Question for prof. plumbers concerning lifespan of faucets & drains

Status
Not open for further replies.
six-point socket II

six-point socket II

Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2016
Messages
2,219
Hi,

I would like to hear the opinion of experienced, professional plumbers and bathroom remodelers on what you think is (or should be) the lifespan of a (supposedly) high quality/high-end faucet and it's corresponding parts like drains, shower heads nowadays.

I know this is a little vague and I apologize for that, but I would be delighted to hear some answers nonetheless :)

Thank you and kind regards,
Oliver
 
The body of a good faucet should last an eternity. Acidity will play a role in this, still going to last longer than an average human life span.

The cartridge and trim finish will depend on water hardness and acidity.

All of the above should last longer than the time span of a bath or kitchen remodel.

Tom

 
I am not a plumber but I do many replacements of faucets, shower heads, etc.  especially at my house.

All answers here will vary, but based on my experiences I can say that you mileage will vary greatly based on water quality coming into your house and also th design of the faucet.

By example, I have well water at my house.  My water is more pure than many municple water systems in my area and as a result is more acidic.  Over here we use various plastics for drain pipes so their isn't much of an issue.  But the supply water in this instance can play havoc attacking any metal in the supply system - including faucets.  My wife loves to have me change kitchen faucets.  I have been thru at least 5 in my 24 years in one house.  Some of those changes have been due to need versus just want.  My wife decided she wanted a high rise kitchen faucet to make it easier to fill tall pots.  We decided on a beautiful Delta faucet in stainless steel.  It was stunning.  A little over a year after being installed the arched portion started leaking.  It turned out that there were tiny pinholes in the stainless steel.  I contacted Delta and they honored their lifetime warranty and sent me a replacement part.  That lasted about 2 years before developing the same issue.  In my case the design of the high arched design wasn't doing me any favors.  When the water was turned off there was residual water trapped in that arch much like a trap on a drain line.  I replaced that faucet with a Hansgrohe that had the pull down spray spout.  I love their designs and the water is supplied thru a plastic flexible pipe so I don't have the acid versus metal.  I suspect that this one will last longer or at least until a new design becomes more fashionable.  Rarely do I have an issue with rubber parts.

I do most of my work about 15 miles away where they are on a municipal water system and they have pH neutral water.  But their water is sanitized with chloromine.  Their metal parts will last long than I will, but their rubber parts - all nessary to make sure there aren't any leaks get eaten up within a short number of years ( 4 or less.)

Sorry for the long post.

Peter
 
Hi,

Thanks Tom! :)

Peter, thanks for all the input, it's providing me with a lot of food for thought. Maybe I will go to the pharmacy tomorrow und get a couple of those PH test stripes, that could help me understand better what exactly is going on.

Thanks!

Kind regards,
Oliver
 
six-point socket II said:
Hi,

Thanks Tom! :)

Peter, thanks for all the input, it's providing me with a lot of food for thought. Maybe I will go to the pharmacy tomorrow und get a couple of those PH test stripes, that could help me understand better what exactly is going on.

Thanks!

Kind regards,
Oliver
Click to expand...

You might have better luck in a pet store that sells aquariums and fish.

Peter
 
Thanks Peter! But I bought them there before a long time ago, albeit for a completely different reason, a health problem.

Tom, It's a series of issues, some fixed, some not, some recurring but I don't want to go into the details as of now as I might hand this over to a lawyer and have him sue the manufacturer in question.

I have a ton of pictures, I have a timeline and correspondence. I'm absolutely willing to share this as soon as I know/made up my mind which route I will go.

Right now I'm just trying to figure out if my general expectations are completely off or not.

Kind regards,
Oliver
 
My recent experience with two high end faucets have been less than good.  I had a Grohe kitchen faucet about 12 years old that developed a leak where the inlet tubes connect to the valve body of the faucet.  It wasn't repairable and the faucet was replaced.  A Hansa bath faucet about 20 years old needed a new cartridge and the cost exceeded the price of a good quality replacement faucet.  In both cases I went with more mainstream reasonably priced ($125-$150) replacements.
 
If the only issue with the well is that the water has low pH, why not install a calcite neutralizer (or similar)?
 
Oliver, I’ve had really bad luck with Grohe for both the bath and kitchen. I installed a kitchen Lady Lux and I had to replace the spray head every 12-18 months to the tune of $80-$100 each time.  I’ve installed Delta and cheaper Sterling faucets that outperformed the Grohe. I’ve since switched to Kohler and am very happy.
 
My parents had a Delta faucet that lasted 30 years or more. The faucet part but not the main body was replaced once or twice due to something heavy falling on the faucet, but the only other maintenance was replacing the washers and ball a couple times, and relubing the washers with faucet grease. I believe the lifespan of their bathroom faicets was similar.

The major issues with plumbing fixtures dying quickly have almost all had to do with cast zink alloy components. Cast zink pot metal parts in plumbing fixtures can die within 6 months and should be considered disposeable junk. I don't know how often the cast zink turns up in high end plumbing fixtures, but a lot of home center parts seem to contain cast zonk components even if other parts are brass.

Another thing that can happen, is if components are cast brass or a zink alloy, ammonia fumes can cause zink leaching and affect the integrity of the metal. 
 
Hi!

I'd like to thank each and everyone of you for taking the time to reply!

I think it's pretty clear that most would expect at least a +15 yrs lifespan for high quality faucets, so I see my original expectation and current frustration are not way off.

The faucets and accessories in question not just run three-figures, they run four.

I have decided to pursue this matter legally and will be meeting with my lawyer shortly to figure out what we can do.

I will also check with him if and what I can share, maybe in terms of a buyers beware/warning, without opening myself up to a lawsuit from the manufacturer in question.

Thank you!

Kind regards,
Oliver
 
Please Note:  This thread has been locked with the permission of the OP until such future time that he can (and if) share addition information.

Peter Halle - Moderator
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top