinks and a Cimarron toilet and all were badly warped. The toilet tank lid had a banana shape - over 3/4 inch warp - and the sinks aren't even close to flat on the surface that meets the counter. If I shim up the back right corner so the front makes contact, I will have a gap to caulk of over 1/2 inch and the top will not even be close to parallel with the row of subway tiles behind the sink. Kohler customer service says they are sending me a return authorization for both sinks, but since they were a special order item I fear I may wait another 6 weeks for a replacement and then get another warped one. Doesn't anyone inspect these things before they're shipped? Gary

Eric, do you mind telling me where you ordered your toilet from. Lyban, two local Toto dealers I talked with about a month ago said these "II" models were so new that they didn't know how quickly they'd come in, but based on past experience, they expected it could take 4 to 5 weeks. I thought that pressed my timing, so I looked online. (I also called Toto, which confirmed to me that the toilets were definitely in stock and had started shipping in February). The best price I got was from Ira Woods; I had ordered from them before when doing my kitchen and had a perfect experience, and they always seem to be recommended by folks on the kitchen forum. Their price was best if my total order would be $750, which would get me free shipping on the toilet; I was going to order my drawer pulls from them anyway (and eventually did), so I was over that limit. When I called them to ask about availability, they called Toto and estimated three weeks. I ended up ordering it from HM Wallace (they do business online as PerformanceToilets.com) because they promised they get a weekly truckload from Toto and would therefore get the toilet within a week and UPS it to me (free) for delivery within 10 days. Their price was about $40 higher, but since they seemed like they'd get it to me fastest, I ordered from them. Well, it turned out that my toilet "missed the truck" from Toto for two weeks, and ended up taking about three weeks to arrive anyway -- so I spent a little extra compared to Ira Woods for nothing. Oh well. I will say the customer service people at HM Wallace were nice to deal with. The toilet finally arrived Friday, and will be installed this week as soon as the wall tiling is complete and grouted. If we're happy with it, I'll be ordering another for our second bathroom project, which will start as soon as this one is complete. And I'll order from Ira Woods. One last note: when I was price shopping last month, many of the online sites didn't have all the new Toto models on their web sites, but they were all able to get me pricing when I called them. So if you don't see the model you want on a particular web site, it pays to call them. And make sure you check the shipping policies -- method and cost. (Reads the fine print: some web sites which prominently display free shipping on orders over $99 or $199 say that doesn't apply to oversized items, like a toilet. But they may offer free shipping for hitting a higher cost threshold.) I was surprised something as heavy as a 115 pound one-piece toilet could be shipped UPS, but it's standard with some of the companies. Others ship toilets via a freight line. That might make a difference if you or your contractor aren't home all day waiting for a shipment. Some ship all toilets for free; others have a pretty high cost threshold for free shipping. (If you can order your faucets or shower fixtures from the same company, it'll help you get free shipping on everything.) -- Eric

I replaced the lights in the kids' bath and the powder room ten years ago with inexpensive HD fixtures, and they've held up fine, no rust at all inside or out - I just took down and remounted the one in the kids' bath so I could paint - ten years of steamy showers by four children - no corrosion, no signs of overheating or sparking. They look good, fit my style, and I would keep them even if I got a windfall. The thing is, I am glad that there is high end design and there are people who have a lot of money to spend - I can look at a beautiful room and think, is this possible DIY? What less expensive materials will give the same effect? And then there are low price imitations of the high end goods and some of them are quite pleasing. The sixties were more egalitarian as far as housing construction (our house is 1965 and would have been upscale in its time) but oh, what ticky-tacky, very utilitarian, no- style light fixtures. You would have seen the same lights in a house a third the size. It's a light - what more could you ask? Well, now the answer is safety, style, American-made, and low-priced. I hope they're out there!

MN, First, you need to know that I am no expert on this stuff. However, I have worked hard to become self-taught based on intense research (that I'm guessing many people on this site do to survive replacing/remodleing their homes). So, for what it's worth... I've received one message from someone that a toilet similar to a Senry didn't work well. But - that's one person's experience and it *wasn't* a Senry. From what I've learned, Toto is qualitatively different from other toilets. The engineering of their toilets make them much more likely to function properly. Again, I'd check Terry Love's website (mentioned above) and surf around a bit. I'm including a link that gives a great explanation of Toto's functioning (go down to comment #9). Personally, I think of toilets and mattresses as items that are well-worth purchasing wisely. They are important parts of our daily lives. A couple of extra bucks spent now are well-worth being happy with your purchase. So, I'd go for the Toto, even without seeing it work (your store had it hooked up?! How cool is that!). If you are greatly concerned, I guess you could carefully choose a retailer that has a liberal return policy in case you don't like your final selection. One final word - we are going for the Ultramax as the toilet will be used by our guests as well as ourselves. I would consider the dual-flush Toto (which has a somewhat lesser flushing mechanism) if we were buying something for our master bathroom. In any case, good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Info from Terry Love's website