Wall mounted lavatory faucest-good,bad,ugly?

[lhparker]

We are about to embark on a remodeling project which includes one kitchen and and 2 baths. Our contactor does not seem too keen on wall-mounted fixtures. There is one wall-mounted fixture we liked from looking through magazines. What are the pros and cons of a wall-mounted faucets? We want something that is timeless and not just the fad of the day. Any ideas/suggestion :confused:

[Plumber2000]

If it pleases you and you like, don't let a contractor tell you other wise, just make sure it's a quality faucet and not something cheap, you get what you pay for.

[lhparker]

Thanks for the advice. Good to hear that from an experienced plumber. We have set aside money in our budget for good quality fixtures regardless, but we have seen wall-mounted faucets in some magazines and asked our contractor about them. He was trying to talk us out of it, but couldn't give us a clear reason. We we wondering if they were difficult to install, service, or replace.

[jimbo]

Naturally they are more difficult to install. Purchase a major US brand. It will be very difficult in the future to replace this faucet; so you want one that will be reliable and that parts will be available for 15 years or more.

[Terry]

http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/jpg/ccc01817.jpg (http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/big_image.jsp?image=ccc01817.jpg&item=165602&number=2191&descript=Vessels%28TM%29+Turnings+Lavatory&module=Console+Tables&frm=&bak=detail)

I've installed a few of the Kohler Falling Water faucets.
They do take more thinking and work.

K-T196
Falling Water® Wall-Mount Lavatory Faucet Trim with 8-1/4" Spout, Requires Valve

http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/jpg/aaa03154.jpg (http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/big_image.jsp?image=aaa03154.jpg&item=226002&number=307-K&descript=Single+Control+Ceramic+Valve+Wall-mount&module=Faucets&frm=&bak=detail)
K-307-K
Single Control Ceramic Valve Wall-mount

There needs to be room in the wall to fit this.

[lhparker]

We've always found your website helpful (decided on a new toilet based on info here), even after moving out of Washington state.

What has the customer and/or contractor feedback been like regarding wall mounted faucets? Are they just a fad that isn't worth the trouble?

Thanks again!

[RioHyde]

I dont think the wall mounted faucets are a passing fad. They are here to stay and frankly alot of them look very nice and are of very good quality. I'm not sure why your contractor would try to talk you out of them unless he's not sure how to install them. Most aren't extremely difficult to install, however as Terry said, they do require a bit more thinking and work. If you like the wall mount, I say go for it. Just purchase a good quality name brand faucet from a manufacturer with a proven track record and enjoy!
Good luck

[lhparker]

My wife's boss just finished a high-end, total home remodel, including two bathroom. He installed a very expensive wall-mounted faucent and sink which apparently are "matched" each other. Despite being matched, they have a terrible time with water splashing out of the sink bowl, regardless of how much high they turn on the flow. According to my wife's boss, this is a big problem with wall-mounted sinks. If you don't match faucet to sink, you'll have splashing problems. If you don't position the faucet just right above the bowl, you'll have splashing problems. etc. etc.

Have you heard of this? This was news to me. I really like the look of wall-mounted faucets and like the fact that they can open up counter space; however, I don't want to take a complete bath every time I wash my hands.

[Mike Swearingen]

Easy solution.
Tell him turn down the water pressure with the shut-off valves under the faucet and sink.
Good luck!
Mike

[Deb]

I am VERY particular about the valves I bury in walls. I personally believe that wall mounts are a passing fad and not something that is "timeless".
Tell us more about the valve that you have picked out. Why is your plumber not crazy about installing these valves? Part of what you pay your plumber for is their professional opinion. Many of these fancy-ass, foreign made, "designer" valves are just trouble.
Deb
The Pipewench

[lhparker]

Hi Deb,

We haven't picked one out yet. We were just flipping through some home remodeling magazines and found a bathroom example that seemed to fit with what we had planned, and it appealed to us. It also happened to have a wall-mounted faucet. It looked nice, but we'd never seen one before and mentioned it to our contractor who was not too thrilled.

