Brizo Review & Rating Updated: 05/21/2023 Best Value Logo Our panel of consu­mers and industry professionals has rec­ognized Brizo fau­cets as a Best Value in luxury faucets made or assembled in Asia. Read the Best Faucet Value Report for more in­for­ma­tion.

Summary
Imported
ChinaFlag
China
and
Assembled In
USAFlag
U.S.A.
from domestic and imported components
U.S.A.
Delta Faucet Company,
55 E. 111th Street
P.O. Box 40980
Indianapolis, IN 46280
(317) 848-1812
brizosupport@brizo.com

Canada
Masco Canada Limited
350 S. Edgeware Rd.
St. Thomas, ON N5P 4L1
(877) 345-2749
customerservice@mascocanada.com
Rating
Business Type
/
Product Range
Kitchen, Bath, Prep, and Bar Faucets
Certifications
Brands
Brizo
Street Price
$220-$1,005
Warranty Score
Cartridge
lifetime1
Finishes
Lifetime
Mechanical Parts
Lifetime
Proof of Purchase
Usually not Required
Transferable
No
Meets U.S. Warranty
Law Requirements
Yes

Warranty Footnotes:

1. "[W]arranted to the original consumer purchaser to be free from defects in material and workmanship for as long as the original consumer purchaser owns the home in which the faucet was first installed."
Read the Brizo U.S. faucet warranty.
Lire la garantie Canadienne des robinets Brizo.
Learn more about reading and interpreting faucet warranties.

This Company In Brief

Bri­zo is Del­ta Fau­cet's line of premium fau­cets – the top end of the Peerless-Del­ta-Brizo lineup – intended to compete with the European designer brands, Koh­ler's high-style line, and Amer­i­can Stand­ard's premium

Brizo combines Del­ta's solid fau­cet technologies and world-class customer support with award-winning design.

Until recently, Brizo assembled most of its fau­cets in the U.S. No longer. Brizo has shifted its manufacturing to Chi­na. Today, Brizo produces just over one-third of its fau­cets in the U.S.

With nearly indestructible PVD finishes and Del­ta's Diamond Seal Technology® ceramic disc cartridges, these are true lifetime fau­cets supported by Del­ta's comprehensive lifetime warranty on every part and component (except electronics).

If there is an 800-lb. gorilla in North Amer­ica's world of kitchens and baths, it is Mas­co Corp­or­a­tion – one of the world's largest fau­cet companies.[1]

Masco's Faucets

Masco sells eight brands of fau­cets from economy to luxury through its various subsidiaries.

all products of the Del­ta Fau­cet Com­pany, are really the low, middle, and high ends of the same Del­ta fau­cet line.

Brass­tech, Inc. makes the faucets for another Mas­co company, at the middle/high end of Am­er­ican fau­cets.

Brass­tech also makes fau­cets for the upscale retailer. An increasing number of Brass­tech products, however, are being made in Mex­ico by Brass­tech De Mex­ico S.a De C.v.

owned by Mas­co Can­ada, is a manufacturer of budget fau­cets for the Can­ad­ian market.

Mas­co's most recent acquisition, is the only Mas­co company that does not assemble fau­cets in North Amer­ica. It imports Chin­ese-made fau­cets.

the upscale fau­cet manufacturer in Ger­ma­ny, is the last player in Mas­co's rollcall of famous fau­cets, also at the high end of the Mas­co lineup.

Masco also owns Bris­tan Group, Ltd. in the UK, but none of these fau­cets are sold in North Amer­ica.

In addition to Del­ta, it owns in Ger­many, and Bris­tan Group, Ltd. in the U.K.

Although one of three major players in the North Amer­ican fau­cet market – are the others – Del­ta Fau­cets is just a minor part of Mas­co's overall business.

Masco is also a major presence in

The Company

Al­ex Man­oo­gi­an, an Arm­en­i­an who fled Tur­key at age 19 to escape the Ar­men­i­an Gen­o­cide, established the company as Mas­co[2] Screw Prod­ucts in 1929 with two partners: Har­ry Ad­jem­ian and Charles Saun­ders to manufacture automotive parts.

It was renamed Mas­co Corp­or­a­tion in 1961 to reflect its growing diversification as a holding company. By 1975 it was one of
Early Brizo Advertisement
An early print ad introducing Brizo fau­cets.
the largest U. S. companies and on the Fort­une 500 list.

