Those building custom homes - Where did you order your:

16 years ago

Bathroom stuff?

Example,here's what we need:

Tub/shower combo for spare bath

4x3 shower for master bath

5' whirlpool for master bath

We have brochures for Kohler and Lasco, but I don't know if they're good, within budget, etc! I am looking for some other brands to pursue!

What are you using for these fixtures?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

pinktoes
16 years ago
Kohler tub/shower module for the master has built-in grab bars and its own walls and ceilings (for old age and easy care).

Lasco tub/shower module without the grab bars and lesser quality for the guest bath which will get less use.

Toto toilets (see Terry Love's plumbing website and learn about them; they're among the best; prices vary)

Kohler faucets throughout the house (ratings usually higher than Moen; less pricey than Hahns Grohe, etc). Look for quality construction: solid brass innards with ceramic disc valves. The rest is styling and finishes. Chrome is most durable finish with PVD still unproven over the long haul but expected to rival or exceed chrome. Trying to stick to one manufacturer for simplicity and possible better discounts. Avoid Price Pfister due to reliability problems.
jgirl_2007
16 years ago
The plumber provided the basic tub for the guest bath at our request. I've bought some and still have more to buy but this is what we are doing:

Master - Moen fixtures (have), Pearl Airtub (need to order) & Toto toilet (need to order)
Kids - Danze fixtures (have) & Toto toilet (to order)
Pool - Kohler fixtures (have) & toto toilet & pedestal sink (to order)
Guest - probably moen but haven't decided yet & toto toilet

Everything has & will be ordered from online sources. Haven't had any problem yet getting items or with damage. So far so good.

We are still a good few months out from completion but we've been buying these things slowly over the last few months.
Related Discussions
Care 2 Share? How Much Did your Home cost to Build?
Q
Comments (30)
$360,000 to build + $200,000 for 40 acres with 330' lakeshore in MN. The cost to build includes about $30,000 for gravel driveway, $7,500 for underground electricity, well for $6,250 and $10,500 for septic. 4 BR/2.5 bath. 1,450 sq ft main finished, 1,100 2nd level finished, 1,450 basement unfinished, 780 bonus room unfinished. 2-car garage unfinished, 28'x28'=780 sq ft. Colonial variation with 6 dormers. 9' ceilings throughout including basement. Open floor plan two story great room/kitchen/dining room. Master BR and laundry on Main Floor. Split-faced block, Hardiboard siding. 8/12 pitch with architectural 40-yr shingles. Upper mid-level finishes. Large porcelain tile, BR-111 Amendoim wood floor, 48" stainless steel double oven stove with custom 48" range hood, maple stair treads and railings with white balusters, maple fireplace hearth surround, custom mudroom lockers, geothermal HVAC including radiant floor in basement plus desuperheater, garage and bathroom tile floors, closed cell sprayfoam insulation, quality vinyl argon-filled casement windows. Finished building August, 2009. Hopefully plan on never moving. I was nervous building in a severe market collapse because I didn't know what would happen if our appraisal was less than what it cost to build. Local lender really helped as well as one-time close construction to permanent loan as they had an incentive to get it closed. I was technically the GC although we had an experienced, quality builder. I did the tile, wood floors, built master shower, painting, basement waterproofing, interior and exterior drain tile, much of radiant tubing and below slab insulation, closet systems, pantry, low voltage wiring including Cat6 and coax to multiple locations in each room, security wiring, music system and speaker wiring, fireplace mantle, hearth and surround, etc. On-site every day after work and many days before work too and every weekend.
...See More
how and where did you save $$ on your build?
Q
Comments (16)
--- this is long... but you asked :-) First of all, I took the leap and became my own general contractor. I didn't really mean to. I waited and waited on bids from GC's, and while waiting, I contacted subs myself so I would know how much it was going to cost to build. When I added that all up, it was a significant savings over the GC prices that were coming in. But, and this is a big BUT, this is my only job until it is done. You have to have the time to do it. After being my own GC, I can definitely see that they do deserve and earn their keep. Not only did I save money, but I saved big headaches and much stress when I found my Amish builders. For the most part he is my GC. They are doing pretty much everything except for the big systems like HVAC, plumbing, electrical, spray foam, foundation. I LOVE my Amish guys, and they help me stay on top of all the other areas as well, and so far I love all my other subs too. My foundation guys were Mennonite. They saved me some dollars but also again, the peace of mind was priceless. When shopping subs, if I was leaning towards a favorite, I would let them know where they needed to be in order to get the job. My local lumber yard put together a great package for me, but had they not, my Amish guy would have been able to use his builder discount. Those guys at the lumber yard have been great. Sometimes they beat or meet a price whenever possible. My cabinets, my Amish builder's Dad. I think I am saving about half of the other bids. My stairs, I had a $16000 bid and my Amish guys will do it for a fraction of that. Metal roof, I found a Mennonite guy for my standing seam, and he was about half. For most everything else..... EBAY. I use the internet to research prices and find out the prices at places like the local box stores too, and then I go on safari on ebay and try to find the best price. I also never place a bid until the last minute. Why drive up the price? Like already mentioned, this takes a GREAT deal of time. If I find something I like, I look to see what else they sell that I want/need, and I ask for shipping discounts. I also ask for discounts on the item itself. For example I needed 21 porch lights. I found a great buy, but I asked for a discount also. I got $1600 worth of porch lights delivered to my door for $400. Sometimes I could get an additional discount even if I only needed one item also. You just have to ask. My appliances... ebay. He happened to be located 2 hours away and gave me a great package/shipping price. Steam showers, ebay. Farm sink, just bought a $2600 sink delivered for $300. But again, this is my full time job but it has been working for me so far. Flooring, went straight to a manufacturer online. My stone, I would have ordered online but in communicating my desires with the lumber yard and my Amish guy, the lumber yard was able to find the perfect stone and gave me a great price. Now is a great time of the year to buy patio furniture, online or at the store. I also scour local Craigslist. Most of that is used but.... BUT... sometimes you get lucky. Maybe someone bought two of something for their build and only used one. Or what they bought didn't fit, etc. and you can find things for a great bargain. Many items have tax credits and/or rebates. I think I am going to end up with about 30,0000 in tax credits and rebates. Going this route isnt for everyone but I couldn't be happier. I keep a spreadsheet on my numbers and one column is for if I had paid full price or went with the highest bid. Now granted, I don't know who would pay full price for everything, but I just wanted to know what I would have spent and the savings is significant. It is HUGE actually. Here is a link that might be useful: Our Build in Pictures
...See More
Custom built homes - when did you get your move in/completion date?
Q
Comments (9)
We worked closely with our builder because we accepted a contract to sell the previous house and would have to move. The date kept changing by 2-6 weeks, until we said we are writing this date into the contract, and now we are locked. We gave ourselves a 2 week window just in case; we only needed one week of it. We also were in the final stages of the build, and didn't forsee any major reasons we wouldn't have a certificate of occupancy.
...See More
Did you/Could you stay in current home while building?
Q
Comments (33)
Lindsy - I can't figure out how to turn on my messages. I went into my profile, but can't see anywhere to edit it. I see 'messages' as an option for me to click, but it says I have zero messages. ?? I couldn't see your message button either. We aren't using a builder. My husband is acting as the GC. Jury is still out on how wise that decision is. We live by White Rock Lake, so an older neighborhood and no HOA or subdivision rules. We can build a hot pink house made entirely out of metal and stucco if we want. :) Not our design, but we could if we wanted to! We are doing a completely custom build...designed by an architect and we are picking and buying everything ourselves. So we aren't at the mercy of the builder's choices or prices. We have a ton of equity in our current house...it's almost paid off and has over tripled in value over the last 10 years. So we refinanced it earlier last year and used the equity to buy the lot next door and still have enough to almost completely fund the build. We had to take out a small construction loan for the remainder. No plans to roll that into a permanent mortgage. Once our house sells, we should be able to pay off our current mortgage plus the construction loan. If it doesn't sell, we should be able to continue to cover the existing mortgage and the construction loan payments. We don't want to do that forever, but could if necessary. Yes, we have started building. Framing is almost done. Hoping to deck roof and do sheathing next week. Our windows are in and the supplier is waiting for our go-signal so they can deliver. Trying to move as fast as possible!
...See More
kelntx
16 years ago
We are getting most of our fixtures online as I can get them for half the cost on Ebay. We are going with Price Pfister Marielle on our faucets in a brushed nickel finish and as far as our tubs go we looked at a few at a showroom and at Lowes. We told GC what we liked and he is ordering them. DD's tub is going to be from Lowes. We have not looked at toilets or sinks yet. I guess that is next :-)

