Sources of Supply:   Faucet Ratings

Back to Faucet Overview. Reader Comments

Thanks and a big tip of the hard-hat to the many readers who suggested improvements to this page. Most of the suggested changes have now been incorporated.

Our gratitude also to all who wrote in to suggest faucet lines that we ought to review. We regret that we cannot, however, review every faucet made. We limit our reviews to faucet lines with which we have some experience. There are literally hundreds of botique faucet suppliers, and some major manufacturers like Newport Brass that we don't know anything about simply because we have never bought one of their faucets. We do not mean to imply that by leaving a faucet out of these ratings the faucet is a bad product. It means only that we just don't know wnough about the faucet to rate it. We appreciate the feedback, however, so keep it coming.

If you are a faucet manufacturer and feel we made factual mistakes about your company or products or have not treated your company or products fairly, let us know your specific objections and we will reexamine our review. Anything you write, however, is subject to being reprinted by us on this web site for public view.

If you have had a prticularly good or bad experience with a faucet, contact us and tell us about it. Our e-mail is reviews@starcraftcustombuilders.com. We cannot possibly answer every e-mail we get, but if we think yours is worth sharing, we will print it on this page as a customer comment, keeping, of course, your identity to ourselves.

List Price vs Street Price

A manufacturer's list price is a good indicator of the esteem in which a company holds its own products, but not of their market value. Prices of many high-end faucets are discounted steeply by retailers and suppliers. The prices listed here are the actual "street" prices at which the faucet line can be purchased. All prices are for chrome. More exotic finishes: nickel, oil rubbed bronze, stainless and so on, are usually higher.

Our Ratings

The ratings on this page range from 1 to 10, with 1 being completely worthless to 10 being nearly perfect. Four and five are average. We know of no manufacturer who rates a 10, and will not list any company whose products do not reach at least a 4. Our ratings are purely subjective. We base them on our own experience and the reputation of a manufacturer and its products among building professionals we know. Building professionals we don't know and manufacturers themselves may disagree with our ratings, but we don't actually care. We do not rate any faucet line with which we do not have hands-on experience, and some faucet lines that we have experience with are too new, or information is too sparse, for us to rate them. Eventually we will (if they are still around in a few years), but not yet.

	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	American Standard One Centennial Avenue P.O. Box 6820 Piscataway, NJ 08854 (800) 442-1902	5-8 $150-600 USA	The Home Depot, Lincoln Winnelson, and many on-line faucet stores	Lifetime to the original owner.
	You have to have enormous chutzpa to call yourself the "American standard", but American Standard has and does and gets away with it because it has actually become over many years the de facto standard for toilets and bath sinks. The company estimates that 3 out of 5 residential bathrooms in the U.S. contain at least one of its fixtures. The company is not as well known for faucets, but makes a good one. Not particularly stylish, but very well engineered and manufactured. For high-style faucets from American Standard, you have to move to the company's upscale Porcher or Jado Faucet lines.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Blanco Faucets Blanco America, Inc. 110 Mount Holly By-Pass Lumberton, NJ 08048	6-8 $230-1,000 Germany	Gotcha Covered, (402) 420-5566 e-faucets The Plumbing Store	"[A]s long as the original consumer owns the home in which the faucet(s) are installed."
	Blanco America, Inc. is the American division of Blanco GmbH + Co KG, Oberderdingen, Germany. Its line is limited to kitchen faucets. The faucets are intended to complement its main business: kitchen sinks. Blanco emphasizes style, and it fact refers to itself frequently as a "design" company. But while an excellent, stylish faucet line, it is no more so than Grohe or Graff and similarly priced.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Brizo® 55 E. 111th Street P.O. Box 40980 Indianapolis, IN 46280 (317) 848-1812	5-7 $150-500 USA/China	Omaha Winnelson or Briggs, Inc. in Lincoln.	"...warranted to the original consumer purchaser ... for as long as the original consumer purchaser owns their (sic) home."
	Brizo® is a Masco Corporation faucet and really just the name given to Delta®'s high-end faucets (See Delta® Faucets, below). Not that this is anything to be ashamed of. Delta® makes a very good faucet — which makes one wonder why company management though a different name was necessary for the high-end line. In many instances a similar style is available in the Delta® or Peerless® (another Masco brand) lines for a much lower price but not a much lower quality. Also look at Ginger faucets, another Masco brand. Equivalent to a high-end Kohler or Price Pfister faucet. Stylish and generally a good value for the dollar.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Chicago Faucets 2100 S. Clearwater Dr. Des Plaines, IL 60018 (847) 803-5000	7-9 $150-350 USA	Chicago faucets.com.	Lifetime limited warranty to the original buyer, 5-years on the finish.