Delta Faucet Company was created by Man­oo­gi­an in 1954 as a separate enterprise to manufacture fau­cets. It was added to Masco in 1958.

The Bri­zo brand was created in 2004 to distinguish Del­ta's higher-end designer fau­cets.

Delta sells very good fau­cets. It has been tied with as the most popular fau­cet in the U.S., for nearly three decades. But, at the time Del­ta did not own a true designer brand and evidently felt that it was time to give some competition in the premium fau­cet category.

In the intervening years Bri­zo has become a major presence in the world of premium fau­cets in the U.S. and Canada.

Brizo Faucet Design

The Bri­zo collections are about as designer as it gets, combining Del­ta's mechanical reliability with designs that, according to Bri­zo, "don't just complete rooms, they inspire spaces."

Brizo Artesso articulating kitchen fau­cet in polished chrome.

The designs include the stark, minimalist, industrial forms characteristic of Eur­o­pe­an and many Asi­an fau­cets but also the graduated curves and softer lines more typical of Amer­i­can and Can­ad­ian fau­cet design.

The collections include traditional and transitional styles as well as contemporary designs.

Whether you are restoring a Vic­tor­ian bath or creating a new contemporary kitchen, Brizo almost certainly has a faucet that complements your décor.

Judd Lord, Dir­ect­or of In­dust­ri­al De­sign for Del­ta Fau­cet, leads the company's in-house staff of designers and engineers[3] – the cap on a career that spans years of product design experience.

Brizo fau­cet designs have won numerous prizes in juried international design competitions, including, among others:

To supplement the design vision of its in-house staff, Bri­zo employs outside designers, the most notable of which is design-phenom, Jason Wu, who has been associated with Bri­zo since 2006.

Jason Wu's earlier Loki collection of bath fau­cets and accessories has won numerous international design awards. It has, however, been discontinued.

His latest effort, Jason Wu for Bri­zo™, unveiled in 2010, is essentially the Odin bath and kitchen collections in special finishes – not a particularly innovative design inspiration.

Construction and Materials

Brass is the traditional material for fau­cets for two reasons:

But, brass has one serious drawback. It may contain lead.

Small amounts (1.5-3.5%) of lead are added to common brass to make it more malleable, less brittle, and easier to forge and machine.

Brass containing lead, however, is a problem in drinking water fau­cets.

Water passing through brass channels can pick up small amounts of lead and lead, even in small amounts, is a known health hazard, especially to children.

According to the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), lead causes brain damage, slowed development, and speech and hearing problems.

Brass in fau­cets must now be essentially lead-free and the current North Amer­ican lead-free fau­cet standards are the strictest in the world – so strict that lead in fau­cet brass has effectively been banned.

It has been replaced by substitute materials, the most common being bismuth.

Bismuth is next to lead on the periodic table, but unlike lead, it is harmless. Also unlike lead, which is plentiful, bismuth is a rare element, rarer than silver, and priced accordingly. Its use in no-lead brass has been a major contributor to the dramatic rise in the price of sink fau­cets over the past 20 years.

The cost of lead-free brass has forced fau­cet companies to search for ways to minimize its use.

Brizo's solution, like that of most other fau­cet companies, is to use lead-free brass only where it can touch water, essentially the body and spout. Otherwise, some other metal is used, the most common of which is [4], a zinc/aluminum alloy.

Zinc is not as strong as brass and does not resist water pressure as well as brass. But, its use in non-pressurized parts of a brass fau­cet such as handles, base and wall plates, and does no harm and may save consumers a few dollars.

Plastic is the other commonly used substitute material. It may be safely used in incidental parts like base plates and has been largely trouble-free in aerators and as casings for ceramic cartridges but, otherwise, its use is suspect especially if under water pressure.

Among the most suspect of those uses is in the spray heads of kitchen fau­cets. Plastic spray heads (called "wands" in the fau­cet industry) have become the standard for many manufacturers, including some that sell upscale fau­cets such as Brizo as well as

These manufacturers give three reasons for their use of plastic:

However, plastic wands also fail much more often than metal wands. And although engineers have made significant improvements to their reliability over the past decade, the problems with the material have not been entirely resolved.

