Consolidated Plumbing Blog

Embarking on a renovation journey is an exciting prospect. After years of living with someone else’s kitchen, you finally get the opportunity to set everything up just how you like it.

But with so many design resources out there (blogs, magazines, solicited or unsolicited advice from friends & family) it’s easy to get lost in a sea of possibilities and lose track of which ideas are yours and which belong to your mother-in-law!

After all, a particular design aesthetic may work great in some stranger’s kitchen on HGTV, but it might not be a perfect fit for your tastes and needs.

Here are a few simple tips to find the right sink to match your unique personality.

What’s it made out of?

The first step in selecting the right sink is determining the best material to suit your kitchen style. We’d all like to choose a sink that’s both aesthetically pleasing and durable but it’s important to note that not all materials behave the same way over time.

Are you the type who is susceptible to being hard on sinks? Do you cook often and tend to toss or throw dishes into the sink? If yes, you might want to consider stainless steel. Stainless steel is also a great choice when opting for engineered stone or granite counters as an undermount sink is oh-so-easy to keep clean.

Enamel-coated cast iron was once the standard for sinks, so this material is ideal for those seeking a “classic” look and feel. However, even high-end models can be prone to scratches or chipping over time if you’re tough on sinks.

What are your dish washing habits?

The traditional sink bowl arrangement since the 1950’s has been two bowls, equal size. All too many people automatically presume that this is the way to go. (And for some it is.)

But guess what? It really depends on how you wash your dishes!

The reality is that most people these days wash the majority of their bowls, plates, glasses and cutlery in the dish washer – so really you don’t “need” two equal-sized bowls at all.

Unless you’re an old school hand washer, consider a gorgeous extra-large one bowl model or a handy hybrid like this Executive Chef by Kohler.

The larger, deeper bowl is perfect for hand washing bulky pots and pans while the smaller, shallower bowl is ideal for food prep.

Pro tip: If you’re planning on installing a garbage disposal unit, be sure to keep this in mind when deciding on a bowl configuration. It’s even possible to purchase a 3-bowl design with a dedicated disposal.

How’s your taste in faucets?

Face it, not every kitchen faucet style goes with every sink. So if you’ve got your heart set on a particular faucet, this will absolutely play a role in narrowing down your choice of sinks.

Sleek and modern models such as Delta’s Addison Collection work well with stainless steel or contemporary shaped cast-iron whereas Kohler’s Antique Line looks great with a vintage styled sink such as an Apron-Front or Farmhouse.

Often the easiest way to discover the sink of your dreams is to pick out a faucet and then work backwards!

Your top priority matters

Every single sink on the market has a distinct set of pros and cons. Deciding on the perfect balance of looks, price, durability and functionality is enough to make your hair fall out. Always figure out what’s most important in your heart of hearts and use this feature as the driving factor in your buying decision.

After all, there’s nothing worse than finishing your renovation only to find you’ve once again built someone else’s kitchen.

Part of the excitement surrounding a major kitchen or bathroom renovation is putting a personal stamp on the overall aesthetic of your home. A homeowner’s space should look and feel like something they designed. For a house to be a home, the ambience must match the owner’s personality.

Your home should reflect your persona and your unique sense of style—not someone else’s.

This is precisely why shopping at a Big Box hardware store for plumbing fixtures might be a huge mistake. If you’re looking for different, unique or cutting-edge, you’re not going to find it at Home Depot. The chain stores simply don’t stock the boutique brands.

A selection second to none

While run-of-the-mill quality faucet brands such as Kohler, Delta, Moen and Brizo sell dozens upon dozens of stylish, modern fixtures, these companies still design and market their products to “everybody.” Many of the boutique brands featured at the Consolidated Plumbing showroom specifically cater their products towards homeowners who are truly looking for something special to set their kitchen and bath apart.

For true selection and the ultimate breadth of choice, a plumbing supply warehouse simply can’t be beat.

If showing off your “one of a kind” kitchen or bath is important to you, you’ve absolutely got to go boutique.

Know what you’re getting

It’s rumored that many of the large manufacturers actually produce separate lines for selling at large discount stores and that these products contain lower quality accessories compared to those shipped to plumbing outlets.

With boutique brands you always know that the fixture you select is the top-of-the-line product for that particular range.

Boutique brands differentiate themselves on quality, not price, so there’s no need to worry about what’s “hiding” underneath the surface. Find the style you like and rest assured the “guts” are top notch.

Save money over the long haul

Boutique plumbing supplies may cost more up front, but spending on quality, easy to maintain fixtures is an investment that’ll pay dividends for the life of your home.

