lizzy88 writes: "Does anyone use Moen fixtures? It's cheaper than the Grohe or Hansgrohe, but how's the quality?" Most makers make several lines of fixtures, with different levels of quality. In some cases, the lines are differentiated by brand name (the way that in the car business Lexus and Scion, both made by Toyota, are differentiated from Toyota and marketed through separate channels); for instance, Delta and Hansgrohe are part of the same corporate group, but are marketed to different customers. In the case of Moen, the Moen-branded units that you find in the blister packaging hanging from a shelf hook at Target are different from -- different in quality from -- the higher end Moen-branded units that you are likely to find only at a plumbing specialty store. (And probably are manufactured on a different continent.) When we remodeled our shower nearly nine years ago, we installed a Hansgrohe Axor Steel valve, volume control, mixer, and handle, and are very happy with that choice, but we saw no reason for our choice of mixer/handle to limit the choice of showerhead that attaches (in our case, via an articulated arm) to the pipe coming out of the wall above our heads. A showerhead does not look anything like a mixer handle, so a Hansgroher Axor Steel showerhead would not "match" the mixer handle any more than any other brushed steel/brushed nickel showerhead fixture would. It would take some pretty amazing peripheral vision to look at the mixer handle and the showerhead at the same time to determine if the exact color tone of the one matches the exact color tone of the other. Accordingly, we selected the showerhead with an eye more to function than to styling In the nearly nine years since we installed the Hansgrohe mixer, we have used three different showerheads in that shower: originally, an Australian "Down Under Wonder Shower" showerhead, then for a while a Hansgrohe handset showerhead, and now our present one, a Moen Velocity 6320bn -- the "bn" stands for brushed nickel which unfortunately commands a substantial price premium over the plain 6320 polished chrome model. There is no way that anyone could rationally argue that the styling of our Moen showerhead is less of a "match" for the styling of our Hansgrohe mixer than a Hansgrohe showerhead would be. The Moen Velocity is the best showerhead that we ever have used in any setting, home or away from home; it is simply wonderful. We have slightly lower than average water pressure in our shower, but the Velocity lives up to its moniker and gives us more "zip" in the water stream than we have achieved with either of the other two shower heads. I have provided a link to the Amazon listing below, but with a little shopping, you might be able to find a better price. One other point: Moen customer service is great; Moen stands behind its products Here is a link that might be useful: Moen 6320bn (Amazon listing)

Good point yadax. At least you have the stuff to hand and can bring it in to the room to see how it looks. We're supposed to be deciding on our shower door this weekend and although we are going frameless, there will still be hinges, etc. writersblock, I agree that it may all end up looking random which is the last thing I want. I'm all for sleek and organized looking. Argh, I just cannot deal with any more decisions! The safest way to go might be everything else in chrome to match what we've already installed.

First, I'll say if someone can find "Brushed Nickel" and "Satin Nickel" in the same brand, it would be me. I've fallen IN LOVE with American Standard "Portsmouth" line. And noticed our bathroom remodel cost climbing up up up. So I decided to forgo the high end shower head and go with a less expensive one since all the hardware that's under the wall will be the good stuff. Then in a years time (or whenever the bottom line head craps out) we'll be lined up to replace with the more expensive stuff. And what do I realize in the "online check-out?!" It's BRUSHED NICKEL!! Ugh!! Darn you American Standard!! Now, not sure what I'll do. Probably bite the bullet and buy the good stuff next paycheck. Second, I read the thread mentioned above: brushed or satin nickel and was falling asleep in the beginning. But about half way in I started cracking up!! Too funny. Still haven't got my question answered though *Sigh*.

@fatcatz, I don't know if you like Traditional style, but I am about to buy Moen's Weymouth Single Handle Pull Down Spray faucet in polished nickel. I've been researching for a few days and came across an article from Starcraft Builders saying Moen's Polished Chrome, Polished Nickel, Polished Brass, Brushed Gold, Brushed Nickel, and Classic Stainless finishes are PVD. The remaining finishes are either Powder Coat or Electroplate. It's a great article, really goes in depth on the PVD process. Echoed your point about not always being the metal used in the PVD process. That being said, in reading the section on Electroplating, taken from the article: "Undercoats of copper, zinc, or nickel usually precede the final decorative coating. The undercoats have two purposes. Some metals, chrome being one, do not adhere very well to naked brass. One or more nickel undercoats are usually used before the chrome is applied so the finish does not flake or peel. If finishing a zinc component, undercoats of copper then nickel are commonly used. The copper sticks well to zinc, nickel adheres tightly to copper, and chrome bonds securely to nickel. Undercoats also help smooth out any small imperfections in the faucet material. It is not uncommon for faucets to be electroplated with nickel and chrome and then highly polished before a final PVD coating is applied. This process eliminates any potential flaws in the surface so they don't show up in the final PVD finish." Link to the article follows, below. Very high marks for customer service, Starcraft actually ranks Moen's customer service #1 in North America. http://www.starcraftcustombuilders.com/sources.faucets.Moen.htm