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Delta Repair Kit Home Depot
I heard a rumor that the faucets purchased at accouterments accumulation food are above to faucets purchased at big box home advance retailers, such as Home Depot. Just ask any plumber about this, and they'll apparently acquaint you it's true.
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Here's how the adventure goes: a homeowner contacts a plumber to accept a new faucet installed, which they've already best out - a Delta Addison faucet they saw at Home Depot's web armpit for $349. The plumber will install the faucet, but won't accord any blazon of assurance on the faucet, because it's an inferior artefact compared to the faucet the plumber would get from their accouterments accumulation store. If the plumber provides the faucet, it will amount a lot added money - the account amount at Delta's web armpit for the Addison faucet is $514.45.
The plumber goes on to explain that the faucets provided by a accouterments accumulation abundance are superior; while they may attending identical, the 'guts' of the aforementioned faucet are of a college affection back they appear from the accouterments accumulation store, and beneath decumbent to failure. For this reason, the plumber will alone accreditation the faucet that comes from the accouterments accumulation store, for a abundant college price.
Reality Check
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I've heard this again so abounding times, from so abounding sources, that I absitively to do a little calling around. I alleged and batten with reps from Kohler, Delta, Moen, American Standard, and Amount Pfister. They all collapsed out denied this claim. They say there is no aberration in faucets that go to altered retailers. They're all the same.
American Standard said that the cesspool assemblies they address with some of their lav faucets that go to accouterments accumulation food will be fabricated of metal, while the faucets that go to big box stores will be fabricated of plastic.
I accept it's accessible that all of the manufacturers were lying to me, or that the reps I batten with don't absolutely apperceive what their talking about... but how acceptable would that be?
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In the plumber's defense
So why would a plumber affirmation that the faucets at accouterments accumulation food are above if the manufacturers don't agree? I'm not sure. Maybe it acclimated to be that way.
At any rate, I accept no botheration with a plumber giving a assurance on the faucet they get from a accumulation store, but not a big box retailer. If a faucet goes bad and it came from a accouterments accumulation store, the plumber can accompany the bad faucet in and bandy it out for another, or calmly access backup genitalia if article goes bad. If the faucet came from a big box retailer, not so. While abounding faucet manufacturers accept advanced lifetime warranties on their faucets, a aperture faucet can beggarly cat-and-mouse about for the architect to address a backup piece. If the kitchen faucet is leaking, who can delay about for backup genitalia to be shipped?
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Also, back a faucet comes from a accouterments accumulation store, the plumber has apparently apparent up the amount of the faucet. This markup helps to awning the amount of a adjustment visit. It's about the amount the homeowner pays for a warranty.
Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections
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