	We have never heard of, nor do we know anyone who has ever heard of, a defective Chicago faucet. Chicago might be the best faucet line made. We certainly know of no better. Heavy solid brass with replaceable ceramic cartridges. These are distinctive 100+ year faucets - and reasonably priced for custom fabricated faucets. These faucets started life in commercial kitchens and residential versions still show that good heavy-duty commercial breeding. Good styling, but limited selection. The design-glitterati might want to look elsewhere. But those who want a guaranteed lifetime faucet can do a whole lot worse than a Chicago Faucet.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Danze Globe Union Group 2 Territorial Ct. Suite A Bolingbrook, IL 60440 (888) 328-2383	Not Rated $60-350 China	Dreammaker Bath and Kitchen, (402) 423-6001; Handy Man Home Remodeling Center, (402) 474-0550; Buy Danze	"[W]arranted to the original consumer purchaser to be free from defects in material and workmanship for as long as the consumer purchaser owns it."
	Danze, introduced to the U.S. in 2000, sounds vaguely Scandinavian in origin. It's not. It's Chinese. Danze is a name under which Globe Union Group is attempting to create a brand identity in the U.S. It is one of the most actively promoted of the many faucet, fixture and accessory brands owned by the gigantic Asian company controlled by the Ou-yang Ming family of Taichung, Taiwan. The company does not hide — but does not go out of its way to advertize — its Asian origins. Globe Union is the dominant faucet manufacturer in Asia under its GOBO brand. Its faucets are made primarily in mainland Chinese factories by its subsidiary Shenzhen Globe Union Industrial Corp. of Shenzhen, China (with a small bow to Canada for some automatic faucets. See Automatic Faucets, above). It supplies dozens of in-house lines for large retailers such as the Pegasus and Glacier Bay faucets for Home Depot, Do-It-Best brand for Do-It-Best affiliated hardware and lumber stores, and the Ace brand for Ace Hardware, among others. Over 90% of its products are exported to the United States. The company's bath and kitchen lines appear under many names including Fusion (Fusion Hardware Group, Inc.), Gerber ( Gerber Plumbing Fixtures, L.L.C), Ameristream, Antioch, Anu, Bliss, Brandywood, Bannocburn, Brighton, Camden, Corrego, Enchant, Estrella, Eurostream, Fairmont, Florin, Generations, Ideas in Motion, Melrose, Opulence, Parma, Permanence, Plumbers Collection, Plymouth, Reef, Ruscello, Sempre, Sirius, Sonora, Thames, Tiburon, Topless, Vicar, Waterridge, Western Pride, and WR. Many of the same faucets appear under multiple brands as well as under private store labels. Globe Union recently acquired "the assets" of ailing Gerber Plumbing Fixtures Corp, now renamed Gerber Plumbing Fixtures, L.L.C.. It has announced its intent to keep the extensive Gerber distribution network while moving manufacturing to China. This puts the well-established Gerber faucet brand in limbo until this move shakes out a little. We have not had enough experience with the company to have formed a solid opinion of its products. The Danze and Fusion labels are too new to have yet formed a solid identity. Waterridge, Eurostream and Corrego lines are getting hard to find except at on-line auctions and discount sources - which suggests that the brands are being either discontinued or de-emphasized. As a whole, the Globe Union lines are stylish and seem to be well made but with the occasional defect that suggests spotty quality control at the Chinese factories. We have seen some Globe Union store-brand products with defects that could only result from deliberate sabotage by factory workers. We are going to reserve opinion at this time. If you have had experience with Globe Union faucets that you would like to share, contact us. Check back next year.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Delta Faucet Company 55 E. 111th Street P.O. Box 40980 Indianapolis, IN 46280 (317) 848-1812	3-6 $75-250 USA/China	Menards, The Home Depot, Lincoln Winnelson. Outside of Nebraska, visit the company web site's dealer locator, or try any of the web sites that sell faucets.	"[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 their (sic) home."
	If there is an 800 lb. gorilla in the world of kitchens and baths, it is Masco Corporation — owner of Brizo®, Delta®, Peerless® and Ginger® faucet brands. The company is also a huge player in cabinets (Kraftmaid, Merillat, Mills Pride, Quality Cabinets) paints (Behr) and bathtubs and showers (Aqua Glass). Peerless, Delta and Brizo are really the low, middle and high ends of the same faucet line, and they overlap quite a lot. Delta is a good, solid, stylish faucet. But you get what you pay for. Look for all metal and ceramic construction. Stay away from plastic. Delta does not usually disclose on the box that critical parts are plastic, so be wary of any Delta priced below $100.00. Home centers often carry "private label" Delta models made just for them so they can guarantee to have the "lowest price" (since no one else in the world has exactly the same model). It is probably no surprise that to make this happen identical Delta faucets are sold under different names and model numbers. (See The Model Game.) It's the American way, folks. Go to a plumbing supply house for a regular, no-nonsense, Delta faucet.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Dornbracht Faucets Dornbracht Americas, Inc. 1700 Executive Drive South, Suite 600 Duluth, GA 30096 866-818-3199	7-9 $500+ Germany	Briggs of Omaha, 14549 Grover Street, Omaha, NE 68144, Phone: (402) 330-3400; Ferguson Enterprises, 15005 Grover Street Omaha, NE 68144, Phone: (402) 330-1203; FaucetSupply.com.	"Dornbracht grants a warranty of two years for the surfaces of fittings and accessories. A claim under guarantee can be rejected in the event of failure to comply with directions as to care and maintenance as well as inappropriate handling or because of external influences."
