New house – my wife is the decorating committee, and I’m the implementation committee and banned from making any decorating decisions <grin>!
Anyway, she is looking at kitchen faucets – a relative in the plumbing business recommended these brands, Mico, California Faucets, Cifial, Blanco, Franke, or Hansgrohe
From what I have found on this forum so far, the Hansgrohe seems to be have the best reputation. Any naysayers?
Also, the ones with the pullout sprayer seem to be noticeably cheaper than with a separate sprayer. I would rather have the separate sprayer, but I’m not willing to pay extra for it – at least yet.
Replies
I have a Hansgrohe in my kitchen and love it. No complaints except during install one of the supply lines running to the bottom of the faucet came lose- took me about 20 minutes to figure out it was a threaded connection and just twisted to tighten- all has been fine and that was about three years ago. I have a separate sprayer (not the kind where the faucet pulls out) and like it better. Although, I think I only use it when cleaning out the sink. Something to look for/at- most of the sprayers that come with the faucets are actually plastic painted to look like chrome. Mine is plastic, but fine for the amount of use it gets.
What? No Delta?
Quality product....plenty of design styles....moderately priced....replacement parts readily available.
The last point being key. Most plumbing fixtures will need service somewhere down the line. Usually something minor. But not being able to locate replacement parts easily and or affordably, often times leads to replacement of the entire fixture.
Hansgrohe, Moen, Koehler.....all nice stuff. But my experience with Delta is that it will outlast them all.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
Here's my 2 cents, when I first renovated my bathroom vanity / tub, I purchased cheaper faucets (i.e. Delta), and I was at first happy with them, and since then I have been disappointed. Since then I have renovated my kitchen and did a major bathroom reno and I have used Kohler in the kitchen, and Grohe for the bathroom. I have been extremely pleased with both of them. Their quality if very good, and compared to the other faucets that were in there (Moen), they are well worth the extra money.
My Kohler kitchen faucet is a "4 hole" faucet with soap dispenser, hot/cold tab, goose-neck faucet and seperate sprayer. I picked it up at HD for around $200 while other comparable Kohler ones were over $300. My only complaint is that there are too many holes in the sprayer, so the pressure is sub-par but I think I can just call Kohler and get a replacement.
Hope this helps!
California faucet co.------ sucks
Franke was our building standard for the kitchens---- 145 condo's---- not bad for chrome plated plastic.
Hansgrohe is the brother co of Grohe, same quality just more foo foo & expensive.
Mico & Cifial---- I never heard of.
Blanco---- I have only put one in, so I don't have an opinion.
Rohl is another decent quality, but quite expensive.
IMO the Kohler single hole pull out spray is more bang for your buck verses those mentioned above, but only on the single hole w/ pull out spray.
I have a Grohe in my kitchen from when they were a PITA to get parts for, but now Grohe is very popular & parts are easier to come buy.
If you want to get really foo foo I have a Dorn Bracht Platnium Nickel in my garage I will let go for pennys on the dollar---- it retails for about $1800
"The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program." - Ronald Reagan
I have some cheap Moen faucets in my current house that I've never had to work on. If it were my choice, the new house would have Moen as well. However, I've been voted off the decorating committee <grin>!
However, I've been voted off the decorating committee <grin>!
Trust me Paul......I fully understand what you are going through.
Just make sure that if you are the one doing the work, or will be the one to re-do the work if it doesn't pan out as originally planned, you have some say in the matter.
Love my wife to death....but I put my foot down when her "whims" go against what I know is the right way or the best way to do something.
I caught hell for several years after refusing to install hardwood flooring in our kitchen, until she started taking note of both my brothers and my brother-in-laws kitchen hardwoods and how quickly a family can destroy them.
You're doing the right thing by researching here. When all is said and done, give the "decorating committee" a few possibilities to choose from.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
Faucet manufacturers tend to have several levels of quality.
At the box stores they have some of the low end products, and can order some of the medium level faucets.
Plumbing wholesalers tend to carry mid level lines and can order high end faucets.
A low end faucet will be plastic where the supply lines connect.
High end will offer life time finish, choice of finish, choice of trim packedge.
Some of the high end faucet are a little harder to install, it sometimes takes more planing.
Manufacturers chase the market from the box stores to the McMansions.
"Some of the high end faucet are a little harder to install, it sometimes takes more planing."
That's a mouthful. On our bathroom we had chosen a high-end Kohler and the in-wall valve had a different clearance (don't know correct term) from a lot of other tub-fillers. The tile guy second guessed the plumber and thought he'd made a mistake so used a trowel on base instead of cement board. That put the trim out from the wall, and the the thing had to be ripped open and fiddled with to fix it. On time and materials of course. Where was the GC during all this? He's the one who tried to convince me that putting another tile over the one that was there so the trim would touch wall was going to look OK.
First, you have to decide if your into form or function. By that I mean, there are some great faucets from American Standard that really perform well and don't cost an arm and a leg. On the other hand, if your attempting to put your house in magazine, Fine Homebuilding or Architectural Digest, then you have to go the Sub-Zero or Hansgrohe route. Both make some good, functional, kitchen appliances but they're market is focused on appearances and price, not necessarily that they really function all that much better.
Take a look at Consumer Reports before you buy.
Martha Stewart isn't going to be competing with you if you buy American Standard or Price Pfister faucet.
Chicago faucets are great- only thing is- what's your goal? If you plan to live there 'forever', get the best you can afford. We put in solid brass Chicago faucets in our home. When we went to sell, we were told 'this kitchen is 10 years old- the buyers will no doubt rip everything out'. In this market, high-end buyers seem to only want everything brand new and 'trendy' design. Trendy = short lifespan (designwise), so why spend a bunch of money?BTW, anyone want to buy a (used) solid brass Chicago kitchen faucet w/ sprayer?Bill