Brizo uses a technology it calls MagneDock® to hold its spray wands in place when not in use. According to Bri­zo,

"The durable magnets are made to last forever, while their polarity keeps the spray wand perfectly aligned, for a clean, seamless look that maintains the faucet's distinctive form."

For MagneDock to work, however, the wands must be very light which means they must be made of plastic. So, all of Brizo's kitchen sprays are plastic.

Better wands are made of metal, insulated against excessive heat transmittal. For kitchen fau­cets equipped with metal sprays, see both of which provide wands that lock in place perfectly well.

The Sure Cure for Too-Hot Spray Wands: The simple cure for spray wands that get too hot is to reduce the temperature of the water. Dishes do not need to be rinsed in scalding hot water.

Where are Brizo Faucets Made?

Some Brizo fau­cets are still assembled and finished at Del­ta's highly automated assembly plant in Jackson, Tennessee. Most, however, are manufactured in China at Del­ta's factory in Panyu, or by outside manufacturers under contract to Mas­co.

The shift in manufacturing from the U.S. to China has been gradual over two decades. As Bri­zo adds new collections, they are contracted to outside companies for manufacturing.

Today, only Bri­zo's older collections such as Vessi, and Artesso are still made in the U.S.A. – no more than one-third of the fau­cets currently sold by Bri­zo in North Amer­i­can.

To find out where Bri­zo fau­cets are made, we set our researchers to tracking down the source of every Bri­zo fau­cet currently offered for sale in the U.S. or Canada. The results, organized by collection and model number, may be seen in our County of Origin table elsewhere on this page.

As older collections are retired, Am­er­i­can-made fau­cets will become an even smaller percentage of the fau­cets sold by the company.

Masco's known Chin­ese fau­cet suppliers are the following. All of these companies are manufacturers.

How Do Ceramic Disc Cartridges Work?

Ceramic disc cartridges house two ceramic discs with holes through them. One disc (base disc) is fixed in place while the other (control disc) moves with the fau­cet handle.

When the holes are aligned, the water is allowed to flow through the fau­cet. When they are no longer aligned, the water stops.

These and other Chinese manufacturers make the fau­cet parts and components used in fau­cets assembled by Bri­zo in the U.S. Still others like (Hang­zhou) Pan­as­ia San­i­tary Ware Co., Ltd. make other products such as shower components and bathroom and kitchen accessories. (Xi­a­men) Ea­so Co., Ltd., a division of the Run­ner Group and a well-known manufacturer of plastic components, makes Bri­zo's hand showers and plastic spray heads for Bri­zo kitchen fau­cets.

Brizo Collections

Brizzo fau­cets are a part of collections of like-styled components.

Kitchen fau­cets may coordinate with bar fau­cets, pot fillers, soap and lotion dispensers, filtered water taps, and instant hot water dispensers.

Air gaps for dishwashers, air switches for disposers, and base plates (escutcheons) are also available, but not a part of specific collections. They are generic enough in styling to coordinate with any collection.

The Litze and Rook kitchen collections seem to be the most complete, with the Artesso collection running a close third.

Bath collections are more extensive, typically including various shower options, tub fillers, tub spouts, and accessories such as towel bars, robe hooks, toilet tissue dispensers, and even coordinating toilet flush levers.

Handles Sold Separately

Most fau­cets support several handle options. The base fau­cet is priced without handles.

The handle is an additional charge. Many handle sets are priced at nearly half the cost of the fau­cet and can add substantially to the total cost.

Handles available for each fau­cet are clearly indicated on the Bri­zo website.

Brizo Cartridge Valves

A great many, but by no means all, Bri­zo fau­cets have now been converted to use the Del­ta Di­a­mond Seal® (DST) ceramic disk cartridges. The cartridges are proprietary: patented, and owned by Mas­co.

Delta manufactures DST cartridges in the U.S. at its plastics plant in Mor­gan­town, Ken­tucky using imported ceramic discs.

Its ceramic disc suppliers appear to be:

Both companies have solid reputations for good to excellent technical ceramics products.

Dia­mond Seal Tech­nol­ogy (DST) is a major improvement over ordinary ceramic disc valves that must use a non-soluble lubricant to ensure smooth operation.