	Dornbracht Americas is the U.S. division of Aloys F.Dornbracht GmbH, a designer and manufacturer of an extensive line of luxury kitchen and bath faucets distributed worldwide from its Iserlohn, Germany headquarters. Sold primarily through high-end design showrooms and authorized dealers, the faucets are unblushingly luxurious in a variety of finishes — with prices to match.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Eljer Faucets 14801 Quorum Drive Dallas, TX 75254 800-423-5537	4-7 $100-450 USA	In Lincoln, Kiner Supply (402), 477-6936; Lincoln Winnelson, (402) 423-1610. Elsewhere look for a distributor on the company web site.	Lifetime on mechanical to the original owner. Lifetime on some finishes, but mostly 10 years.
	Eljer is the Rodney Dangerfield of the faucet world — it gets no respect. Often confused with Elkay Faucets and better known for its excellent toilets, sinks and bathtubs, nothing about the company's line of faucets really stands out. They are well made and a good buy for the price, but distinctive for neither style nor quality. The impression we have is that the faucets exist just to round out Eljer's line of excellent bath fixtures. They are not intended to be stand-alone products. But Eljer makes a very good to excellent faucet worth a look if high style is not a consideration.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Elkay Manufacturing Co. 2222 Camden Ct Oak Brook, IL (630) 574-8484	4-7 $100-450 USA/China	In Lincoln, Winnelson or Briggs, Inc. In Omaha, Lund Ross Company. Elsewhere in the country, go to "Where to buy" on the company web site.	"Elkay warrants to the original consumer purchaser that the Elkay faucet purchased will be free from defects in material and workmanship for as long as the original consumer purchaser owns the faucet."
	Elkay, heardquartered on Chicago's Near North Side for over 80 years, is a global player in the kitchen and bath world. In addition to its Elkay brands of residential and commercial sinks, it also owns MasterCraft, Medallion and Yorktowne cabinetry — all major brands — and the Revere line of plumbing fixtures. It has recently acquired the Phylrich International line of luxury, high-style bathroom faucets to round out its offerings (See Phylrich, below). A lot of Elkay manufacturing is being moved to China, accelerated by its 2005 purchase of Zhuhai Daya S.E.Z., a manufacturer based in Zhuhai, China. The extensive Elkay line of faucets combines good reliability and a wide selection that includes mundane as well as high style fixtures. It is comparable to and competes toe-to-toe with Kohler in most markets. Elkay is always worth a second and even a third look.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Fratelli Rossi Rubinetterie Via Don Minzoni 67 28024 Gozzano (NO) Italy Tel: 39.0322.911536 Remer Rubinetterie Via L. Da Vinci 53 20062 Cassano D'Adda (MI) Italy Tel: 39 0363 364364 Webert Rubinetterie Via Beltrami 11 28104 Maggiora (NO) Italy Tel: 39 0322 87472	6-9 $300-$2,000 Italy/Poland	No known U.S. distribution	Varies
	If you want to see a bunch of kitchen and bath designers ogle and drool like idiots, just show them a new Italian faucet. Nobody, but nobody, does style like the Italians. This is where faucet design is going — kitchen lift faucets that adjust up and down for big and small pots, high-rise faucets on a hose like a personal shower that clip to a bracket when not in use; and style, style, and more style. These companies have no representation in the U.S. Faucets have to be ordered from Italy on the web. Buying them may require familiarity with international money orders and a translator (actually an American Express card will work, and English is the language of trade in Europe.) The faucets are made to metric specifications and require an adapter to work in the U.S. Your plumber will say rude things about you after having to install one of these. Is the faucet worth that much trouble? Well, everyone here wants one — or two — or three.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Fusion Hardware Group, Inc. Globe Union Group Fusion Hardware Group, Inc. 3145 Northwoods Parkway, Building 100 Norcross, GA 30071-4797 (877) 215-4683	Not rated $200-500 China	"We sell our products through select authorized dealer showrooms, some of which have internet divisions. To ensure full warranty and after-sale assistance make sure your purchase is made through an authorized Fusion dealer." The Hardware Hut Luxury Home Products KitchenBath.com	"[W]arranted to the original consumer purchaser to be free from defects in material and workmanship for as long as the consumer purchaser owns it."
