Shower systems: Advice needed

owu23 wrote: ↑Looking for the same for two washrooms that i am renovating and man, they are expensive.

Would appreciate input in terms of which companies to go with and which retailers offer competivive prices.

Thermostatic Valve (*2)
Rain Showeer (*2)
Handheld (*2)
Tub tap faucet (for bathtub)

Thanks

Just recently redid a bathroom, with Kohler (not the Home depot but the plumbing store grade stuff)

was around $2200 for fixtures (with discount)
- Tub Spout
- Rain Shower
- Rain shower arm
- Hand held
- Bar to attach hand held to wall
- Thermo/pressure static 3 way valve
- "knob" fixture for the valve

When I did my research I found that several companies offered lifetime warranty but it was difficult to get them to honour the warranty when the time came based on the reviews I read.

I've found that as long as you stick with the name brand such as Grohe, Hansgrohe, Kohler, Pfister, Moen, you'll be ok since they normally don't even ask for a receipt and I've never heard of a bad review re warranty issues with these manufactures. Another company that people tend to like due to price point is Riobel but I didn't purchase them as my brother in law had problems with them after 18 months and had problems with warranty so he ripped it out and got Pfister thermostatic.

Keep in mind that not all thermostatic s are created equal as I'm not seeing Thermostatic/pressure balance which I've never truly understood as they're both different. Also remember that there are different levels of quality even within the same manufacture.

I ended up going with Pfister's upper end line which is rated at 12 gpm and absolutely love it so much I both another set. List price for brushed Nickel, multiple shower heads (rain can, held held, multi-function, head) 4 body sprays, 3 volume controls, diverter valve etc. was $4245.00 and I bought everything new from a Kijiji seller for around $1100.00 cash. I did have a problem with one fixture that I scratched and I was honest with Pfister when I called and they sent me a new one in 3 days, no charge including free shipping.

Recently got a bunch of Grohe products from here: http://plumbingonline.ca/
They ship from BC and are official Grohe dealers.
Decided to get a thermostatic valve with an integrated diverter like this one: http://plumbingonline.ca/products/grohe-19878000
So the tub faucet looks clean and has no diverter handle.

We went with stuff from the Hansgrohe Axor line - they make a high quality product (the weight of my tub spout is the same as a small baby) and reviews seem to indicate they stand behind their stuff. We did a similar setup to you in that we went thermostatic.

While shopping around, the cheaper brands existed: Delta, Riobel, Aquabrass, etc. Riobel was pushed pretty hard on us, and they had the styling we liked, but far too many negative reviews around their product. Even Toto and some others makes items at a great price. Home Depot/Lowes didn't have much in store, we found you really had to go to the plumbing supply stores. Some would give a bigger discount to plumbers buying it, others would give the customer the bigger discount so that's why you might find a wide range of prices.

We went with Bartle & Gibson for our stuff and it was way cheaper than any online source (I routinely go to the US so was just going to order to the hotel - you should have seen me carrying the panasonic fan I ordered as my carry-on, I thought for sure they'd make me check it with all those mechanical parts). They are a big western Canadian chain (if that's where you are).


If you are looking for feedback on specific brands there is a RFD Plumbing thread with what appears to be a couple plumbers answering questions. It might be helpful to get feedback from someone that does this for a living.

Thanks everyone for some great feedback.

Have any of you used Cabano Showerr systems? There are some prominent bathroom stores like Taps and Peel Tile really pushing these as a very good alternative to high priced Grohe etc