Often our customers pose the question: I found the same material for cheaper online
or in the store, can I provide my own faucets or material for you to install?
The answer to this question is yes in most situations (and assuming that a contract has not yet been signed), however there are
several things to consider if and when you decide to provide your own material:
· Cheaper
is not always better: In many cases
you may be able to find a faucet for cheaper online or in a big box store,
while the faucet may look the same from the outside and may even have the same
model number – it sometimes (not always) is made of cheaper plastic parts on
the inside, thus explaining the reason that it can be sold for less. So basically we can’t always guarantee the
quality of these products, but we can guarantee the quality of the plumbing products we can get through our suppliers.
· It’s not
always cheaper to provide your own material: In some cases we are able to provide the material
for less than you could get it on your own (just ask and we can give you a quote). Additionally, if we provide the
material, we can guarantee that we are bringing everything needed to get the
job done. There are certain required
items for some faucets or installations that a non-plumber may not be aware
of. We make every effort to be as
prepared as possible and communicate with our customers, but the best way to
ensure that we have everything we need is for us to supply the material. This ultimately reduces the amount of trips
we have to take to the supply house, which reduces the cost to the
customer. It can also reduce any
headaches if there is a problem with the product – it becomes our problem to
fix instead of yours.
· If we don’t
provide it, we can’t provide a warranty on it: We are faced with a myriad of plumbing choices, and some products are exponentially better than others – we have had
the opportunity to learn which plumbing products are best through years of
experience (some good and some bad, but nonetheless we have learned some
valuable lessons about durability and quality).
The plumbing products we choose to install are ones with quality
workmanship that we can trust and stand behind.
We have a 1 year warranty on our work – and if we provide the material,
we can help you if there is a material related issue. If you decide to provide the product you will
still receive our 1 year warranty on the labor/installation side of things, but
unfortunately we cannot warranty the material.
· Use caution
on where you buy your material: If
you do decide to provide your own faucets or material – we can most definitely
answer any questions you may have to make the process as hiccup free as
possible. But, exercise caution before
you buy – make sure that you check the store or website’s return and warranty
policies thoroughly. We can tell you
from experience that some sites and stores make it next to impossible to resolve
any material related issues or returns. Some things to look for in warranty and return
policies are:
o
Are there restocking fees?
o
Who pays for the return shipping?
o
What does your warranty cover specifically? Are there any replacement parts that are not
covered?
o
What kind of customer service reputation does
the company you are buying from have? If you do have a problem, will you spend hours
or days working with them, having to provide documentation to get it resolved?
o
Lastly, who pays for the labor on a warranty
issue? Most manufacturers will provide
parts to you, but you may still have to pay a plumber to come out and complete
the repairs.
If you find an item that you really like online or in a
store, then we can also find a comparable, quality item through our supplier
and provide it for you. If we provide
and install a faucet and a defect arises within one year, we take care of all
of this for you - ordering the replacement parts and coming back free of charge
to complete the repairs. After weighing the options, if you ultimately decide to provide your own material, we can help point
you in the direction of some tried and true products.
