Builders grade faucets are a total ripoff when you look at the numbers

I was at Ferguson Supply on 99 Street last week pricing out a bathroom reno for a client. The builder grade Delta they always spec costs about $90, but the ceramic cartridge inside is the same $5 part they use in the $400 model. Youre paying for the chrome finish, not the internals. Anyone else notice this pattern or is it just me?

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hall.charles3mo ago

Had a buddy who swore by buying the cheapest faucets he could find at the big box store for his rentals. He figured if they all break the same, might as well save fifty bucks. One day a cheap plastic supply line blew off while he was on vacation and flooded three units downstairs. Cost him like eight grand in damages and a month of headaches. Now he buys those $90 Deltas and replaces the $5 cartridges every few years. Its still cheaper than ripping out wet drywall.

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xena_jackson3mo ago

Used to be in the same boat honestly. I thought a faucet is a faucet, and why pay more when they all push water. Then I had a plastic supply line crack on me at 2am in a house I was living in. Standing ankle deep in cold water on a Tuesday night, trying to find the main shutoff, changed my whole outlook real quick. One high end Delta later and I haven't had a single problem in five years.

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