	A brand name of the huge Globe Union Group, the dominant faucet manufacturer in Asia under its GOBO brand that is trying very hard to create a brand identity in the U.S. with its Danze (See Danze, above.) and Fusion lines. Its faucets are made primarily in Chinese factories by its subsidiary Shenzhen Globe Union Industrial Corp. of Shenzhen, China. Fusion is marketed as a coordinated "theme" of faucets; window, door and cabinet hardware; lighting, and bath accessories (towel racks, etc.). The choice of this brand name in the U.S. is almost certain to cause confusion between the Globe Union product line and the Fusion brand owned by Bristan Group Ltd., the UKs largest faucet manufacturer — and maybe that's the idea. We have not had enough experience with the company to have formed a solid opinion of its products. As a whole, the Globe Union lines are stylish, if mostly traditional and transitional rather than high style, and seem to closely copy established European faucet lines such as Grohe (See Grohe below). The faucets seem to be well made but with the occasional defect that suggests spotty quality control at the Chinese factories. We are going to reserve opinion at this time. If you have had experience with Globe Union faucets that you would like to share, contact us. Check back next year.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Ginger® Faucets 460-N Greenway Industrial Drive Fort Mill, SC 29708-8117 (800) 842-4872	5-7 No Info	In Southeast Nebraska see Briggs, Inc.	As long as the original purchaser owns the home on ceramic valves, PVD and chrome finishes, otherwise, 10 years.
	A Masco company (see Delta Faucets, above for more information) that is better known for its fine quality commercial and residential bathroom accessories, Ginger has recently extended its line of products to bathroom faucets. And the results are impressive. The faucets are stunningly styled and made from solid brass. We think of Ginger as high-style Delta faucets. They are made by the same company and some styles similar to Ginger are available in the Delta line for about the same price.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Glacier Bay Faucets The Home Depot 2455 Paces Ferry Rd. NW Atlanta, GA 30339-4024 (770) 433-8211	Not Rated $50-250 China/Italy	Home Depot, Expo Design Center	"[G]uaranteed for parts and finish for as long as you own your home."
	Please see the review of Home Depot faucets, below.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Graff Waterworks 3701 W. Burnham St. Milwaukee, WI 53215 (800) 354-4723	7-9 $200-500 USA	HomeClick and eBay.	"[A]ll Graff faucets are covered by a Lifetime Warranty on mechanical parts."
	Graff Waterworks is a Meridian International Group, Inc. company. Meridian is a family of related companies all involved in some manner in the design and manufacture of bathroom fixtures. The synergies among these interrelated companies must be terrific. Graff faucets are gathered into two collections: Traditional which is stylish but conservative, and Contemporary which will make any kitchen and bath designer do the "ooh and aah" thing. All are excellent quality all-brass fixtures with a ceramic disc valve. No more expensive than a KWC, Grohe or high-end Kohler, Graff may be a slightly better faucet by no more than a whisker.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Grohe America. 241 Covington Drive Bloomingdale, IL 60108 (630) 582-7711	6-8 $175-800 Germany	Grohe makes a big effort to discourage discounting by restricting sales to authorized dealers only. You can locate dealers for your area from the company web site or try Fixture Universe.	"A Limited Lifetime Warranty is provided on all mechanical parts to be free from manufacturing defects in materials and workmanship under normal use for as long as the original purchaser owns their (sic) home." 5-year limited warranty on most finishes.
	The American arm of Grohe Thermostat GmbH, a German company, Grohe America distributes the company's excellent, high style faucets. Most Grohe faucets have style characteristics that make them instantly recognizable. Dealer prices range from merely astounding to truly outrageous. Handles sold separately. Grohe makes a good faucet, but so do others for less money. Grohe is mostly a status thing. The web, especially e-bay, is the best discount source.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Hamat Faucets c/o Subcon Products 100 Bomont Pl. Totowa, NJ 07521 (973) 785-1150	5-8 $250-600 Israel	Home Annex, The Inside Store, Faucet Direct The company web site's dealer locator does not seem to work. We checked for dealers in Lincoln, Omaha, Los Angeles and New York and in all cases got "No Records Found" whatever that means.	Manufacturing defects, five years; finishes three years - "to the original owner."
	Israel's premier faucet manufacturer is represented in the U.S. by Subcon Products. A heavy duty faucet, Hamat makes contemporary stylish and traditional lines. Construction is solid brass with a ceramic valve. Hamat does not really stand out for either design or quality. Both are good, but not particularly distinctive and not better than similar high-quality lines.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Hansgrohe Faucets Hansgrohe, Inc. 1490 Bluegrass Lakes Parkway Alpharetta, GA 30004 (800) 488-8119	5-7 $250-1,000 Germany/USA	In Southeast Nebraska see Briggs, Inc. or on the web Hansgrohe In Stock, Home Annex, Designer House Jewelry	"Lifetime limited warranty to the original owner."
	Better known worldwide for its innovative hand showers (it is the oldest and largest and probably the best hand shower company in the world), it also makes an excellent, high quality and stylish line of faucets. On par with Grohe (no relation), Graff, KWC and Jado, Hansgrohe is definitely worth consideration.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Home Depot Faucets 2455 Paces Ferry Rd. NW Atlanta, GA 30339-4024 (770) 433-8211	Not Rated $80-350 China	Home Depot, Expo Design Center	"[G]uaranteed for parts and finish for as long as you own your home."
