As a home builder (licensed 20+ years) I always purchase my plumbing products from plumbing suppliers.
After an incident 10 years ago where a client accused me of gouging him for $40 door levers that he could get at the local big box home supply store for $7 less, we compared and were both shocked to find the brand and series the same, but subtle part number differences and a lot of plastic in the big box version.
So I bought a PP faucet for my own bathroom the other day and noticed it had the "P" for professional grade on the box while the same product at 2 different big box retailers were missing the "p".
I suspect that the WalMartization of these big box retailers has led them to "special" specifications. I've read the stories about Stihl vs WalMart and just read the threads about Bradford White (great u tube video!).
Any anecdotal stories?
BTW, after assembling the faucet bottom side, I was pretty shocked at what PP thinks will hold up for a reasonable about of time. Might be done with them also.... back to Grohe. (don't worry, hired a 25 year pro to finish the rest)
After an incident 10 years ago where a client accused me of gouging him for $40 door levers that he could get at the local big box home supply store for $7 less, we compared and were both shocked to find the brand and series the same, but subtle part number differences and a lot of plastic in the big box version.
So I bought a PP faucet for my own bathroom the other day and noticed it had the "P" for professional grade on the box while the same product at 2 different big box retailers were missing the "p".
I suspect that the WalMartization of these big box retailers has led them to "special" specifications. I've read the stories about Stihl vs WalMart and just read the threads about Bradford White (great u tube video!).
Any anecdotal stories?
BTW, after assembling the faucet bottom side, I was pretty shocked at what PP thinks will hold up for a reasonable about of time. Might be done with them also.... back to Grohe. (don't worry, hired a 25 year pro to finish the rest)