Bathroom products and brands - The Good and the Bad

[Londoner]

I was wondering if any experienced plumbers/bathroom fitters out there would like to recommend any brands or products that they swear by in terms of durability and quality.

I am about to embark of a bathroom renovation and wil be choosing products (suite, shower enclosure etc.). Don't want to spend silly money but don't want to go for the cheapest option either only to have problems later on.

Which brands do you highly rate?

Any opinions would be appreciated!

 

[Agile]

I dont know whats good!

What I can say is that I have had a VERY bad experience with TRITON and they did nothing to solve my problem which cost me £130 and 3.5 hours work on a Saturday after their shower pump failed after only 4 days!

In my opinion you should avoid their products because they are the most unhelpful company I have ever encountered.

I often get telephoned by market research firms asking my views on various products. After giving my answers I ask the researcher what others thought about Triton and mostly they think the same as I do.

Tony

 

[Softus]

Hans Grohe are pricey but marvellous.

Failing that, buy British. Have a chat with one or two local plumbers' merchants and see which you get on with - the advantage of getting as much as you can from one supplier is that they'll look after you and help when things go wrong (faulty/broken parts supplied, etc.).

There's no point whatsoever in installing something that you can't maintain, so, before choosing an accessory/component, ask your merchant about spares. For example, for the taps that he might be about to sell you, find out if they stock replacement parts. If not, then find out where to get them from.

Pay a reasonable amount for a WC suite - there's nothing more annoying than a pan that won't sit level and a cistern that won't sit nicely on that. (Actually there are some more annoying things, but you know what I mean). Ditto the basin; and make sure that it has Fisher-style bolt holes.

And, as per Agile's comment, avoid Triton at all costs. Mira (if you want electric) are very good, and Aqualisa (if you don't) are marvellous.

Don't use unbalanced supplies on any mixing valve, and don't buy taps made for high pressure supplies if you have tank-fed services.

 

[Agile]

There are only two firms which seem to be helpful for spares and thats Grohe and Bristan.

The former are massively priced but about the best quality you could expect.

Bristan are still pretty nice quality at very reasonable prices and they do seem to have a very helpful after sales service.

As for the dreadfulness of Triton, thats something Softus for once agrees with me about and thats unusual! ( Softus agreeing that is ! )

Tony

 

[Softus]

...thats unusual! ( Softus agreeing that is ! )

When did I last disagree with you?

 

[HarrogateGas]

I dont know whats good!

What I can say is that I have had a VERY bad experience with TRITON and they did nothing to solve my problem which cost me £130 and 3.5 hours work on a Saturday after their shower pump failed after only 4 days!

In my opinion you should avoid their products because they are the most unhelpful company I have ever encountered.

I often get telephoned by market research firms asking my views on various products. After giving my answers I ask the researcher what others thought about Triton and mostly they think the same as I do.

Tony

Ive found Triton very helpfull on the odd occaions ive had to contact them. Think you might have just had a badden Tony.

 

[Hallsy]

Bristan have great aftersales, granted, but the amount of time my last monobloc has broken is enough to put me off buying them this time around.

 

[wonderb0y]

agree with Tony about triton, i fitted one of their showers and it was a pain in the bum, poor design.

then again customer bought it so i had to just comply

 

[Gasguru]

Kaldewei or Bette baths everytime.

 

[solo]

I've fit loads of Triton electric showers and always found them helpful if I've had to ring them. Did have a a bit of a pain fitting one of their remote units once. I would say stick with established companies, Ideal Standard, Armitage Shanks et al. Beyond that, you don't know where the c**p is coming from or if you are ever going to get service/spares.

 

[JohnD]

...thats unusual! ( Softus agreeing that is ! )

No it isn't

 

[Londoner]

What's the board's overall opinion of bathstore.com? Web reviews seem a bit mixed.

I see that they stock Kaldewei baths, though, which a plumber has recommended to me.

 

[Softus]

Limited experience of bathstore.com, but the stuff I've seen tends to be of high quality.

However, it doesn't matter how good something is if you can't get spares to maintain it, so ask the question before you buy the goods.

And the question you should ask is not just can they supply spares, but you should obtain the contact details for the company/department that supplies them, and then call them to verify that you can. You might think that this is OTT, but if you don't do this then don't come back here in two years time crying about an unobtainable tap cartridge.

 

[gas4you]

bathstore owned by Wolseley group, Plumb Center etc

 

[htgeng]

Bathstore is nice in that you can touch and feel the products before you buy. Overall I think they are pricey for what you get. Some of the shower doors are good quality and have a good weight to them, but the instructions are 10x worse than those you get with ikea products. Lots of head scratching and a bag of bits left over