	One Customer's Experience We get lots of mail about bad experiences with faucets — mostly the complaint is poor customer service rather than problems with the faucet itself. It certainly seems that a disporportionate number of the bad experiences people have with their faucets are with store brands — maybe that's because the big box stores sell so many faucets. Anyway, the following story is sadly typical. I have an experience with Glacier Bay that I would like to share. I purchased a faucet at Home Depot under the brand name of Glacier Bay. It is leaking and I couldn't find the original instructions, so I went to Home Depot to try to get the seals to fix it. I incorrectly assumed that they would know what seals I needed or could give me a phone number or website address, where I could get another copy of the instructions, which had a blow-up of the faucet with part numbers. They couldn't. I tried looking up the customer service number on the site for Glacier Bay and had the experience you noted. I called Home Depot Customer Service. They gave me another number. After waiting [about] 10 minutes, I was told that it was the wrong manufacturer and given another number. I called that number and waited for 1 [hour], 45 minutes, only to be told that it was not the right manufacturer either. I was given the number for Paini [Spa Rubinetterie] but at this point, they were closed! I could not find a website for them, so I am now waiting until Monday and will try to find the part I need to fix the faucet. I like the faucet, but would not recommend buying one because of the deplorable customer service. Ms. D. R. New Haven, Connecticut Glacier Bay and Pegasus are Home Depot's two main in-house store faucet brands. Glacier Bay is Home Depot's name for its mid-range and Pegasus the name for higer end faucet and fixture line that includes sinks, toilets, and bath hardware as well as faucets. There is a lot of overlap between the brands. The Home Depot, of course, manufactures none of these items. They are made by many manufacturers and merely packaged by Home Depot under its Glacier Bay and Pegasus brands. Today the faucets are manufactured largely by the huge Chinese conglomerate, Globe Union Group and by the almost as massive Xiamen Lota International Co., Ltd. which is part of (probably the main part of) Lota International of Taiwan. In the past many were manufactured by Price Pfister, but this relationship appears to have ended with Price Pfisters acquisition by Black & Decker Hardware Group. Some high end Pegasus faucets, such as the Pegasus Arko Pulldown Faucet (shown at left), are manufactured by Paini Spa Rubinetterie, a very well known and respected Italian manufacturer. But it's not easy to tell who makes what Home Depot faucet. Home Depot, which is pushing the brand identity, is not exactly forthcoming about actual manufacturing sources. Look for "Made in Italy" on the box to identify faucets probably made by Paini or go to the Paini web site to identify Paini faucets then look for the same faucet in a Pegasus box. Customer service is a huge and continuing problem with these products (See sidebar). We get a lot of mail detailing bad customer service experiences at The Home Depot and with its various faucet suppliers. Home Depot will, of course, replace any defective house brand faucet at any of its stores if, and it's a big if, the product is still stocked. But getting parts and even installation help seems to be a mystery that would baffle the abilities of Hercule Poirot. The Glacier Bay web site provided by Home Depot has a "contact us" page that immediatly asks for the store SKU number of your faucet — not the model number, which you are more likely to have if you saved the box. And having the SKU number is no guarantee of success. We entered a SKU number of a faucet that is shown right on the web site, only to be told "Sorry, there is o product that matches your entry". All of the products appearing on the Glacier Bay site are Globe Union items, and the only parts telephone number displayed (after a lot of searching) is the Globe Union customer service number (888) 328-2382. If you have another manufacturer's Glacier Bay faucet, then good luck! The Pegassus web site is even less helpful. The Pegasus web site has a "contact us" page that says "We value your feedback and are here to support you. If you have questions about your Pegasus products, need assistance with installation, or have comments or requests, please click here to contact us. Much of what we do is the result of feedback from our valued customers. It is our pleasure to serve you." But in fact, clicking on "contact us" takes you to the general Home Depot "contact us" page that has absolutely no information about Pegasus faucets — does not, in fact, even contain the word "Pegasus". Searching the site for "pegasus faucet parts" produced page after page of drains, shower arms, risers and other plumbing fittings, but not a single faucet part of any kind. In the FAQ section of the Pegasus web site, the process of obtaining parts is described as follows: "Your local The Home Depot store stocks most commonly needed replacement parts. You may also order any part at no charge by calling the toll-free customer support number for your product." First of all we doubt the "no charge" bit. In our experience faucet parts are not free (unless under warranty) and Pegasus parts are no exception. Secondly we know of no Home Depot store that even pretends to stock any but the most basic faucet parts — generic washers, for example — something any well-stocked general hardware store would have on hand — certainly no specifically Pegasus replacement parts. Lastly, no one has any idea what the toll free number for Pegasus parts might be because there is no single number. Each supplier has its own number. The problem is, it is almost impossible to find out which manufacturer supplied a particular faucet. The one solution we have found is to look in the paperwork in the box the faucet came in for a toll-free number. This is how we found out that Home Depot had started buying from Xiamen Lota International Co., Ltd. (Lota) — we called a number that turned out to be Lota customer service. We asked Home Depot by letter if it wanted to comment on this sad state of affairs. No surprise, it didn't. Rarely do Home Depot store employees have any idea where any particular faucet is made. They try to be helpful, but the fact is they just don't know and have never been told how to find out. It is very hard to rate these faucets since we never know where they come from, and the brands themselves are far from being established enough to have a stable reputation as of yet. Home Depot which is strong in the initial sale, but very weak in customer service follow-up. Until it establishes a central clearinghouse for parts, Home Depot may never conquer its post-sale customer service problems. We are going to reserve opinion at this time. If you have had experience with Glacier Bay or Pegasus faucets that you would like to share, contact us. Check back next year.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Jado Faucets Jado Corporation 6615 West Boston Chandler, AZ (800) 227-2734	7-9 $150-500 Germany	Guld Edge, 4702 Prescott Ave., Lincoln, NE 68506, (402) 488-8011; Grabow Hardware Company, 10535 Birch Street, Omaha, NE 68134, (402) 445-2596; Faucet.com	Residential limited warranty for the life of the house.