The lubricant tends to wear off after a few years from the mechanical abrasion of water and dissolved minerals passing through the fau­cet. Once it is gone, the fau­cet becomes hard to operate and may stop working altogether in extreme cases.

DST cartridges do not need a lubricant. One disk in the two-disk set is coated with diamond dust, a feature that Del­ta says helps keeps the disks absolutely smooth since the diamond-coated disk continuously scrubs and polishes the other disk so they always mesh perfectly.

It also continuously grinds away any mineral deposits that may insinuate themselves between the disks. According to the company, the more you use it, the smoother it gets and the more effectively it seals.

Delta has had the cartridge tested through 5 million cycles – ten times the 500,000 testing benchmark of a typical ceramic cartridge – equivalent to about 700 years of daily use in your kitchen.

If it does leak, however, and you need to change the cartridge, it's very easy to do. The new cartridge is free to the original owner of the fau­cet. Del­ta has produced a video showing how easy it is to change a DST cartridge, which you can view here.

Cartridges other than DST cartridges are still used in some Bri­zo fau­cets, and these are not adequately identified.

Brizo Faucet Finishes

Some of these we have identified purely from visual inspection to be from Sedal S.L.U., a technical ceramics company chartered in Spain but manufacturing in China as Jiangmen Se­dal Ce­tec Ad­vanced Tech­ni­cal Cer­a­mics Co., Ltd.

As to the rest, we simply do not know where they come from and, therefore, have no clue to their quality. The marks that would identify the manufacturer(s) are missing from the cartridges. However, as Brizo guarantees them for a lifetime, they are probably at least adequate.

To better understand how ceramic cartridges work, we recommend reading Faucet Valves and Cart­rid­ges.

Brizo Faucet Finishes

Brizo offers 20 standard finishes for its fau­cets, including eight .

Polished Chrome is an finish. Elec­tro­plat­ing is the well-established traditional way of finishing fau­cets that has been around nearly since fau­cets were invented in the early 1800s.

The process involves immersing the fau­cet and the metal to be used as plating in an acid bath, then applying an electrical charge to both objects so metallic ions are drawn from the plating metal to the fau­cet.

Usually, at least three coats are applied, an undercoat of nickel and then two coats of chrome. The final finish is polished to give the chrome its shine.

Brilliance® finishes are (PVD) finishes developed by Vapor Technologies, Inc., another Mas­co company that has been at the forefront of PDV coating technologies since 1986.

Physical vapor deposition is almost science fiction. The metal to be used as a finish is vaporized into individual atoms and deposited on the fau­cet in a very thin coating that is so dense that it is as much as 20 times more scratch and dent resistant than electroplated finishes.

Delta claims that independent tests show that the Brilliance finish stands up to drain cleaners, over 100 common household cleaners, and even repeated scouring with steel wool.

Our experience is that PVD finishes are nearly indestructible in normal (and even abnormal) use. A case-hardened steel file will do some harm but not much else.

Matte Black, Matte White, and Ven­e­ti­an Bronze finishes are what the company calls "organic" finishes as are Mor­oc­can Bronze, Oil-Rubbed-Bronze, and Slate Gray. These are – essentially paints in powder form.

To produce the finishes, powdered pigments are sprayed on the fau­cet using electrostatic attraction to ensure an even coating. The finish is then baked at about 400°F (205°C) to set the coating. Baking causes the pigments to melt, flow together, cross-link, and bind to the metal of the fau­cet.

The result is a finish that is much more durable than most liquid paints, more durable even than the paint on your car but not nearly as robust as PVD or electroplated metal finishes.

Brizo guarantees all finishes against manufacturing defects for as long as the buyer owns the residence where the fau­cet is first installed.

The guarantee includes powder coatings. Most companies do not guarantee powder coatings for a lifetime. (See, for example, which uses powder coatings exclusively for its striking finishes, but guarantees them for just 7 years.)

The fact that Bri­zo guarantees its organic finishes for the same lifetime that applies to its PVD finishes suggests that the company has a lot of faith in the durability and longevity of its powder coating process.

No Brizo fau­cet is available in every finish. The Jason Wu for Bri­zo™ bath collection, for example, comes in just one finish, Matte Black. [5]

Most fau­cets are available in Polished Chrome, then the choice of finishes is determined by collection.