Inexpensive fixtures are more likely to leak, break, corrode or cause other problems. Aside from suffering unnecessary plumbing bills, the cost of repairing water damage can run into the thousands.

Added functionality

From hands free operation to eco-friendly green design, ergonomics and more, higher end faucets (particularly in the kitchen) can do a lot more than a simple handle and valve assembly.

The additional functionality afforded by specialty marques such as Riobel, Ginger or WaterDecor can truly transform your bath or kitchen experience.

Drawing up a realistic budget for a major kitchen or bath makeover isn’t nearly as difficult or complicated as you might think.

Here are 5 easy ways to take the headaches out of the budgeting process and ensure you get the most bang for your remodeling buck.

1. Don’t be afraid to start with a ballpark estimate

Homeowners without any construction or renovation experience are often reluctant to throw out an initial number for fear of being “way off” in their approximation. But the thing is, it’s okay to be way off as the whole idea here is to get a starting point to work from—not to pinpoint the final bill on the first go around.

On average, renovations run between $150-$250 per square foot, so be honest about how “nice” you plan to go and work out a number. Perhaps go a bit higher if you know you’ll be looking to do a few “luxurious” upgrades and a bit lower if you’re the DIY sort and don’t mind adding a little elbow grease to the pot.

2. Compare figure to resources

Now that you have a very general guesstimate of what a typical remodel of your space might run, compare this number to the figure you can realistically afford. If you’re planning on paying cash for the entire project this is very easy to do, but if you’ll be financing part or all of the project you will want to speak with a lender about your options.

Look into a home equity loan, HELOC or maybe even a full refinance and compare your new payments to what you currently pay to determine how much money you can safely borrow.

3. Map out plans

Once you get to where your ballpark estimate more or less matches what you can afford, it’s time to design your space and determine exactly what you want.

At this point, the more precise your selections are, the better. Choose the exact faucets and fixtures you’d like to install as well as flooring materials, lighting, countertops, etc. The more detailed your list, the more accurately bids will reflect your true final price.

4. Collect several bids

Armed with all the details for the kitchen or bath of your dreams, solicit at least 3 different bids from contractors in your area.

As a rule of thumb, add 20% to every bid for a cost-overrun contingency.

Often complications arise where extra costs are added in that a contractor will not be obliged to cover, even if you’ve signed a contract. Examples include pre-existing plumbing/electrical issues in your home, unseen water damage, rises in the price of materials or changes to your plans.

5. Pivot and adjust

If your lowest bid + 20% fits within your “affordability” range, you’re ready to move full steam ahead. In fact, sometimes bids come in much lower than what you’d expect so you’re able to add in a few extras that you thought you couldn’t afford.

But if your best bid still leaves you short on cash, don’t panic. This is where you make adjustments to lower total costs.

Set priorities in terms of the most important features you’d like to see in your new space and start by cutting costs with items at the bottom of the list. From selecting cheaper materials to removing features entirely, work backwards until you’ve got a new plan that fits within your spending limit.

Always re-bid on your new design. Never assume that the price cuts you calculated will be adjusted in the same fashion by your contractor.

Remember, in extreme cases where no more corners can be cut, consider doing part of the work yourself to further lower costs. You might not know how to solder fittings, but anyone can handle a paint brush!

When crafting the ultimate luxury bath experience, the devil is in the details. Even the slightest tweak can truly elevate your shower time enjoyment.

Get your credit card handy because we’ve put together a list of 8 must-have shower accessories you won’t want to bathe without!

1. Get a grip

There’s a reason why the old ‘80s-style fiberglass shower enclosures all included a simple plastic handle above the built-in soap dish. Having access to a grab bar makes it easier to balance and clean hard to reach places like the bottom of your feet.

Luckily designers such as Gedy’s of Italy have come out with a stunning contemporary grab bar that’s both useful and incredibly chic.

2. Dance to the music

Kohler’s Moxie showerhead is an ideal solution for the music lovers in your household – but if you love the shower head you’ve got you can always go with a waterproof Bluetooth shower speaker. The beauty of this nifty gadget is that you can sync up your phone and answer calls in the shower (unless they’re from the office—you can let those go to voice mail!).

3. Step into luxury

A high end floor mat like the ones for sale at ModoBath can make all the difference when you’re fresh out of the tub and looking to drip and dry.

Speaking of drying off, you can’t go wrong with lavish Turkish Cotton towels.

