Recommend the highest quality shower valve set

[JohnO]

Forget the big box stores. Look for an actual plumbing supply store in your area and have a talk with them.

100% YES!

Big Box Stores go to the manufacturer and demand a price point for a certain item. So the item is built to the price. When I comes to plumbing brass gets replaced with plastic. You think you are getting a good deal but in actuality you are buying either planned obsolescence or Crap!

[cosermann]

100% YES!

Big Box Stores go to the manufacturer and demand a price point for a certain item. So the item is built to the price. When I comes to plumbing brass gets replaced with plastic. You think you are getting a good deal but in actuality you are buying either planned obsolescence or Crap!

Yep, I've seen this time and time again. Most recently, I had gotten a sink drain kit from, cough, cough, L0wes. The tailpiece was so thin one could crush it in one's hand, almost like a toilet paper tube, the wall thickness (and I use that term loosely) was so thin.

Went to the plumbing supply place in town and got a proper tailpiece with good wall thickness.

[Tapatio]

100% agree, a good plumbing supply house is invaluable for quality parts. The name brand faucets at the big box stores are mostly junk.

Speaking of sink drains, I first saw the one-piece flexible hose drain assembly in China years ago, and thought to myself how much better a system it is than screwing together a bunch of rigid pieces after dry fitting them, cutting them, and all that nonsense.

I installed one of these in my latest bathroom sink remodel and it has worked fine for over a year. If it ever gets clogged, it's pretty simple to detach the end at the sink, straighten it out, clean it, then re-kink the trap and re-attach to the sink.

I don't know if they're accepted by code in all areas, but if you want a 21st century DIY-friendly sink drain assembly, this is the way to go.



Sometimes somebody does build a better mousetrap.

[Tensaw]

Thanks for the pointers guys! I appreciate it.

[Cookie Monster]

Check out Hans Grohe showers. They are top of the line.

I had one in my last house. It broke about 7 years in, the local plumbers didn’t understand it and I couldn’t get parts. It was down for weeks before I got it figured out. Almost cut a hole in the back of the shower and switched it all out.

I was in a very rural area so your experience will differ.

I just replaced a shower head with the cheapest one at the local hardware store and like it much better than the Grohe.