There are two big reasons why bathroom faucets are so pricey. First, a simple item like a screwdriver can easily cost more than $100 at a hardware store or online, making it an expensive purchase for a simple thing. Material costs, interior design fees, and the fact that they can be used for multiple purposes contribute to the high price of bathroom faucets. When it comes to interior design, you can expect to pay a premium above other types of household things.
As a starting point, the kitchen and bathroom sector are prohibitively expensive. Retailers can raise the price of these interior products since home decorating is costly. Faucets under $100 are rare, especially ones that won’t rust or aren’t built of low-quality materials. Aiming to keep their prices well over $100, manufacturers are constantly competing with one another.
Homeowners like to purchase in person because they can feel the materials and make sure they buy what they want. It may, however, be to your best advantage to buy straight from the manufacturer and avoid the middle-man mark-up that comes with purchasing from a retailer. In addition, faucets aren’t usually a popular item. Because homeowners replace their faucets every five to ten years, manufacturers and third-party retailers are compelled to charge significantly for each faucet they sell.
The finish on a faucet is just as crucial as the faucet itself.
It’s possible to find a wide range of metals in various colors and finishes (nickel, chrome, brass, bronze, and stainless steel, for example), all of which can be polished or brushed (also known as satin).
It’s outdated to use a historical finish on a classical faucet in a contemporary bathroom. It’s your place, so don’t feel constrained by conventional design principles. Taps are being given an old-world feel by being given new-world finishes.
Make sure you don’t go overboard with many finishes. Creating a cohesive design is all about achieving a sense of balance. You can do this by picking finishes that are either entirely polished or all brushed, for instance. Champagne Bronze, which has a brushed finish, can look great with brushed nickel. You can also stay in the same family of metals if you choose. For example, Venetian Bronze is a dark, worn-looking bronze finish, so you might use it for your bathroom faucet if you already have an oil-rubbed bronze light fixture.
How Much Should I Spend on A Kitchen Faucet?
Faucets below the $50 mark tend to be made from lighter materials, so if you are looking for a modern faucet installation that will stand the test of time and repel breakage more effectively, it’s best to opt for faucets above the $100 range. While the industry does jack up the prices due to marketing reasons, the best materials are found in the higher-end faucets. These faucets are well-designed and will stand the test of time – well over the ten-year mark in many cases. Manufacturers of higher-end faucets also offer better guarantees or warranties, and you can undoubtedly contact the manufacturer of your pricier faucet and ask for a replacement if the one you purchased broke well before the guaranteed lifetime of the product.
Should I Buy an Expensive Kitchen Faucet?
Using manufacturer information from today, we can confidently say that buying more expensive kitchen faucets is worth it for a couple of reasons. First, you are purchasing better materials and the research and development of the manufacturer. Essentially, you are getting a better product with well-wrought parts, heavier materials, and even better features. If you are tired of ordinary faucets that break at every opportunity, it may be time to level up your kitchen this year.
Why Are Name Brand Faucets So Expensive?
There are a couple of reasons why branded faucets are expensive. The primary reason is demand – there are areas in the interior decoration market where there isn’t much competition, and branded items here tend to be more expensive. In addition, there are different tiers. Other than these factors, brand-name faucets also offer quality that does not exist for other brands. Finally, there’s a reason why the very specialized plumbing supplies are only provided to high-end renovators and hotels, for example.
What Is the Most Reliable Brand of Kitchen Faucets?
Moen
Moen is an American manufacturer of bathroom fixtures and faucets. Moen is now part of Fortune Brands. This brand has its central headquarters in Ohio. Customers loyal to the Moen brand are happy with the sensor technologies added to the modern series and the no-splash feature that is best suited for sinks that aren’t too deep.
Compared to other faucet brands, customers didn’t have to touch their Moen faucets for the water to flow. This is a massive boon for people anxious about touching surfaces, with the global pandemic still raging. However, some customers stated that they had some issues with the installation of the sensors – it appears that Moen sensors are more sensitive than others. Improper installation can result in problems with proper installation. If you want to install Moen at home, be sure that you have access to a very professional and knowledgeable plumber who has extensive experience installing sensitive sensors and precision instruments.
Much of the positive feedback about Moen faucets with sensors revolve around the ease at which the sensors work in opening the tap and closing the water when the person using the faucet is done. In addition, customers praise the safety features, mainly when they use the Moen faucets with two sensors (upper and lower sensors).
When your hands are occupied, MotionSense Wave technology-equipped faucets are ideal. There is no need for a person to touch the faucet to start the water flow, which helps reduce germ spread across the sink surface – and your home. When you move your palm over the Wave Sensor, it creates a strong water flow. Sweep the dirt and germs out of the way and say welcome to clean hands. The user-friendly design makes it simple to interact with.
Controlling the spread of germs is made easier with hands-free operations. And this reduces the amount of time you have to spend cleaning your faucet. MotionSense is built to reduce waste by only supplying water when you need it. Using a wave of a hand, you can turn on and off the water in your kitchen faucets with MotionSense Touchless activation. Any object, such as a cup or your hand, can be detected by the Ready Sensor, making everyday chores more accessible for you to perform. Temperature and water flow can be adjusted using the handle’s traditional manual action.
Verdict: Moen appears to have invested heavily in touchless technology. While touchless technology has been around for at least one decade, the level at which manufacturers have achieved this on commercial faucets for home use varies depending on the manufacturer. However, Moen appears to have advanced the technology powerfully, providing a genuinely hands-free experience to homeowners.
