Depends on the design of the body, the kit purchased and specialised tools to hand. Some assume a machined bore in the centre of the seat, for a press fit. Others require a thread insert. It is certainly an effective solution where the tap body is not easily replaced. It is likely prescribed work under State Legislation. Check first on line, just in case it goes wrong and you need to call for help. It can be a very expensive call out.
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We still find Dorf taps very durable, with good quality chroming. I have only ever chosen the most simple and basic designs I can find, as anything else just creates more parts to potentially fail.
So no shower heads with multi function, no pull out taps and no super trendy designs.
I think Grohe are a very reliable brand, as are Methven. No āItalianā brands, which are usually nom de plumes for cheap imports.
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We are our own worst enemies.
Others might suggest why draw in charcoal when there is an infinite pallet of colours to choose from.
I think of trends as an excuse for explaining poor styling decisions. Marketing people likely consider them opportunities?
Grohe - still good after 20 years
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When I rebuilt my kitchen four years ago I considered a sink tap as described. The plumber strongly advised against it; said they are not durable. Iām happy with my simple swing arm to switch between sinks.
Some years ago when building a new house, the plumber (a different one) gave us the option of chrome or plastic tap handles, Mindful of the need for quality, we chose chrome. Two years later the chrome peeled off, leaving sharp edges until we took to it with pliers and pulled it all off; revealing underneath - plastic!
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This seems like the worst possible combination. A suitable tough plastic handle should be quite durable but it will look like plastic. A chromed brass handle ought to last a lifetime. Why would anybody chrome plastic?
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I have some rental properties most of which we have renovated over the last decade. Early in the piece I was getting fancy taps and within a shortish period they were playing up and our plumber replaced them with much cheaper ones. He told me not to buy taps made in China because you canāt get parts for them. I now buy more standard taps for both kitchens and bathrooms and donāt have any trouble.
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This does not only concern Tapware
Quality issues abound in many items we purchase today.
We can partly blame our selves for wanting to pay less, and the suppliers give us that opportunity by reducing quality.
The other issue that I believe is important is the ability to repair. It is now more difficult to repair quite simple items because the suppliers would rather you replaced it.
I think one important test that Choice could make when testing products is to check on availability of spare parts and service manuals. That and the right to repair.
The costs dare not usually considered during product evaluations
Many manufacturers deliberately limit the ability to make simple repairs and often the repirrs are very simple once one acquires a few simple tools and spends a bit of time searching the Web for the answers.
I have been able to keep a heavy usage ink jet printer running for over ten years by making a simple modification to it and not only saved the cost of replacing it but reduced the cost of inks.
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Absolutely. and in a perfect world, Choice would also cover built in obsolescence - although that becomes even more tricky. I guess if they get into that too much they will wind up in court with a lawyer and a tie. Especially these days.
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If you need a manual to fix a leaking tap please donāt try it. Lack of durability of tap-ware has nothing to do with āright to repairā
This is also another subject distinct from both tap longevity and right to repair.
Lumping together everything you can think of to do with modern merchandising will not help deal with any of the issues.
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Service manuals are fairly straight forward to ātestā for the availability of downloads. Discovered if there is no download but an old school hardcopy is available could be more challenging (time consuming and thus costly when multiplied over 20-30 products per test).
But parts? Many parts are available to order, in catalogues, and in 3rd party suppliers but there is a difference between being able to order something and holding it in oneās hand, as well as whether the price is reasonable (and how that is determined). Using a contrived example, a toaster. Are the elements replaceable, how much is an element, do they only come in sets, and the most important aspect, are they locally stocked and in a quantity more than 1?
If companies got burned by bad PR by not having the part for sale you can punt it would be added to their ācatalogueā for purchase, always out of stock or on backorder. Too easy to game.
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We have a Franke kitchen mixer and Kohler tapware and Methven shower heads in a renovated bathroom, and Bunnings-sourced Mondella taps in another bathroom. Never had a problem
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Maybe now we know why there are so many billionaires in China !. Quality control is garbage standard. The quality of elements, components and materials used in the manufacture of these and the thousands of other products are compromised while the money is pocketed and the result is a garbage product. When one allows an entity to grab one in the nether region the heart and mind will follow!
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We did some renovations seven years ago, and bought the cheapest mixer sink taps we could from Bunnings.
Luckily, we have never had a problem with any of them.
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My older style hot and cold works well and i attached a spout that allows to give 2 options normal flow or larger spray good quality from bunnings several years ago. As every one is suggesting its hard to find quality taps sone expensive.
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We have a Grohe kitchen mixer, bathroom basin mixer, and shower/bath mixer, all working as well as new, after more than 15 years.
Only maintenance required was replacement of the pushbutton shower/bath diverter part approximately two years ago, and I suspect that was because some visitors āabused/misusedā it.
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You have been lucky. The mixer that came with the house died at ~20 years and the Bunnings one I bought to replace it died after 3 years. I bought another more expensive Bunnings one (Maxwell and williams? Maybeā¦ cant really remember except its 2 names) and instead of doing the install myself, had a plumber do it (he said I had done a decent job of the previous, just that the tap was rubbish). Its becoming very stiff to moveā¦ Iām planning for Methven for the shower.
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Agree absolutely. For any high use area, such as kitchen and bathroom, Grohe is the only tap I would buy.
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About the above question is simply put this way, Australia, like many other western countries no longer manufactures most things. This is due to two factures (1) Unions demanding higher wages put most companies out of the game as the price of all items had to increase to meet wages-conditions after all why have a production company when you are unable to sell products (2) Customers who wanted to buy these products simply could not afford the higher prices. The Manufacturing companies said right we will take our production offshore namely to Asia. Yes, the items made in these countries was good at first, but then other smaller manufacturing companies got involved in making the same products cheaper again but with the word Cheaper not just price but quality. Customs & boarder inspections are only able to examine so many shippingās so these cheap knock offs got through & the buyers saw more money in the cheap versions bought & supplied them to unsuspecting public. The Electrical cables that were once made in Australia but cost wise went offshore the first all made to Australian standards but then the cheap knock offs came in under the radar and the actual insulation of the thousands of kilometers electrical contractors installed in housing Shopping centers is all starting to fail but it is far too much to inspect all the areas used in the same applies to Taps cheap nasty rubbish