4. Unique stone soap dispenser

Labrazel Home is well-known for outside-the-box bathroom accessory designs. Once you feast your eyes on their chic marble Aztec soap dispenser you’ll see how one little dispenser can exude a world of class.

5. The beauty of alabaster

In 2016 nobody displays bathroom products in their original packaging. Instead of trying to work a Johnson & Johnson label into your motif, consider an upgrade.

If you’re the type who prefers the look of matching sets as opposed to mix-and-match in your bathroom, you’ll love this alabaster accessories set. Simple yet gorgeous.

6. The secret is out

No luxury bathroom is complete without a silky smooth silk robe or a fluffy soft cotton bathrobe.

For her, try Victoria’s Secret.

For him, Derek Rose.

7. Le Blanc Towelwash

Keep your bathroom linens soft, strong and absorbent with specialty Towelwash by Le Blanc, the foremost authority on high end laundry products.

Towelwash prevents fibers from drying out, fading or discoloring and works on Egyptian cotton, silk, bamboo and more.

8. It’s not for everybody, but it might be for you

The Ultimate Shower Dispenser is ideal for those who value a clutter-free shower space above all else. While you probably won’t see this organizational whiz kit featured in top design publications, it’s a slick device for those who don’t mind the Holiday Inn look in their private bathroom.

But hey, a word to the wise—don’t buy the Ultimate Shower Dispenser without checking in first with your significant other!

Buying a toilet is a lot more complicated than it used to be. Back in the 1980s all you had to do was choose between egg shell white, pink or pea green—you know, whichever color matched best with the shag carpet in your living room.

Nowadays you’ve got one piece, skirted, dual-flush, extra tall, elongated, wall hung, flush assisted and many more! The possibilities are mindboggling. Choosing the right one for your bathroom remodel can be confusing, particularly if you don’t understand how a toilet even works.

To help, here’s a quick rundown on the basic science behind how a toilet functions and how quality affects reliability and efficiency. You may not learn enough to quiz your plumber, but by the end you’ll have a better understanding of what does what when shopping your plumbing supply warehouse.

Gravity, oh gravity

While some commercial toilets use air-bladders to create an assisted flush, most toilets get all their force from gravity. This is why the water tank is located above the bowl.

When you pull on the handle a small chain pulls up on the flapper, a rubber device used to seal the flush valve (the hole where water leaves the tank and enters the bowl). When the flapper is lifted the water from the tank is allowed to enter the bowl from many tiny holes surrounding the rim and at the bottom via the siphon jet. The siphon jet helps to provide a little extra push when emptying the bowl into the trap. The trap is where waste leaves the bowl.

As the bowl fills with water, the atmospheric pressure is great enough to push the contents of the bowl up and over the trap into the drain and down to the sewer or septic tank.

A one-piece toilet works in a slightly different fashion as the flush assembly is contained within a plastic cylinder which utilizes a rubber gasket to create the flush valve seal instead of a flapper.

Refilling for reuse

Once the tank has emptied the flapper returns to its original position to recreate the seal over the flush valve.

At this point the ball float will have dropped, opening the intake valve and allowing water to flow from your water line into the tank. As the tank slowly fills, the ball float rises until the tank is full, at which point the rod attached to the ball float will reclose the intake valve.

Along with filling the tank, a small hose from the intake valve runs to an overflow tube which runs down the back and into the bowl. A toilet must have some water in the bowl to prevent odors from returning from the septic system and to help create an ideal flush.

The trouble with low quality toilets

One of the issues with going cheap when buying a new toilet is that budget level commodes provide the absolute bare minimum when it comes to all these moving parts that make up the innards of your toilet.

When valves and seals fail you wind up with leaks, water wastage and potentially huge expenditures from damage or water bills depending on the type of problem.

In addition, low quality toilets are not properly engineered to maximize siphoning and often produce what’s known as an “incomplete flush.” An incomplete flush is when not all waste is removed from the bowl.

Problems with the molding process are also common with discount brand toilets. If the holes around the rim are not formed properly or if the toilet is built with a misshapen trap, it’s entirely possible that the toilet will never flush properly, even if it’s brand new right out of the box.

In short, ignore the sticker shock when shopping for toilets. Saving a few hundred bucks now isn’t worth the headache of dealing with a malfunctioning unit for years to come.

The old saying “You get what you pay for” rings loud and clear in the world of plumbing supplies. It’s not just pipes and fittings that matter but your faucets and fixtures, too.

Paying for quality and performance is money well spent. Here are five reasons why.