	The American arm of Jado GmbH, a German company that is in turn owned by American Standard. Jado expressly targets the luxury market. Its product line is primarily bath faucets, although it is expanding into the kitchen and bar market. Each bath faucet style belongs to larger coordinated collection that includes matching bathroom accessories. Striking designs, beautiful finishes and excellent quality, Jado has a case for its proposition that its faucet line is instantly recognizable for its quality and style (although its distinctive look is being copied widely by the Chinese. See Danze Faucets, above). Some of the designs are distinctly Teutonic and may not appeal to an American homeowner. Most, however, will knock your socks off.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Kohler Faucets 444 Highland Drive Kohler, WI 53044 (800)-4-KOHLER	4-7 $75-550 USA/China	For Southeast Nebraska see Briggs, Inc. and The Home Depot.	"Kohler Co. warrants its faucets manufactured after January 1, 1997, to be leak and drip free during normal residential use for as long as the original consumer purchaser owns his or her home."
	Wisconsin-based U.S. manufacturer of an enormous line of good to excellent kitchen and bath fixtures ranging in style from ho-hum but very reliable to very, very stylish (and still very reliable). The line does include some lower-end faucets, but even these are pretty good. Kohler is actively pursuing the high end market, and cleverly too, by providing architects and designers with CAD images that make it easy to specify Kohler products. Be aware that the Kohler products sold in some home centers such as Menards, Lowes and The Home Depot may not be Kohler's regular product line. They are private models made just for the home center and may not be of the best Kohler quality. (See The Model Game.) A plumbing supply house is your best option for main-line Kohler products.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	KWC Faucets 770 Corporate Drive Suite 580 Norcross, GA 30093 (678) 334-2121	6-9 $350-1,500 Switzerland	Roth Distributing, 7930 Marshall Drive, Lenexa, KS 66214. 888-688-3297; The Inside Store; or Faucet Direct	"[A]ll products installed in a private residence will carry a limited lifetime warranty on all mechanical parts to be free of manufacturing defects in material and workmanship under normal usage."
	A Swiss company, KWC is a manufacturer of high-tech and high priced faucets. A lot of its style offerings can be had from other companies at less cost — but some are truly unique. One lights the water in a color of your choice. Another will carbonate water on demand - for those who need seltzer in extremely large quantities. It is an excellent faucet, all brass with ceramic cartridges. If you value quality and great styling and are willing to pay the price, this may be the faucet that fits you.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Lacava Design Lacava LLC 2243 S. Throop St Chicago, Illinois 60608 312- 666 - 4873	7-9 $300-$1000 Unknown	Lacava	" Lacava does not make any warranties, expressed or implied, except for warranty that our product be free from manufacturing defects in material and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of purchase."
	It's hard to classify Lacava. Like American Standard it is an "everything for the bathroom company" that distributes faucets along with other bath fixtures and accessories in collections. It is very small with only $5 million in gross sales, and tries to be very exclusive. Based in Chicago, it identifies itself as the American inheritor of the Italian design tradition, and its faucets seem to verify the claim. Aimed solely at the luxury market, it is one of the most expensive faucets; also one of the best-designed and best-made. Sold through the company web-site and by bath design showrooms and select remodeling contractors, it has very limited availability. One of the toughest companies to do business with. It has a very limited warranty and an essentially "no-return" policy. It indicates on its web-site that it will not support on-line retailers, like e-Bay, who are not licensed to sell Lacava products. On the other hand, it is so unlikely that anything will be wrong with a genuine new Lacava faucet, these shortcomings may make no difference. Look out for fakes and rebuilds if not buying from an approved Lacava seller.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	MGS Progetti MGS Progetti srl C.so Milano, 189 28883 Gravellona Toce (VB) - Italy 39 0323 865218	7-9 $500+ Italy	MGS Progetti. Order direct from the factory catalog.	No information.