The finishes available are displayed on the company website for each fau­cet but the website, strangely enough, does not include a finish chart that shows all of the available finishes in one place.

Brizo Faucet Warranty

The Brizo fau­cet warranty is for the "lifetime" of the original buyer. "Lifetime" is strangely defined, however as

"… for as long as the original consumer purchaser owns the home in which the fau­cet was first installed …"

This definition has two major problems[6] but despite these issues, our panel of lawyers judged it to be equivalent to the standard North Amer­i­cann "lifetime" warranty on fau­cets.

The warranty fully complies with the Mag­nu­son-Moss War­ranty Act (15 U.S.C. §2308), the U.S. federal law that dictates the minimum content of and sets the rules for consumer product warranties in the United States, (but not in Canada) – except in one particular.

The company claims (in bold print) that its warranty is the "exclusive remedy" for fau­cet defects.

The Fed­er­al Trade Com­mis­si­on, the agency that oversees consumer warranties in the U.S., has repeatedly warned that claims that a written warranty is the sole or exclusive remedy for a defective consumer product are deceptive but has so far not taken any action against violators.

JDPower Logo In 2022 J. D. Power awarded Del­ta's U.S. customer service its certification for providing an "outstanding customer service experience."

The award was based, according to J.D. Power, on a "comprehensive survey of customer satisfaction and operational excellence."

The law in most states and territories of the United States provides multiple remedies for consumer product failures, so a manufacturer's written warranty is never the exclusive remedy, and Del­ta's warranty is no exception.

The same warranty covers sales in both the U.S. and Canada despite language in the warranty that applies only to U.S. warranties.

Brizo Customer Service

Post-sale problems and warranty service are handled by Del­ta's customer service organization. It is one of the most praised customer service operations in the industry. If something breaks, a call to Bri­zo/Del­ta warranty support will get you instant help, and replacement parts in about three working days.

In our standard customer service test, Del­ta scored 4.7 out of 5.0 possible points. We rank Del­ta's post-sale customer service just behind customer service for product knowledge, helpfulness, and efficiency.

The Better Business Bureau rates the company A+, its highest rating, on a scale of A+ to F. Del­ta has maintained that rating for as long as we have been reviewing fau­cets – over 15 years – and probably for much longer. We don't know how much longer because the BBB does not keep historical records.

In 2022 J. D. Power awarded Del­ta customer service its certification for providing an "outstanding customer service experience."

The Brizo Website

The Brizo website is well-designed, informative, and fairly easy to navigate using a menu-driven paradigm.

It has one serious navigational flaw, however.

You will not be returned not to where you were in the search results but to the top of the very first page. If you were at the bottom of page nine, it can take quite a while to get back to page nine again starting over from page one.

Every time you leave the search results and then return, you have to go through the same lengthy process.

Faucets can be filtered by kitchen or bath, collection, and finish.

The site search function is accurate only sometimes. A search for "Levoir fau­cet" for example, turned up all fau­cets in the zLevoir collection, but also nearly every fau­cet handle available for any collection.

A search on a finish is likely to be more accurate. "Luxe steel" turned up every item in Bri­zo's inventory available in that finish. Useful if you are trying to match finishes across collections.

Once you arrive at a suitable fau­cet the information about the fau­cet is comprehensive but not sufficient for an informed buying decision.

Brizo
Website Faucet Information
Score: 62.5 out of 100
Grade: C- (Below Average)
Specification, Property, or Document Score Note
ADA Compliance, Yes or No 5
Aerator Manufacturer 0Not identified.
Baseplate Included, Yes or No 5If applicable.
Certifications Listed 5
Country of Origin 0
Dimensions or Dimensioned Drawing 5
Drain Included, Yes or No 5Applies to lavatory fau­cets Only.
Flow Rate Maximum 5
Installation Instructions 5Downloadable .PDF file.
Material, Primary (Brass, Stainless, Aluminum, Zinc etc.) 3.5Specified for some but not all faucets. The language used is often incomprehensible.
Materials, Secondary (Zinc, Plastic etc.) 0Not identified.
Mounting Holes, Number 5
Multiple Faucet Images, 360° Display, or Video Link 5
Parts Diagram 5Downloadable .PDF file.
Spray Head Material 0If applicable.
Spray Hose Type 0If applicable.
Supply Connection Size/Type 5
Supply Hose Included, Yes or No 5
Supply Hose Type 5
Valve/Cartridge Type 3Identified inconsistently.
Valve/Cartridge Manufacturer 3Identified only for DST cartridges.
Finish Type 3Identified on the website but not with each faucet listing.
Finish Images 5
Warranty Link 4Present (in page footer) but inconspicuous.
Watersense®, Yes or No 5Applies to lavatory fau­cets only.
Download/Read/Print the minimum content required in an online faucet listing to permit an informed buying decision.