[Robco]

Hi. Considering the reply about turning down the water pressure by using the angle valve under the in-wall faucet... my question is that when I see these installations (in-wall facets) I do not see valves under the sink. All that is there is the drain and p-trap. This tells me that the faucet is directly connected to the water lines inside the wall. So how would you turn down the pressure with a setup like this? I've seen this type of installation all over town (Palm Springs, CA) and am wondering how the pressure is handled. thanks

[jadnashua]

Brasscraft (and others) make inline service stops. Not sure how well they would work partially opened (some types of valves work well, others don't at throttling flow).

[geniescience]

the minute you vary from the easiest, people try to steer you back.

In my bathroom reno, I have some 135 degree corners. I have some wall-mount items too. Both were in the plans. At all times, all the people (friends, workers, designers, etc) who looked at the plans had various and sundry weird and perverse reactions when they came across these parts that were NON-standard.

And, to give them their due, I can attest that getting drywall to look good and straight over a 135 degree corner is harder to do than over a 90 degree corner. It is "a pain". But that is just talk. It got done, adn done well. It wasn't a serious impediment, in my book, and not in theirs either when it came down to it.

When vanities have legs on the floor, they love it. When you remind them that you have been talking about a vanity that has no legs, since it is surrounded by three walls, and that for the last two years of planning, buying, demo-ing, and building, everyone has said it is easy and do-able, suddenly they all get a bit different. Sullen or evasive or negative or whatever. And this feeds into your subconscious and you end up giving in after a matter of time. Works especially well when they say things your wife can hear, and she begins having concerns, and even small nightmares. After that, anything they say that is incoherent and unquotable will work. They have her on a string. She is the vactor that transmits their desire for ease-of-work into a need for standard installation. This is what happened in my house.

When plumbing fixtures are deck-mount, they love it. When you remind them that your empty space in the wall is where you have always said you wanted your tub filler valves, the reactions start all over again. Because it's wall-mount.

Same thing for countertops. A faucet on a countertop is like a deck-mount tub filler valve. A faucet with its bolts going horizontal into a wall makes them 'worried'. Even though they all agreed it was feasible.

If you are ready to be meticulous you are ready to put up a wall-mount faucet. Any and all talk about plumbing in a wall (?) is ridiculous and spurious. There is a lot of plumbing in a lot of walls, worldwide. Your faucet is no worse and no better and no different.

If I were a contractor, I would develop the same habits. I would love flat surfaces that rely on gravity to do a lot of the work. Floors, countertops, decks. Bolt it down. Screw it down.

Maybe I would ask to be paid an extra, hourly wage, just for the extra attention a wall-mount fixture would require. Maybe you should.

[Robco]

thanks... I think for the replies and the very long winded answer that I think is directed to me and my question....?

I am however still looking for a good-ole fashioned answer that tells me just the facts.

Are in-wall faucets hooked directly to the water lines with no valves? If yes, then great. Further, then how do you manage the flow from splashing all over the sink and vanity without a valve? Is that something imbedded in the faucet valve itself?

If no, then please detail the way in-wall faucets are connected or better yet, point me to a site that explains the situation in English, with pictures and details on how a connects to b and then to c.

thanks very much in advance for your patience with a good, overall handy person that is having a bit of trouble with installing an in-wall faucet.

[geniescience]

ok ok. The most practical answer is to tell you that there is no site, and you have to design your own circuit and buy valves ($5) and put them where you want to. If you install two valves in series you will really have a tremendous ability to control flow down to the level you'll need, without risking causing a constriction noise in the flow.

Rob, the faucet does not have an embedded valve. I wish it did.

There is no standard. You build your supply line, choosing your materials (copper, plastic, etc) and where you put your bends and vavles. Sorry. This is a clear answer, in my opinion. Not evasive. Hope this helps.

