ordering plumbing fixtures in advance--would you?

15 years ago

I am building a house and have met with plumbing rep to pick out fixtures for the whole house. She says prices will be going up for at least one of the lines in 2 weeks. Also, she isn't sure when, but she believes prices will go up for other products too (like Blanco). Anyway, we have had some major setbacks in the build and probably won't be done until next summer. Would you order fixtures now to save the money? It will probably be a 6-8% price increase on things. We don't even have a foundation yet.

Also, would you go to the trouble to look online for these products and see if you could get them cheaper from another source? The plumbers say if I do that, they won't guarantee them and they won't fix them for free. I kind of think that might be a gamble I am willing to take.

I have a kitchen plan that is about 85% complete. I am not ordering anything really different or weird or custom. In the kitchen, I need a sink, a prep sink, the faucets and a potfiller. I think that is all the plumbing.

Thanks for your thoughts. I am really trying to keep within my original budget, so saving money (or not increasing the budget later) is an issue.

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Comments (8)

kec01
15 years ago
You answered your question in your last sentence - save the money and buy now.

We bought all our plumbing products online about 8 months in advance. The plumber installed all when it was appropriate and all has been fine for the last 3 years.
mamadadapaige
15 years ago
how sure are you that you won't find something else you like better down the road (a little problem I tend to have :)?

perhaps you could shop online down the road for the sinks thereby saving money, and get the faucet and potfiller (which might end up needing repairs, as opposed to the sink which likely won't) through your plumber. You will probably end up spending the same amount of $$ but give yourself the flexibility to buy later. I do think there is some value in getting the faucet from either a plumber or a source that will fix it if it breaks. Having said that I ordered most stuff online and saved mucho dinero (hopefully nothing breaks!).
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The "better warranty" they are referring to that you are paying more for by using the plumber's/GC's vendor has to do with coverage on more than just the fixture itself should it fail. When you buy online/at a non-preferred store, the only thing the plumber/GC will warrant is the install. When you use their supplier, they warrant the fixture, the install & any damage that may occur to surrounding flooring, cabinetry, etc. So let's say you buy your bathroom sink faucets online, they are defective and fail within the first year of install flooding the vanity cabinetry, warped the custom tub deck, and soaked the carpeting in the adjoining bedroom and closet & destroying the bathroom floor. You call the GC/plumber & they say the install was not to blame, it was the fixture itself. You are now on the hook to contact the manufacturer, handle the warranty replacement hassle yourself + the cost of removal & re-installation of the fixture + repairing all the collateral damage that occurred at your own expense. Now if you had bought the same fixture through the GC's/plumber's supplier, they would immediately replace the fixture & take care of the warranty paperwork hassle for you with no waiting, they would re-install at no cost & cover the costs of repairing all the collateral damage. So the next question is, how often do fixtures fail within the first year? I can't say for sure. What I can tell you is that my DM & DD bought all of their fixtures for their5 bd/3.5ba home online & none have failed. We bought most of ours through our GC/plumber's supplier + 2 fixtures online & only 1 has failed --the handshower (supplied by the plumber's supplier) started leaking out the sides of the twist control. It was promptly replaced within a week (it was special order to start with so we felt a week was reasonable). That leaves the final question of what level of risk are you willing to take / is the 20-30% higher price worth the peace of mind of knowing you're covered in the event that the worst happens? Only you can answer that one. You may want to do a search on the 'Bathrooms' forum on this topic--there are plenty of threads on there discussing this very topic. To answer your actual question of where we bought our fixtures--the ones we bought ourselves were purchased from www.irawoods.com. Hope this helps! This post was edited by mydreamhome on Wed, Jun 5, 13 at 23:35
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mmme
15 years ago
It's tempting, but I wouldn't do it.

A year is a long time. You've already had "major setbacks" that have altered your schedule. Are you sure there will be no other setbacks or significant changes? And even if there aren't significant changes, you may learn about new products or ideas that you'd like to incorporate--but can't if you've already made purchases that lock you in to X, Y, or Z.

I'm always wary, anyway, of salespeople who pressure me to buy something right away so as to take advantage of a special deal or whatever. She doesn't even know that the Blanco prices will rise, so why the pressure on that one? It just seems a bit aggressive to me.

Finally, what if there's a problem with one of the fixtures you order a year in advance? Will you be able to return it? Will this saleslady still be at this store to help you if some problem arises?

To me, 6-8% wouldn't be enough of an increase to make me lock in my purchases so early. Even if your budget is, say, $5000 for fixtures, you're only talking about a difference of $300-$400. (And you can save that much on your sink alone by shopping online.)
chefkev
15 years ago
I recommend waiting and checking online prices. Our contractor kind of insisted we get our faucet from a plumbing rep because of the "guarantee" so we did. I saw the same faucet online later for $100 less. We saved at least $300 by getting our sink online. I try to buy local and will do so even if it is a little more expensive, but we were on a tight budget and my experience was that online sinks & faucets costed 40-50% less.
mcps
15 years ago
I don't think I would order a year in advance - but definitely consider shopping online. I checked with the supplier my contractor recommended and I found the faucets I wanted for half the price online. The contractor says the supplier has a better quality than what you can get at HD or Lowes - but the ones I purchased online are fantastic.
gshop
15 years ago
Sounds like you are being pressured to buy everything now to meet their 'quota'. It sounds like the plumber is also trying to make additional money by using his products. Your tastes may change in the next year also. Wait for the right time, then shop online to save a lot of $$. Good luck!
weissman
15 years ago
The line about HD or Lowes having inferior quality may or may not be true. If the part number is exactly the same it's the same item. If it differs by even one digit or letter than it is specially made for that store (and may or may not be of different quality).
heimert
15 years ago
I would wait to see what transpires. I would worry about ordering something now that by the time you install it is out of warranty or is last year's model so they can't get replacement parts easily or getting matching accessories etc. The savings aren't so large that it outweighs in my mind the benefits of future flexibility.

ordering plumbing fixtures in advance--would you?

Comments (8)

kec01

mamadadapaige

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