An informed decision requires that all of the specifications needed to judge the quality, suitability, and longevity of a fau­cet be provided by the seller.

Brizo faucets are briefly described and downloadable technical specification sheets with more detailed information are provided. These typically include a measured drawing that is very useful in determining whether a fau­cet will fit your sink.

Other downloads include installation instructions and an exploded parts diagram.

The installation instructions are detailed and complete with diagrams and illustrations that make the installation process very clear.

Primary fau­cet materials are usually identified. Either the fau­cet has a "[s]olid brass fabricated body" or a "[s]olid brass fabricated end valve and spout bodies,"

We had no idea what "end valve and spout bodies" were until a Bri­zo agent explained the terms. Without getting too complicated, the phrase means that the body and spout are both brass. Why the mystery description? We don't know. Neither did the agent.

Certain critical information is missing from the website.

Minimmum Website Information: Download/Read/Print the minimum content required in an online faucet listing to permit an informed buying decision.

The Plumber Poll

Delta fau­cets (and Bri­zo is a Del­ta fau­cet in everything but looks) are considered by most plumbers to be the easiest of all fau­cet lines to service and repair. Most parts of a Bri­zo fau­cet are exchangeable. Take out the old part, slip in the new part. All done.

Our plumber poll rated the installation of our test fau­cets as "very easy", the highest rating on our four-point scale of from "very easy" to "very hard."

Our rating panel was unanimously in its opinion of Brizo fau­cets. All members indicated that they would not hesitate to install a Brizo fau­cet in their kitchen or bath "without reservation."

Testing and Certification

Del­ta Faucet Company, including Bri­zo fau­cets, is recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as a WaterSense® Partner. EPA Watersense Partnership is limited to companies that manufacture, assemble, or import water-saving products that are certified to meet exacting WaterSense specifications.

Where to Buy Brizo Faucets

Brizo faucets are sold through decorative plumbing showrooms and authorized internet plumbing retailers. The Brizo website has a "Where to Buy" that list its authorized inline resellers.

Faucet Street Price Comparison

In U.S. Dollars

Some Brizo faucet models are exclusive to certain retailers. The Coltello collection, for example is available only through Fer­gu­son Enterprises at one of its hundreds of street stores or its online sites: Build.com, Fau­cet.com, and Fau­cet­Dir­ect.com.

No matter where you buy a Brizo faucet, however, do not expect substantial discounts. Brizo strictly enforces a Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policy for faucets sold in the U.Ss and in Can­ada.

The company establishes the minimum price at which a Brizo faucet may be advertised. Dealers are prohibited from advertising the faucet at a price below the MAP price. Violators are subject to a cascading array of increasingly stiffer penalties and may ultimately lose the right to sell Brizo products.

The usual effect is that dealers will not sell below the minimum price confident that no other dealer can easily undercut the price.

Comparable Faucets

Faucets comparable to Bri­zo include:

Conclusions

Brizo fau­cets with their combination of world-class styling and Del­ta technologies have been rated by our panel of industry professionals and consumers as a Best Value in a premium fau­cet for nearly ten years in a row. The fau­cets no longer qualify for best of American-made fau­cets, but the fact that most Bri­zo fau­cets are now made in China has not detracted from their quality or value.

If you are considering a Bri­zo fau­cet, we suggest one of the company's Brilliance finishes (if they fit your décor). These PVD finishes require almost no maintenance and are nearly indestructible in normal use (and even in most abnormal uses). Our second choice would be an electroplated finish.