	An established Italian design and manufacturing firm only recently intorduced to U.S. buyers, MGS Progetti prides itself on making stainless steel kitchen and bath faucets to the highest standards. Each faucet is individually cast using a lost wax method then carefully machined and brushed to produce a unique finish. The design are very minimalist modern. MGS may be the only faucet company not to use any brass parts. The faucets are so exclusive that each one is individually numbered. You pay for this exclusivity, of course.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Mico Designs Mico Designs Ltd. 1423 W. 21st Street Chicago, IL 60608 (888) 301-8787	6-8 $300+ (Often the stated price does not include handles, sold separately.) Germany, Italy, Eastern Europe	Faucet Direct; Shower Buddy	Lifetime to the original owner. Valves finishes and crystal handles carry a "lifetime guarantee of quality", whatever that is.
	Mico is less a manufacturer than it is a design studio and distributor. Its faucets are made in various European factories using Mico molds to "strict requirements" specified by Mico. Its ceramic disk valves are made by the German company Fluhs GmbH, known for its flawless products, and its shower heads by Hansgrohe — probably the best in the world. The company's stock in trade is "customization". You can pick a basic faucet body then add the spout, finish and handle of your choice, including Strass Crystal handles by Swarovski.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Moen 25300 Al Moen Drive North Olmsted, OH 44070 (440) 962-2000	3-7 $50-1,000 USA	Menards, Bed Bath and Beyond, and your local plumbing supplier.	"If this product fails due to a defect in materials or workmanship at any time during the life of the product, Creative Specialties International, a division of Moen Incorporated (CSI) will replace it free of charge..."
	If a plumber in this area chooses a faucet for you, you will most likely get a Moen simply because plumbers after years of experience know Moen to be a good, reliable faucet that almost never breaks. A pretty good reputation for a company that aims most of its advertising at consumers rather than the pros. We don't agree that Moen is the only good value in faucets. Kohler, Price Pfister, Elkay and Brizo/Delta are, at very least, strong contenders. Moen (actually Creative Specialties International, a division of Moen which is itself a division of the huge Fortune Brands conglomerate) makes many excellent faucets, but also some absolute clinkers. Read the specifications on the box. Avoid plastic, especially plastic cartridges. Although some plumbers claim plastic cartridges are as reliable as the higher end brass units — we think the plumbers have been bribed by Moen.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Peerless® Faucets 55 E. 111th St. Indianapolis, IN 46280 (317) 848-1812	3-6 $50-300 USA/China	Lowes, Menards, any Ace Hardware and just about any full service home center.	"[T]o the original consumer purchaser ... for as long as the original consumer purchaser owns their (sic) home."
	Peerless, a division of Delta Faucets, is focused squarely on the do-it-yourselfer. The company web site is filled with tips for the handy homeowner, but its warranty page, oddly enough, "recommends using a professional plumber for all installation and repair." The quality is good, but not exceptional — lots and lots of plastic. May be considered the low end of the Delta line of faucets. Current focus of the company on improving style, not quality. Increasingly made in China.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Pegasus Faucets The Home Depot 2455 Paces Ferry Rd. NW Atlanta, GA 30339-4024 (770) 433-8211	Not Rated $150-500 China/Italy	Home Depot, Expo Design Center, faucet.com.	"[G]uaranteed for parts and finish for as long as you own your home."
	Please see the review of Home Depot Faucets, above.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Phylrich International 2937 N Ontario Street Burbank, California (323) 467-3143	6-8 $300-1,300 China	Homeclick Faucet Line	"Phylrich warrants that its products and their finish are free from manufacturing defects in materials and workmanship for the life of the fixture."
	Formed in 1959 as an importer of elaborately decorated bathroom faucets, the company was purchased by Elkay in 2004 and is now part of the Elkay line of very good faucets. It is positioned at the up-scale, premium end of the Elkay line. Most of Phylrich's manufacturing was always overseas, and this trend is expected to accelerate under Elkay which just bought an entire Chinese factory. Phyrich faucets are intended to be little pieces of art with hand-chased and engraved finishes in everything up to and including gold and semi-precious stones. This is the faucet for the quintessential Hollywood boudoir look. Whether or not you like the look, you cannot possibly do anything but admire the fine craftsmanship that goes into these things. It is truly superb. How it will translate to China, however, remains to be seen.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Porcher Faucets 6615 West Boston Street Chandler, AZ 85226 (800) 359-3261	6-9 $250-500 USA	Homeclick	Lifetime to the original owner.
