Delta Sandover Bathroom Accessories
My clients ask for help with many aspects of their bathroom project. However, they most commonly need help with picking out the right fixtures. With so many options these days to choose from it's hard to know what's good quality and what isn't, what will fulfill your needs effectively and what is a good value for your hard earned dollars. We bring our 30 years of experience to this blog post to provide you with our top picks for your bathroom fixtures.
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Toilets
Toilets!! Now there's something no one really wants to talk about. They aren't pretty. They just serve a purpose. But there are definitely some key things you want to look for when shopping for a new toilet.
Two of the most important things to consider are: glazed trap and MaP rating. A glazed trap will help the solids flush smoothly and clean down the bowl. Most toilets have these but some of your really cheap toilets won't. Read the packaging carefully and if you aren't sure, ask your contractor or call the manufacturer.
The MaP rating represents the number of grams of solid waste that a particular toilet can flush and remove completely from the fixture in a single flush. MaP testing is an independent testing program not affiliated with nor controlled by any manufacturer or group.
The MaP testing first came out in 2003. At that time, the average score was 336g. However these tests forced toilet manufacturers to improve their toilets and by 2017, the average score was 882g. Participation in the MaP testing program is voluntary so you may not have a MaP rating for every toilet on the market. We recommend selecting a toilet with a MaP rating of at least 1000.
Our top pick for toilets is always American Standard. We have never had a problem or service call with an American Standard toilet. They all have glazed traps and most have MaP ratings of over 1000. They are well priced and easy to find at your local hardware store such as Home Depot or Lowes.
American Standard Concealed trap from their "Clean Collection"
The American Standard Sonoma is one of our favourites.
Another feature to consider when purchasing a toilet is a concealed trap. This doesn't do anything for the function of the toilet but aesthetically it's much nicer and easier to clean. American Standard makes a great watersense model with a concealed trap.
Many of our clients really like Toto toilets. These are definitely really nice toilets but they come at a high price tag. The main benefit of these toilets is how quietly they flush. For families that get up or go to sleep at different times or if members of the household are light sleepers, then this is the toilet for you.
Toto toilets are also high efficiency so they can save you money in the long run. You can also select some unique features with your Toto toilet. For example, you can have a heated seat, a bidet function or an air purifying system that deodorizes during use. You can almost eliminate the need for toilet paper by choosing their air dryers. Some of their models even have the lid lifting and closing automatically.
Bathtubs
Now what about tubs?! There are so many options, styles and types to choose from that it would be impossible to go through all of them here. I'm just going to talk about alcove tubs in this post but if you have questions about other types of tubs, please reach out to me and I'd be happy to help.
The biggest thing to look for in an alcove tub is the weight of the tub. I know this sounds odd but we had a client who found a nice soaker tub at a plumbing store in town and then found the same one at a local big box store. The one at the hardware store was $100 less. She called me to see why I sent her to the plumbing store when it was cheaper elsewhere. I told her to check the weights of the two tubs. Although they were the same tub, made by a reputable manufacturer, there was 70 lbs difference between the two fibreglass tubs.
Now tubs are lightweight to begin with so 70 lbs was a big difference. When she put her hand behind the cheaper tub, you could see the silhouette of her hand right through it. That wasn't the case with the tub from the plumbing store.
This type of thing happens a lot. The big box hardware stores know they have big buying power because they are purchasing large quantities of products from the manufacturers for all of their stores. They also know they want to offer products at lower prices than their competitors. The big box stores will often go to the manufacturers and tell them they want product X at Y price. In order to sell it to the big box stores at Y price, they often have to cut corners. This accounts for differences in weights of products. If quality matters to you, make sure you investigate fully when you find the same product at a lower price.
Mirolin Tuscan soaker tub
For alcove tubs, we really like the Mirolin brand. The soaker tubs are deep at 20" and many like the Sydney and Tuscan model have arm rests as well.