1. Testing your metal

While much of what you pay for in a high-end faucet is cutting-edge style and design, there’s actually a huge difference in terms of the materials used to produce quality fixtures compared to the ones you’ll find on the discount rack.

Almost all quality faucets and fixtures are constructed with brass, and it’s easy to tell if the one you’re looking at is the real McCoy. Brass fixtures are much heavier than their lower cost counterparts, and, in this case, heavier is better. Solid brass bodies last longer and require less maintenance, particular in areas where residential water is hard.

Fixtures plated with low-quality material will fade, chip and tarnish more quickly.

2. Eco-friendly?

When it comes to installing environmentally friendly equipment in your home, performance is the name of the game.

Low-cost eco-friendly devices such as cheap low-flow shower heads experience an enormous drop off in functionality compared to higher-end WaterSense approved fixtures. You won’t be saving any water if it takes 15 minutes to rinse shampoo out from a dribble.

The same goes for toilets, too. There’s no point in buying a low gpf (gallons per flush) unit if you’ve got to flush two or three times with every usage to whisk your waste away.

3. Drip, drip, drip

High performance plumbing fixtures are built with quality components and stronger, more durable valves. Low cost valves are liable to break or develop leaks, both when the tap is in use or closed.

Skimping on price today is like buying a one-way ticket to the repair zone. Unless you’re happy to sleep with ear plugs and shell out unnecessary cash for an oversized water bill, it’s best to keep those leaky faucets on the shelf where they belong.

Drip, drip, drip. That’s the sound of your money and sanity flowing down the drain.

4. Technological know-how

From touch technology all the way to hands-free operation, top-of-the-line faucets and toilets truly do their job better than their counterparts.

Refusing to consider performance and functionality when making your buying decision is like opting for a clunky old rotary phone instead of a smartphone. By taking advantage of technological advancements in the plumbing industry, you can truly improve your overall quality of life.

5. What a centerpiece

Ahigh performance faucet can set the stage for the entire space—especially in the kitchen. In fact, most homeowners won’t fully appreciate how poorly their old faucet performed until after making the upgrade.

Quality fixtures in the kitchen and bath will actually make cooking, washing up and bathing more enjoyable. Isn’t that a goal worth investing in?

The selection of shower head options available on the market today can be daunting. Building the perfect setup for your new bath is no longer as simple as heading down to the hardware store and picking one up off the shelf.

In this post we’ll cover all the different options so you can make an informed decision for your home.

Keeping it old school

The standard wall-mount shower head is the one you grew up with. Installed directly to the wall above your head, this traditional design offers the advantages of low price and simple modification.

Wall-mount heads are the most economical and the most easily replaced should you wish to change out your head down the line. Wall-mount heads are also available in a wide variety of flow rates and spray types.

Their primary disadvantage is a low level of adjustability as these heads can only be moved slightly at the neck.

It’s raining from the sky

Top-mount (or ceiling-mount) shower heads extend down from above to provide a perfectly vertical spray. This style of head is ideal in bathrooms with low ceilings where a wall-mount head would need to be installed too low to be comfortable.

One advantage of top-mount heads is that they are better suited for the luxurious rainwater technique. Rainwater heads are designed to emulate the natural feeling of rain as opposed to producing high-pressure streams.

However, switching from wall-mount to top-mount can be a challenging endeavor in terms of rearranging the pipes behind the wall, particularly in homes that are not built with wood/drywall construction.

It goes anywhere

Long popular in Asian countries, the handheld shower head is making huge inroads in the United States.

Constructed with a three- to six-foot hose and a handheld wand, these heads make it easy to wash those hard to reach places and are great for rinsing the shampoo out of your hair. As an added bonus the wand serves as a quick and easy cleanup helper to rinse soap scum off the walls and floor.

The main problem with handheld shower heads is that constant motion makes them more prone to leaking, especially inexpensive models.

Upgrade to a sliding bar shower head

Perfect for couples or families with members of very different heights, a sliding bar shower head does just that, slide up and down on a bar mounted to the wall.

This setup will cost a bit more compared to a wall-mount, but the added mobility makes it possible for multiple people to shower at the perfect height for their personal needs.

Water from all around

Body mist and body spray jets are installed directly to the walls to produce streams of horizontal water that soothes your body from head to toe.

No luxury shower enclosure is complete without this lavish bonus.

Calculating flow rate

Shower heads come in high and low pressure models. While some low-flow heads can compete in effectiveness, generally the more gpm (gallons per minute) a head is rated, the stronger the pulse of the streams.

In general flow rates fluctuate between 2.5gpm all the way up to 8gpm.