	Porcher is American Standard's designer line of bathroom fixtures, furniture and faucets. The faucet line does not include kitchen or bar faucets, but does, oddly enough, include kitchen sinks. For American Standard's up-scale kitchen and bar faucets, see Jado Faucets. All of the fixtures and faucets of each style are coordinated, or you can mix and match individual pieces. If you absolutely must have your towel racks match your shower diverter, this is the faucet line for you. The quality is, as expected from American Standard, excellent.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Price Pfister 19701 Da Vinci Lake Forest, California 92610 (800) 732-8238	4-7 $100-350 USA/China	The Home Depot, Menards, Lowes, most plumbing suppliers.	"[A]s long as the original purchaser owns the home in which the ... product ... is ... installed."
	Now a division of Black & Decker Hardware Group, the company makes a broad array of mid-range, mid-price faucets. Most of its line is high quality brass with ceramic valves, but it does cut a corner here and there in its low-priced products — so read the product specifications before buying. The company is trumpeting its recent partnership with Kwikset, the lock company, (also a Black & Decker company - who woudda guessed) to design suites of room hardware — evidently for those who want their door knobs to match their shower heads. Something we always longed for. Really.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	San-Ei Faucet Mfg. Co. Ltd c/o Sanicor International Corp 2116 South Grand Santa Ana CA 92705 714-540-1188	7-9 $200-800 Japan/Korea	Faucetline.com	Lifetime to the original owner.
	Best known in this country for its TOH line of asian-inspired faucets and accessories, San-Ei is a large Japanese manufacturer of faucets and bathroom fixtures based in Osaka with global distributing. Represented in the U.S. by Sanicor, the line is not widely available. Normally the price to quality relation is very good. Most remodelers who handle the line will discount it. But, if you buy through a design studio, expect to pay full retail. The faucets are widely discounted on the internet, but not all models are available from discount sources. There is probably no better faucet for the price. But the price can be pretty stout.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Strom Plumbing Sign of the Crab 3756 Omec Circle Rancho Cordova, CA 95742 (916) 638-2722	5-8 $300-700 USA	In Lincoln, Conners Architectural Antiques (402) 435-3338; catalog and web.	"[F]ree of manufacturing and mechanical defects for a period of 5 years from date of purchase, when properly installed by a ... plumber."
	Manufacturer of very good to excellent all brass faucets with an extraordinary, hand polished, chrome finish. Strom is strong in reproduction faucets for period bathrooms. Possibly your first-look source for Victorian-era faucets. Very recently has introduced a few modern lines. A relatively weak warranty for a very strong product line. Almost every Strom faucet is made to order — usually by a single craftsman who virtually hand makes each unit from initial casting to final polishing. This takes a while, so expect lead time to be up to eight weeks.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Symmons Industries 31 Brooks Drive Braintree, MA 02184-3804 1-800-SYMMONS	5-8 $85-400 USA	In Depth Marketing 13416 “C” Street Omaha, NE 68144 Tel: (402) 330-4369 Fax: (402) 330-4578	"[T]o the original consumer purchaser ... during normal domestic use for the life of your home."
	Well known in the industry as the developer of the pressure-balanced shower control (that prevents scalding when the cold water suddenly fails - now required in many jurisdictions on all showers), Symmons makes a line of solid kitchen and bath faucets. There is a designer line for the style-minded, but the company is more well known for its solid bar and hotel faucets. The faucets will stand up to brutal treatment for a long time. Information is scarce at the company web site which is long on slow-loading Flash(y) Media but short on real substance.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	THG USA 6601 Lyons Road Coconut Creek, FL 33073 (954)-425-8225	6-8 $400+ France and Eastern Europe	"THG products are sold though our network of exclusive bath and kitchen dealers." "Exclusive" isn't the word. THG does not identify its dealers outright. You can e-mail THG and a salesman will call on you. Best discount source: e-bay	Lifetime to the original purchaser.
	THG USA is American importer of luxury and high-end bath products from the House of Tetard, Haudiquez and Grisoni (THG) in France. The largest bath, bar and kitchen fixture manufacturer in France, THG's collections are comprised of thousands of designs most of which are custom made to order. Its faucets range from classical to modern, with many variations in between, and are intended to coordinate with its sinks, toilets and accessories. Seeming to fuse the best of Swiss and Italian design, THG's lines are well made and reliable, but quite expensive. The company keeps virtually no stock. All orders are manufactured to order, so expect long, long lead times.
	Source	Rating, Price, Origin	Where to Buy	Warranty
	Toto Faucets 1155 Southern Road Morrow, GA 30260 (888) 295-8134	5-8 $200-700 and up USA/Japan	Division 15 Sales, (402) 597-6353. Homeclick	No information. Presumably there is one but the company web site is absolutely silent about it.
	The USA branch of the major Japanese bathroom fixture manufacturer. The faucets are very high quality, very stylish, and very expensive. But just for bathrooms — no kitchen or bar faucets. Toto's line of products made for the Japanese home market is more interesting, but Toto won't sell them here. The company specialty is product suites: matched sets of toilets, basins, tubs, showers, faucets and accessories. Owned by Japan, but made in Georgia, Toto along with Grohe, KWC and Graff should be the first choice of those who really don't mind paying big dollars for beautiful things.