David

It may be relevant to add that any faucet can let out so much water that it splashes. Not just because it is wall-mounted. I think it is not a wall-mount problem.

(Edit, next day: however, I think it is correct to say there can be a form of calibration error, where the tip of a wall-mount faucet gets aligned over the center of the bowl, so a full flow will impact the flat part of the sink. Faucets mounted on the 'deck' (flat, horizontal, countertop) will already have their tip directed down onto the curve (back wall) of the sink so that a full flow hits the sink wall on an angle instead of flat on. So it seems to me.)

[Mary Lou]

Just a quick question for anyone who would know -- about the splash problem with wall mounted faucets. Can you just attach a diffuser to the spout? From the ones I've seen, they just screw into the end of most faucets. I guess the question is do all faucets have threads at the spout? I'm dying to do a remodel of our powder room and would love to do a wall mount on granite tile. Anyone have any experience with that? One picture I've seen showed the two tiles with the spout centered on the line between the two tiles with the handles to the right and left. I was thinking that would be easier for the granite cutting to put the spout in the center on the edges with two round holes on the corners.

Thanks!
Mary Lou

[jadnashua]

WIth the right diamond coring drill bit, putting the holes anywhere they look good is fairly straighforward.

[hj]

You mount the faucet where you want it and then the granite installers make the hole where it has to be.

[Peanut9199]

I have problems with faucets splashing as well and it's not the faucet but the design of the basin.
If you put a faucet and the aerator is pointed anywhere other than the drain you run the risk of the basin splashing.
Same goes with Kitchen faucets as well, so to say a wall mount faucet will splash is not correct and was probably installed incorrect.
I had a customer who bought a glass vessell bowl and a Jado Glance vessell faucet and when he turned it on it flowed down one side of the bowl and up and over the other side onto him and his floor.

[LT_DIY]

I'll post here and maybe revive this thread...

I am considering a wall mount faucet for a new lavatory installation. The valve models I have looked at all install in the 2x4 wall cavity, leaving no room to run the vent line up to the ceiling.

How do you vent a lavatory with a wall mount faucet? I can see making a 90 degree bend with the vent line over to adjacent study cavity. But, aren't all vent bends supposed to be six inches above the plane of the sink? That doesn't seem possible to achieve. The faucet valve is in the way before that height.

What's the standard practice? Any advice would be great before I make any purchases. :)

[hj]

If you install a wall mount faucet, you had better be sure it is "timeless" because you will have a major remodeling job if you ever decide to change it.

[Gary Swart]

I believe a 2" vent would be possible in that wall cavity, but the real concern is as HJ put it. You will have a major problem if you ever want to change. I would suggest thinking long and hard about this before committing to it.

[LT_DIY]

Thanks for the feedback so far. That's a good point that the valve should be good quality and still would be installed with some risk. I'm still thinking it over, but looking at a Kohler valve. There is a picture of it and a link to the rough in directions below. I don't see room for a 1 1/4" vent, let alone a 2" vent behind or in front of the valve.

It looks like the valve frame is designed to be attached to two horizontal 2x4's secured across the wall cavity. My first thought is to center the fixture, the valve, and the drain for the P-trap all on the cavity. But from the San-T, how could the vent make it up to the ceiling? It's gotta get by the valve somehow...

Has anyone installed one of these that passed inspection?

Rough-In Instructions (http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/pdf/1008172_1.pdf)

http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/300x350/ccc08861.jpg

[jadnashua]

Personally, my experience with Kohler will preclude me from ever thinking about their products in my own home. Parts are often expensive, and sometimes just plain unavailable, leaving you up a creek.

Another issue with a wall mounted faucet is the design of the sink. Depending on the water pressure, position of the spout, shape of the bowl, and the will of the gods, turning it on might just cause it to reflect back out the other side, dousing you in the process. A deck mounted or sink mounted faucet is more likely to preclude that from happening, partly because it will be closer, and in a more conventional position.