Ordering your own fixtures should not void plumber's warranty UNLESS the plumber does not have adequate advance notification so the s/he may prepare for the install. The plumber does not carry the fixture warranty - fixture manufacturers do. Of course, if you signed a contract stating that the plumber won't warranty installation of fixture s/he didn't supply, then you may have a problem. However, you can always check prices from other sources and negotiate your plumber's procurement percentage.

Thank you! We haven't signed any contracts with the plumber yet, so still have flexibility in how to proceed. Our builder just mentioned in our meeting this morning that based on his past experience with this particular company, if we do buy fixtures on our own, he knows the plumber will not warranty the installation of those fixtures. Perhaps we could negotiate.

I'm not quite sure what 'warranty the installation' means. Anyone who is willing to install new fixtures should feel confident that they can properly do the job - otherwise I doubt their professional ability. The warranty is with manufacturer. If the plumber has it in writing that he will fix all problems with the fixtures for 'X' years - that might be worth something.

This sounds like 'old school' BS - where he gets a cut from what you buy. Also does the company your supposed to buy the fixtures from sell the brand you want?

I'm a DIY engineer - remodeled several bathrooms in our homes. I never installed a Grohe thermostatic valve - but after reading the instructions, and looking at the pictures - what is there to it? I have a negative opinion of these trades people who are impatient, throw away the instructions, and do a hack job.

Don't forget - have all your people give you the installation instructions, make, model, receipts for all the mechanical / plumbing stuff in your home. Build a file - for each room.

You have a builder,rough plumbing is complete and "haven't signed any contracts with the plumber yet"????????? I can't imagine how all that can be true plus the house is nearing completion. If you were acting as your own builder,signing contracts with subs would make sense. I'm not surprised you "hit a huge road bump",no one know's who's washing and who is hanging out. I have a sick feeling the worst might be still to come. You might think about running everything by a real estate attorney before unexpected liens begin showing up..

The house is nowhere near completion, klem1. I don't think it's odd that we could still bid out to another plumber. We haven't signed a contract with a specific plumber, we have signed a contract with our builder. It's a well-respected custom home builder, not a huge company that churns out houses left and right. We have been free to add input if there have been specific subs we've wanted to work with. But thanks for your input.

"Freedom to add input" as construction go's along has a name,change order. Builders hate them and charge extra every time one is made. Adding input in the past likly used up money originally earmarked for fixtures. You might not think switching plumbers during construction is odd but it is odd just the same. No trade is geared for changing contractor mid-stream. A chef,auto mechanic, cabinet maker,drywaller,electrician or plumber plan's for next step as each step is completed. Bring in a new guy and he often doesn't understand what or how previous guy planned to proceed.

1. Find a plumber who will install these fixtures without giving you BS about the warranty. Mine didn't try this with me.

2. Shop online at a website with quality fixtures at reasonable prices, like build.com. This is where I got my $3200 list price American Standard freestanding bathtub for $1600 with free shipping (3 days to travel 1200 miles).

3. Live within your budget. I think you should be able to find decent fixtures with an $11,000 budget if you shop carefully.

All of the plumbing for a $1.23 million build was bid at less than 3% of the total cost? Seems out of proportion to start with. Did the contractors, general and plumbing, understand you probably wanted higher end fixtures?

JM$.02W

randy427 from what we are gathering, plumbing and lighting seems to have just been bid out to the people who spec'd the lowest amount, which I know is pretty common, but I don't think quality was taken into account at all. I don't think they understood a homeowner wanting higher end fixtures or even bothered to confer with us on what we would want. We did speak up to increase our appliance line by quite a bit because we realized that was too low, but are new to picking fixtures/knowing how much plumbing costs. We are feeling like novices who have been hit hard since this is our first home build/buy. Our builder IS the general contractor and has been in the business for several years and also has built 5 homes on his own for his family that are beautiful, however, he just recently went out on his own to found his own company vs working under a larger one in town. I am feeling like he just is dropping the ball on things like this. I don't want to trash him, but feel like this is completely unacceptable. If he understood we were paying him for quality craftsmanship and wanted quality appliances, how did subpar plumbing work it's way in there without a conversation?

" how did subpar plumbing work it's way in there without a conversation?"

Didn't you say " In fairness, we did not clarify early on the breakdown of the plumbing line item from our budget,"?

Not to be too critical, but there is a shared responsibility here, and it sounds a bit like you assumed he understood your thinking completely. Instead of deciding he has dropped the ball, it's time to have a discussion with him about his assumptions and your assumptions, and find out if there is a huge difference between what he was planning to install and what you think should be installed.

The problem with plumbing fixtures is that the sky is the limit, but there is not always an exact correlation between what you spend and what you get. I recognize this is new to you, but you need to do some additional self-education about quality and price. When I was looking for simple, chrome towel hooks for my bathroom, I found some nice ones for $380, but I settled on ones that were the same finish and the same look for under $10 each. I have a friend with a lot of money who spent $10,000 on one track lighting fixture because he doesn't know much about what goes into fixtures and assumes that something that costs a lot is always far superior. It's a nice lighting fixture, but I can show you one for $300 that is just as good quality-wise, and you would have a hard time telling me which one was the expensive one. All this is to say that maybe your contractor is able to do a good job of keeping costs under control and delivering adequate quality. But you won't know unless you have a frank discussion with him.

Well said kudz. I might add that notes should be taken during said frank discussion then added as an addendum to contract. To those lurking for ideas I highly recommend having the discussion BEFORE signing a contract then including agreements in original contract. Most often when we talk about contracts here,it sound's like protecting one's self from cutthroat contractors but that's only one benefit. There's other great need for contracts. Minimizing miscommunication stand's at the top of the list. The best education one can receive on contracts is settling an estate. The difference is huge where there's a will and where there's not. My point is,if you need a contract while dealing with those closest to you,multiply the need ten fold when it come's to others.