The only downside is that Moen technology is advanced, which means the ordinary handyman may encounter issues. If you have any doubt, it would be best to hire a professional plumbing company to install your new Moen faucet. In addition, it would be a good idea to inform the plumbing company of the exact model of your faucet and inform them of your expectations.
Kraus
Two American entrepreneurs found Kraus, and the brand has been putting out sinks and faucets since 2007. Kraus products are engineered using German standards, but their manufacturing centers are located in India and the PRC.
The brand’s own online retail shop carries both sinks and faucets from an American-based company. In addition, Kraus sinks and faucets may be found at most plumbing supply stores and big retail outlets, including Lowes, Walmart, and Home Depot. On Amazon, Kraus items are also readily available.
Affordably designed kitchen faucets from Kraus provide a modern aesthetic. They’re a great alternative to more expensive, well-known brands because they’re less priced. They are straightforward to put together and come with clear instructions. Additionally, they are dependable and have a long service life. Unfortunately, it is common for people to assume that they are of a lower quality because they are priced lower than other products.
Kraus also makes lead-free faucets. One example is the Purita model, a water filter faucet constructed of 100% lead-free brass. And it’s for a good reason: Kraus is a household name in the kitchen sink market.
Kraus offers one of the broadest assortments of high-quality and imported faucets, from centerset, pull-down, single hole, touch/hands-free activated, vessel, and more. The Kraus 18-INCH Kitchen Faucet (stainless steel) is one such product. Priced just a little over $200, this touchless faucet is a crowd favorite, garnering over seven thousand whopping ratings on Amazon. This is more than what other higher-end brands can say for their standard touchless faucets.
Kraus users have a lot to say about the quality of higher-end Kraus faucets. For one, customers observed that the construction of Kraus faucets is heavier and beefier than other brands. Customers described the metal as looking and feeling tougher, and the all-important hosing is also incredibly thick. In terms of durability, the more material you have in a faucet, the longer it will hold up against wear and tear. That’s how it’s always been in the faucet industry. Any faucet that has been manufactured with lighter materials will almost always break earlier than a heftier competitor.
Another great feature that customers found truly useful is detaching the nozzle from the standard hose and connecting it to a two-foot hose. The two-foot hose helps spray and clean outside the sink, which is essential for keeping the entire sink clean. Customers also praise the naturally higher pressure coming from the nozzle. Some claim that they only need to set the pressure to 20%, and they can already get sufficient pressure for most of their sink activities.
Verdict: Customers like that Kraus faucets are heavier and more durable. With a few complaints about the aesthetics of the faucets (such as the nozzle hanging too low in the sink), we feel that this brand is better suited for kitchens with large and deep sinks, so the form factor does not detract from the manufacturer’s intended aesthetics.
Delta
Delta Faucet Company is the third American brand on today’s rundown, and it is as competitive as Moen and Kraus. Delta is based in Greensburg, Indiana. Delta offers an extensive kitchen and bathroom fixtures, including high-end modern faucets. Their current exhibit of kitchen faucets includes gooseneck or high-arch kitchen faucets, two-handle kitchen faucets, single-hand kitchen faucets, touch kitchen faucets, wall-mounted faucets, sprayer faucets, pull-out faucets, and pull-down kitchen faucets. What’s immediately apparent when looking at Delta faucets is that they’re pretty dedicated to maintaining the classic and elegant appeal of the faucets of past periods, which would appeal to those who want a more traditional or rustic feel when upgrading their kitchens. The Delta Essa Brushed Nickel Faucet is an excellent example of a classic-modern take on the modern faucet with a pull-down feature. This faucet features robust magnetic docking coupled with a strong spray head and arctic stainless steel construction.
The Essa is a smooth, stylish focal piece for your kitchen, with a delicate, modern take on euro design and subtle decorative accents. Duramount’s mounting mechanism makes installation a breeze. Supply lines and Diamond Seal Valve, which features a diamond-embedded ceramic disc, require no lubrication and eliminate seal wear. For the rest of your life, Delta faucets with Diamond Seal Technology will function as if they were new. On top of reducing the risks of unexpected leakage in several installation areas, they are easier to install, and they last twice as long compared to what we see in the industry average.
A powerful inbuilt magnet holds your new Delta faucet spray wand in place. If the rod is docked, it will not droop. The 360-degree swivel of a Delta pull-down faucet is a welcome addition to the experience when performing routine kitchen duties.
The soft rubber spray perforations allow mineral residue to be easily wiped away, whereas other solutions may collect an unsightly mineral buildup. Delta is celebrating 60 years in the industry and providing exceptional customer service to its passengers. It fits kitchen sinks with one or three holes. For 3-hole installation, an optional deck plate is provided. Two-function spray wands make it easy to convert between spray and stream modes.
Customers who’ve stuck with the Delta line of faucets say that compared to Moen, they’re still getting better service with a Delta faucet than with the newer Moen faucets. They didn’t like the fact that motion sensor faucets have false triggers, and we’re guessing that having a sensitive faucet was more of a problem than a solution for some kitchens. However, customers stated that it was easy to install Delta faucets, and they had no issues with the battery and control unit. This brand might be the best choice if you like to DIY your modern faucets at home since it won’t bring you grief during installation. There is also feedback that the spray head of Delta faucets is built or designed differently and works better, delivering higher pressure. Another great feature that people observed was that the previously set features stayed with the tap after turning it off, so you don’t have to reset the pressure level over and over. This is great for people who want the familiarity of the classic manual faucet even after an upgrade.
Verdict: Delta faucets certainly please the DIY crowd, and the brand doesn’t give the same headaches as other higher-end brands did with installing their modern motion sensors. If you only have access to a professional handyman and the chances of messing up a too advanced sensor are high, we highly recommend Delta instead.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