One of the best ways to pick your tub is to actually get in one and pretend you're having a bath. I know this might seem a bit out there but you wouldn't buy a couch or chair without sitting in it first! You shouldn't buy a tub without trying it out too!
When purchasing your tub, make sure you know whether you need a left hand or right hand drain. To determine which you need, stand in front of your tub. If the drain is on the left, you need a left hand drain. If it's on the right, you need a right hand drain. Also, when purchasing your tub, make sure it comes with an overflow kit. Many don't so if it doesn't, you will need to purchase this separately.
Shower Faucet
What about the shower faucet and shower head? There are many varieties right from simple ones right through to body jets and more that can run you thousands of dollars. When you purchase a new shower controller (the knob or lever that turns the water on and off and from hot to cold), make sure it comes with a valve. Not all of them include the valve so you may need to buy this separately.
Moen Lindor Spot Resitant Posi Temp Brushed Nickel Shower Faucet
There are many options including rain head shower heads, slide bars for the shower wand to be positioned on and more. If you're just looking for a simple shower faucet system, one of our favourites is the Moen Lindor Spot Resist Single Handle Faucet. It is sleek looking, comes in brushed nickel and the fairly large square head shower head offers a similar look and feel of a rain head shower head. The shower faucet is well priced at below $250 and even comes with the valve required for the controller. It's also available at most big box hardware stores.
For a little more luxurious system that includes a rain head shower head and a slide bar shower wand, we like the Grohe Lineare Shower Bar System. This system easily allows you to switch between rain head and hand held. It's a little pricier at $700 but available through most of your big box stores such as Home Depot or Lowes.
One of our all-time favourite manufacturers for shower faucet systems is Riobel. Outstanding quality, amazing customer service, the latest in design innovation….you can't go wrong. Not the cheapest ones around but I guarantee you will be happy with your purchase. They even have matching bathroom accessories such as towel rings, towel bars, etc.
Sink Faucets
For sink faucets, we love American Standard, Delta and Pfister for simple but stylish and functional faucets. These are generally well priced and available at Home Depot or Lowes. We recommend you consider a hi arc faucet which will allow you enough height to wash other things such as delicates as well. When selecting your faucet, you will have to choose single hole, 4" centre or widespread 8" centres. If you have already selected your countertop and it comes with pre-drilled holes, then ensure you purchase the right type of faucet.
The Delta Sawyer is a great two lever handle high arc faucet. It's even Watersense certified. It's very affordable at under $150.
The Delta Sandover is a great wide spread faucet. One of the benefits of the widespread faucets is that it's easier to clean in between the faucet and the handles. This is also the benefit of a single handle faucet….only one item to clean.
Delta Matte Black Sandover Widespread Faucet
One of the newest looks out in sink and shower faucets is a black matte finish. We LOVE this look! It's contemporary and adds some great interest and a focal point to bathrooms. The best part of the matte black is that by nature it is smudge and fingerprint resistant!
What's the most important thing to remember?
The most important thing to consider when picking any fixture for your bathroom is to consider function and efficiency first. It doesn't matter how pretty it is if it's going to break down a lot or not do what you need it to do. Style is obviously important but it should be the last thing to consider once you have narrowed down your selections based on function.
Be sure to be consistent throughout your bathroom if you can. If you really want a brushed nickel shower faucet, go for a brushed nickel sink faucet as well. Black matte is becoming standard these days. We're doing a bathroom in Whitby right now. Our client loves the contrast of the black matte sink faucet against her white vanity. So…we're also installing a black matte shower faucet with slide bar, black matte hardware on her custom glass shower enclosure, and black matte pulls on her vanity. It really ties everything together beautifully.
Take a walk through your local hardware or plumbing store, or even do some internet searches to begin your selection process. Consider glancing through magazines as well to see what type of look you like. If you're having trouble figuring out which fixtures to buy, don't hesitate to reach out to us for some guidance. We're always happy to help.
Delta Sandover Bathroom Accessories
Source: https://www.multitradebuildingservices.com/news/our-top-picks-for-bathroom-fixtures
