Thanks OldTimeCarpenter1. Any thoughts on Santec or Sigma brand? Our two local plumbing supply stores don't carry California Faucets, which makes me curious as to why. I will have to see if I can find them somewhere to see them in person. I can say that based on what I see online I am not a fan of their logo imprint on the shower trim plate. I hate big logos (another reason why I like newport brass) I will be honest, I don't know much about fixture components. From what I have seen all the brands have plastic parts and from what I have read almost all have at least some components made in China. All I can see and know is how it looks and feels in the showroom. Some brands definitely feel more heavy and solid where as others feel light thin and plastic. I was actually surprised how many shower heads were actually plastic and not metal. I guess as with anything it is a balance between style, quality, and cost. My husband eliminated about 80-90% of the brands & styles when he insisted on a high neck victorian faucet that had a thicker trunk spout. He also did not want any shower trim plates where you could see screws. I want a stylish tub spout, so that eliminated the Delta, Moen and Kohler tub spouts which to me look like clunky builder grade Home Depot/Lowes specials. I also prefer that the shower trim plate have a built in diverter on the trim plate or a separate matching diverter. Kohler had nothing that fit our criteria until they came out with the new Artifacts line, however it is on the pricey side for Kohler. I wouldn't describe it as a "value" line, as it is coming in about 15% more than the newport brass. A quick look at Sigma, Santec, Graff, Calfornia, Rohl, etc....they are all priced higher than Newport Brass. Some by a lot. Are they a much higher quality in comparison?

"When we bid out a bathroom remodel the contractor told us to pick Delta or Moen. He refused to even consider Kohler due to its lower quality." This is the type of statement that contractors and plumbers make that I don't understand. I look at a lot of real estate and as a designer I tend to look at some things very specifically. Every relatively inexpensive spec house, every inexpensive tract house my sister has owned or rented, every flipped house, every on-the-tight-budget bath renovation my non-design friends do: Delta, Delta, Delta, Delta, Moen, Deltadeltadeltadelta. The two pre-sale bathrooms done to put the house I recently bought onto the market without spending an extra penny: Delta. So here I am picking new fixtures to replace a two year old bathroom and a five year old bathroom where I can pull the Delta faucets apart with my hands, and my plumber is telling me that Delta is so much better than Kohler. I realize that there are different levels of quality within brands but still, Delta being superior to everything else has not been my experience. I simply think part of it is that they only like working with what they work with all the time. My current plumber, who is a great plumber who does tidy work and loves talking about plumbing on a higher plane, almost, he's not a sloppy git her done kind of guy, says he will not put in Toto skirted toilets because they all leak. Having had Toto skirted toilets and having spec'd Toto skirted toilets for other people, none of which have leaked, leads me to believe that when HE puts them in they leak, because he Doesn't Know How to install them very well. That's fine, I will probably Not put a Toto skirted toilet in this house because I don't want white. But why not say "I don't like installing Toto toilets, so if you want one you will have to get someone to do that part of the job." Not "They are not worth the money" or "they are a bad product". I used to be in another business, and there were some things that were really outside my expertise, or I did not do that well compared to some people and I would Tell the client "This is something I would refer you to someone else for" not "This is a lousy product/procedure" just because I couldn't do it that well.

If you want durability, quality in valve construction, you;re not concerned about the "latest thing" style-wise, and you want a great price point...AND you're looking for pressure-balanced... Look at the Symmons Temptrol line. The valve bodies have been around for I can't even tell you how long. The valves are well-designed, spare parts if needed will always be around, and over the years the few times I've needed parts, usually for worn o-rings, Symmons has sent me replacement parts for free. They are sold at the box stores (some are at least), and they are packages valve body and trim kit together, plus some include the shower head and tub spigot. Depends on what setup you need; shower, or shower plus tub. In general, the entire package can be had for $80-$125 give or take. For economy and performance, I recommend them without hesitation. If you want the latest-greatest style, look elsewhere. A lot of shoppers will install this set but replace the shower head with another. Shower head threading is pretty much universal, so mix and match is simple.

I would never install delta - but that is my bias. I've never met a professional plumber who recommended delta but it's not like I've spoken to every plumber in the world either. What part do you mean is plastic on hansgrohe ? For example, did you know that all the Grohe shower diverter trim plates are actually chrome plated plastic? I highly suggest at least going into a fancy showroom just to touch and feel the items even if you order them on the net. I'm lucky in that I have a local plumbing supply that sells all the stuff at very similar price to the Internet so I get the best of both worlds. Grohe is very reliable and very respected. many plumbers here like the valves. Hansgrohe is a brother company to Grohe - both founded by members of the same family. Hansgrohe is considered generally having the higher end product lines whereas Grohe has a lot of very reliable, home-owner priced sets. To save money I do have one shower that is not Grohe or Hansgrohe - bought the shower set on Overstock.com basically. Wouldn't you know it, I had to repair/replace the shower mixer after a year. It was under warranty but took up 2 hours of my time. The Grohe shower on the other hand - no issues whatsoever. However, I have found several Hansgrohe lines that are similarly priced to Grohe. And some things you can mix and match whereas others you can not. For example, I recently helped a friend spec out several new bathrooms. All Grohe handheld shower valves and bars and handhelds. But for the "elbow" part that connects from the handheld hose to the wall water outlet, I suggested buying the Hansgrohe elbow instead of the Grohe one. The reason is for the same price Hansgrohe gives you an Elbow with a "check valve." The plumbing inspector will definitely be looking for that check valve as soon has he/she sees that handheld and hose. A picture of your open wall would be helpful to understand your dilemma with no room for a valve. Is this for a Tub - or a Tub shower combo - or a Tub, shower, Rainhead and handheld combo, etc., etc... If you choose more items - obviously the plumber has to connect more copper pipes off the shower valve to go to each separate thing you want. if he is limited with space - can you really have all those different items in your shower? Have you considered having the shower diverter valve not in the typical location? The plumber can put the Shower diverter valve on a wall far away and even on a separate wall from where all the heads and handhelds are. this might solve your problem. For example, it's not uncommon now for people to have their shower valve control closer to where they can reach to get the water started and warmed up without getting wet - like on a totally different wall - perpendicular to the actual shower head. For ideas and pictures - go to houzz.com and do a search for "showers" or make it more specific. They have thousands of pictures.