If it’s been a little while since you last went faucet shopping, you’ll likely be amazed by just how much the industry has grown in recent years. Yes, you still have many of the household names that you’re used to seeing, like Delta, Moen and Kohler, and there’s no doubt they are still the industry leaders. However, you also have newer brands hitting the market, as well as a wide range of options and styles to pick from. Whether that be a faucet with some cool technological features or simply a unique finish, homeowners should have no trouble at all finding a faucet that matches their vision for the kitchen or bathroom.
If you’re new to our business, we welcome you to Stine-Nichols Plumbing! Based out of North Kansas City, MO, our team offers residential, commercial and new construction plumbing services. We like to utilize our blog as a resource to homeowners with the goal being to help them have a better understanding of their plumbing system. Your plumbing system is composed of so many various components and it can seem a little overwhelming if you look at the system as a whole. With that being said, having the ability to break these down into individual pieces makes it a little easier to manage.
With that introduction in place, this week’s blog is going to be largely centered around faucets. Faucets are obviously a plumbing fixture that we use on a daily basis and also unique in that visual appeal plays a major role in the purchasing process. You definitely want something durable and long-lasting, but I think most homeowners would agree that they also want a faucet that looks good. This is especially true with kitchen faucets. Throughout this blog, we’ll touch on a few brands worth keeping an eye out for the next time you go faucet shopping!
Industry Giants
Just as I mentioned above, the faucet world includes a few different brands that have dominated for decades and continue to be at the forefront of innovation. As a company that works in both residential and commercial settings, it’s safe to say our technicians come across these names on almost a daily basis.
Delta – Having been started in the 1950’s, Delta is one of the oldest faucet companies out there. No matter if it’s in the kitchen or bathroom, they’ve been out front on plenty of innovations. Their Touch2O technology has long been a fan favorite for kitchen faucets. It allows users to touch anywhere on the spout or handle to start and stop water from coming out. Definitely a feature that’ll make life in the kitchen a little easier.
Moen – Started by Al Moen, Moen also dates back to the 1950’s. Much like Delta, with Moen, homeowners are able to pick from just about any finish or style they can think of. This level of versatility is perfect for serving customers at a wide range of price points. In order to maintain pace with the competition, you’ll also notice Moen has placed an emphasis on smart plumbing fixtures. Voice-activated faucets, voice-activated showers, water monitors, you name it. For those tech-savvy homeowners that love news gadgets or being able to control things from their phones, look no further!
KOHLER – Next on our list is Kohler, which was actually founded way back in the 1870’s, as they originally built farm equipment. After manufacturing a variety of items over the years, it wouldn’t take long for them to become a staple in the plumbing fixture world. Toilets, faucets, sinks, vanities, the list goes on. Kohler definitely excels in adding a unique elegance to each of their products. As the common theme has been with the companies above, Kohler has been no stranger to adding technology to their fixtures too, including this modern faucet HERE that connects with their KOHLER Konnect app. This blog is focused on faucets, but if you’re looking for a toilet that has it all, be sure to check out their smart toilets.
Others – We could likely talk all day about the industry giants in the faucet world. However, our main goal with this blog was to highlight a handful of brands that we come across each and every week. In addition to the three we featured above, a few other industry leaders with plenty of experience include American Standard, Grohe and Pfister.
Alternatives?
As you can likely imagine, the faucet industry isn’t one where you can quickly become significant competition to the likes of Moen, Delta, Kohler and so on. Simply put, these brands have been fine-tuning their products for decades and have some of the smartest minds in the industry working for them. With that being the case, it’s certainly not surprising how they’ve been able to position themselves at the leading edge of innovation consistently over the years. Whether that be with the inclusion of voice-activated features or anything else, it would be safe to assume that this will continue to be the case for the future as well.
Nonetheless, there are newer brands out there that haven’t been around for 50-plus years, yet still are making a name for themselves in the industry. We’ll highlight one of them here.
Kraus – Founded in 2007, Kraus is definitely one of the younger companies in the industry, but it’s also clear they’ve quickly become more and more popular amongst homeowners. One of the services we provide at Stine-Nichols Plumbing is a “You Buy It. We Install It.” promotion for faucet services. Essentially, this allows a homeowner to pick any faucet they like and we’ll install it for a fixed price. The reason I’m bringing this up is because through this promotion, we’ve had the opportunity to see new names that aren’t as well known as the industry giants featured above. And with that being said, Kraus is a name that’s popped up a handful of times recently.
If you check out some of their different collections online, particularly the kitchen faucets and bathroom sinks, you’ll notice they definitely possess a modern look and feel. In my opinion, this is a terrific approach to take when trying to compete in an already-established industry like the faucet world. So…if you’re looking for something that’s a little more unique, give Kraus some consideration.
As we mentioned above, unless you deliberately go out looking for unique faucet brands, chances are you’re going to be presented with the same names in big-box retailers. That’s not to say smaller names don’t exist, but the industry has become dominated by a few brands. In any case, there are high-end import brands and other luxurious options that are possibilities too. The one caveat with those is that it can be difficult to get replacement parts in if repairs were needed. That’s one major benefit to going with a bigger name like Delta or Moen.
Faucet Repair and Installation Services in Kansas City
Being a company that offers residential plumbing services, faucets are the perfect example of something that’s in our regular vocabulary. Over the years, our technicians have gotten the experience of working with such a wide range of different faucet brands and as such, we feel confident in our ability to handle just about any faucet repair or installation project there is! Hopefully, this blog post helped provide some insight into different brand names worth keeping an eye out for. To sum it up, if you go with any of those brands at the top (Delta, Moen, Kohler, American Standard), you’ll be in good hands!
Have an upcoming faucet project that you’re needing some help with? We would love to have the opportunity to earn your trust. Don’t hesitate to fill out the form HERE and a member of our team will be in touch!