Pros vs. Cons buying plumbing fixtures on-line?
12 years ago
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- 12 years ago
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Plumbing Fixtures - Buying through US websites vs. Canada?
Comments (4)Hi, Ah the devil is in the details. I built a house from the groud up 4 years ago. Plumbing fixture ordering is an exercise in precision data. To make this point let's consider a shower control for your bathroom. OK you want a shower control. This comes in two bits (a) the valve that sits behind the drywall and tile and (b) the control handle and surrond that you see. Note the valve is only compatible with certian handles. Also the valve is only compatible with other valves depending on how fancy your shower will be. Body surround, hand held, + the usual one over head. Get any of these compatible things wrong and you will have to rip out all that dry wall and tile. OK so you order the stuff. Again ordering requires precision numbers. Let's say you now want a Handshower from Handgrohe. One order number is Aktiva A8. 28547XX1. Note any mistake on the typing, will mean the wrong part. Also note did you get the most up to date catalogue. Finally you get the valve on site + the handles. BUT the handle and trim are not to be installed until after drywall and tile. Think maybe two to three months apart time wise. You will have to store somewhere that part. NOT on site because it will be lost, damaged thrown out etc. In the end we ordered from a shop. They had computers there which check for compatiblility and people who can tell you if the who set up will work or not. They also will hold parts for you untill you need them. Note that for four bathrooms your shopping list is maybe 10 to 15 pages worth or computer print out. Mine was. Note any error will men the wrong part and delay in your build. And worst of all a whole tile and dry wall redo. There are all the niggling detalis too. Part numbers like the 28547XX1, what is the XX. Well replace XX with 00 for chrome, 09 for chrome / gold, 80 for steel, 82 for brushed nickle, 83 for poliched nickel, satin chorm 88, and polishe dbrass 93. Any one error, oohps wrong part. Now multiply this by 15 pages of computer print out. My recomendation is go for a good shop which has a good reputation, and a great return policy. Good computer and knowledgeable people that your builder has worked with before. A few dollars here can really save you time, sanity and dollars in the long run. If you want to save money and are good with a spreadsheet, you can try ordering door handles and kitchen handles online. I did. Again precision data. Fortunately this aspect is a little simpler hence less probability of error. Good luck with your build. Warmest regards, Mike....See MoreMatte vs. Glossy- Pros and Cons?
Comments (3)MLK, your shower is beautiful, and so is that floor outside the shower! We finalized our tile choices! I am going 50/50: First, glossy 2 x 6 tile (Heath Soft White) for the bathroom where the shower is rarely used. It gets direct sunlight from a window at the end of the tub. For the walk-in shower in the master, a matte 3 x 6 tile (Heath Muslin.) The floor of the shower will be 3x3 in Heath Muslin. (The only custom tile I'm going to need.) I'm so excited that I figured out a way to use Heath Tiles. I have it in my kitchen and it is such beautiful tile. It is particularly beautiful when the light hits it, because each tile reflects the light slightly differently. Their new line, Modern Basics, is much cheaper than their custom work, and best of all, there will be a 20% off sale over Thanksgiving-right before we were planning to do our bathroom. We are going to do unglazed white hex tiles on both floors. (I liked them so much better than the matte glazed ones, plus the square edges match the Heath tiles.) We just have to decide on 1 inch versus 2 inch, or maybe penny tiles or squares. I ordered one of each sample from Subway Ceramics to see how they compare to my local tile shop. (He only has small hex in the unglazed.) Sigh, I thought once I picked the tile that would give me enough direction that all of the other choices would be easy. We did decide on Biscuit fixtures, but which ones??? And then there's the faucets and such... LOL, my head still hurts. Here is a link that might be useful: both colors of Heath tile I'm using are here...See MorePros and Cons of contractor buying bathroom valves
Comments (3)It's profit and it's also to save him time. If you buy them then you might get something incompatible, or that doesn't come with all the necessary parts, or whatever. To give you my example, we had a thermostatic shower valve installed. Well, you had to make sure you got the right one with the correctly sized rough ins, and the code-required stops, and so forth. There were about 8 models of valve that went with a single trim style, and clearly he knew which one to get whereas I would have either screwed up or had to ask him. Spec out the ones you want, ask him to show you the invoice, and determine whether he's building profit into the fixtures. If you don't like that approach, tell him you want to pay him fairly for his labor, but not for markups on products. If he doesn't like that, find a contractor that you can agree with....See MorePlumbing Fixtures - Buying through US websites vs. Canada?
Comments (1)Here is a link with some helpful info... Here is a link that might be useful: Quality of fixtures...See MoreRelated Professionals
Four Corners Architects & Building Designers · River Edge Architects & Building Designers · Colorado Springs Home Builders · McKinney Home Builders · Salisbury Home Builders · Chillicothe General Contractors · Converse General Contractors · Forest Hills General Contractors · Irving General Contractors · Kemp Mill General Contractors · Parma General Contractors · Poquoson General Contractors · Solon General Contractors · Towson General Contractors · Troy General Contractors- 12 years ago
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