Good luck with your build!
chisue
16 years ago
Will your plumbing sub warranty anything you buy? Ours would not. We had to buy from his supplier (and he had to get the markup).
sue36
16 years ago
"Will your plumbing sub warranty anything you buy? Ours would not."

It is pretty standard for the plumber (or electrician) to not warranty the ITEM if you buy it yourself. However, if an issue comes up caused by faulty INSTALL, they should warranty that.

I purchased all my plumbing and electrical fixtures myself. All issues were a result of problems with installs, none with defective parts.
owl_at_home
16 years ago
So far, I have bought an antique clawfoot tub on ebay for the larger, downstairs bath and an Aqua Glass tub/shower unit from Lowes for the upstairs bath.
I'm planning to get a cast iron Kohler sink (not sure which one) for the kitchen, and I'll probably just end up getting it and my other sinks at a box store.
I am planning to order the hardware for the old tub online, and I will probably look for deals on other faucets on ebay.

I had this grand plan of getting all my plumbing, light fixtures, etc., ahead of time on ebay and saving tons of money, but it's not working out that well. : )

Here is a link that might be useful: Owl's progress blog
conifers
16 years ago
I posted a 25 photo thread on the Gallery.

Dax
oruboris
16 years ago
Do you have a plumber? Where does he reccomend you go?

Mine sent me to a plumbing supply house that carried a lot of brands, had quite a bit of stuff on hand to look at, which made the process much easier: Thought I found the perfect kitchen faucet online, but in person it was HUGE, far bigger than I wanted.

Downside is that the numbers weren't exactly transparent: they quoted me the retail, but then the plumber's discount came off that.
nj1018
14 years ago
Me and my husband are getting some of our fixtures online and some on home depots, including the faucets. We haven't decided where to purchase the tub yet, but we will be purchasing it online for sure cuz we get half the price of it online. We also get our designs from different websites such as the one I have attached. Good luck.:-)

Here is a link that might be useful: scottsdale custom homes

Those building custom homes - Where did you order your:

Comments (9)

pinktoes

jgirl_2007

Related Discussions

kelntx

chisue

sue36

owl_at_home

conifers

oruboris

nj1018

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US