We also suggest a DST cartridge. This device is a true super cartridge that most probably will last your lifetime and beyond even if your water is mineral-rich. To determine if a fau­cet is equipped with a DST cartridge, read the specification sheet and look for some mention of a "diamond seal" cartridge. If the specifications do not mention diamond, the faucet has an ordinary cartridge. Unless (1) Brizo is willing to identify the maker and (2) the maker is one of the companies that make quality cartridges, pass it by. (To find out which companies make quality cartridges, see Faucet Basics, Part 2: Faucet Valves & Cartridges.)

If you have experience with Bri­zo fau­cets, good, bad, or indifferent, we would like to hear about it, so please contact us or post a comment below.

Footnotes:

1. Masco was the largest fau­cet manufacturer in the world for most of the last 30 years but it may have been overtaken by LIX­IL Group Corp­or­a­tion, a Japanese building products conglomerate that has since 2013 purchased the U.S.-based fau­cet line.

Masco and LIXIL are now head-to-head competitors in the North Amer­ican and European fau­cet markets and it is a toss-up as to which company sells more fau­cets worldwide. It's not a toss-up in North Amer­ica, however, where Mas­co is the hands-down winner.

2. The name Mas­co was derived from the initials of the original partners: [M]an­oo­gi­an-[A]d­jem­ian-[S]aun­ders [CO]. Ad­jem­ian and Saun­ders, however, left the company in its first year. Brothers Charles and George Man­oo­gi­an joined the company in 1934 and 1936 respectively, and son Richard, later Mas­co's second president, in 1959.

Ken Roberts, an engineer with an MBA, has been Del­ta's president since 2018 after a variety of executive positions in the company, including three years in Asia, developing Del­ta's Chinese operations.

3. Although often overshadowed by Bri­zo's big-name designer, Jason Wu, the Del­ta/Bri­zo inhouse design staff is populated by some incredibly talented product designers including Celine Kwok Garland, Seth Fritz, Tony Spangler, and Maris Park. Ms. Park has been named by the National Kitchen and Bath Association as one of Thirty Under 30 top industry professionals in the Class of 2021.

4. Zamak 3 (ASTM AG40A), or Zinc Alloy 3, is the most widely used zinc alloy in North America and is usually the first choice for die casting. Industry references indicate that this is the alloy used in Brizo/Delta faucets.

6. The Jason Wu for Bri­zo bath collection is available only in Matte Black. The kitchen collection, oddly enough, can be ordered only in Matte White with a matching Matte White handle or, for something different, a Brushed Nickel or Polished Nickel handle.

6. The definition of "lifetime" in the Bri­zo warranty – for as long as the original consumer purchaser owns the home in which the fau­cet was first installed … – has two problems.

The first problem is that buyers who do not own their home (renters, lessees, and tenants) do not get a warranty because they do not own "the home in which the fau­cet was first installed." Home ownership is required for the warranty to come into effect.

The second is that the warranty does not require the buyer to continue to own a Bri­zo fau­cet for the warranty to remain in force. One unexpected result of that omission is that the buyer can retain all rights under the warranty even after he or she no longer owns the fau­cet.

Consider this example:

Buyer sells his Bri­zo fau­cet to Cousin Nell who installs it in her house.

The warranty does not end at the sale because the buyer still owns the house "in which the fau­cet was first installed." Owning that house is the only requirement for the warranty to remain in effect.

The ownership of the fau­cet passes to Cousin Nell but not the warranty. The warranty, by its terms, is not transferable to a subsequent owner. Since Cousin Nell cannot inherit the warranty but it still exists in full force, all warranty rights are retained by the original Buyer.

If the fau­cet develops a leak, could Buyer make a warranty claim for Nell's benefit?

The answer is probably "yes". In most states, a party to a contract (a warranty is a contract) can enforce the terms of the contract for the benefit of a person who is not a party to the contract and in many states, Nell, as the person benefiting under the contract (third-party beneficiary), could enforce the warranty herself.

These are odd results indeed, and probably not what Bri­zo intends, but that's the way the company has chosen to write its warranty. A better defintion, and one that takes care of both problems, would be:

"… for as long as the original consumer purchaser owns the fau­cet and resides in the home in which the fau­cet is first installed …"

To be fair to the company, so far as we know, Bri­zo has never denied warranty coverage to a buyer that does not own the home in which the fau­cet is installed, or even asked whether the buyer owns the home, but it could, and that's what we must look at when evaluating a written warranty.