New Home New Toilet HELP Please!

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Veta

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My husband and I are currently building a new home and the builder would like to install a ProFlo PF1203WH, however we've read bad reviews about ProFlo.

Do you all agree that ProFlo is Junk?

Our current home has Gerber toilets and they work great.
What do you all feel about Gerber toilets and how do I figure out our model number?
I see imprinted numbers on the inside of the tank & lid, however non of them match up online.

ProFlo, Gerber, or Neither?

I really would like a Toto, however it seems my builder deals with Ferguson as their plumbing supplier and it looks as if they do not sell Toto...so I need some advice on what to go with.

Thank you a bunch for your time!
 
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Terry

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Ferguson also carries Kohler and American Standard.
Kohler Wellworth
American Standard Cadet 3
Either would work for you.
I don't believe they carry Gerber

But if so,
Avalanche
Viper
Maxwell
 
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WJcandee

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builder deals with Ferguson as their plumbing supplier and it looks as if they do not sell Toto

Well that's just stupid of them. YOU are buying the house. THEY are building it for you. It will almost certainly be CHEAPER for them to get you the Toto you want from any decent plumbing wholesaler than Ferguson, which is an expensive showroom supplier. Tell them which Toto you want, and if they won't order the toilets elsewhere, you can strongarm them (which is what I would do...at some level in the builder's organization, they can cave to what you want) or you can tell them to delete the #$*(&*Q! toilets, credit you the astronomical amount of money Ferguson is charging them for the toilets, and YOU get the toilets delivered to the building site by a good local plumbing supply place. Call 5 in the yellow pages and price the totos you want; don't waste their time, call with the exact model number and color you want. Or have supply.com or similar deliver them.

Bottom line: people let "builders" run roughshod over them when the builders in fact work for YOU, and you are making the single biggest purchase you will in your life. They aren't doing you a favor, they are selling you a product and service, and it's your money and your house. If anyone hasn't noticed, we're falling back into a recession, and a "builder" would rather sell a home than not sell a home. For them to walk away over toilets is asinine. And if you want to know how they will deal with the inevitable zillion punchlist items you are going to have for them, how responsive they are on something as trivial as this will inform you about how they are going to be down the road when they need to fix something that they really screwed up (and there will be MANY such things). It's not too late for you to walk away.

(PS Don't be put off by my direct New York tone. This is intended as a pep talk, not in any way as a slam against you.)
 

Veta

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Ferguson also carries Kohler and American Standard.
Kohler Wellworth
American Standard Cadet 3
Either would work for you.
I don't believe they carry Gerber

But if so,
Avalanche
Viper
Maxwell

Thank you SO much for your reply.
Do you feel the ProFlo is indeed one we should tell the builder/contractor we would like to stay away from?
 

Veta

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Well that's just stupid of them. YOU are buying the house. THEY are building it for you. It will almost certainly be CHEAPER for them to get you the Toto you want from any decent plumbing wholesaler than Ferguson, which is an expensive showroom supplier. Tell them which Toto you want, and if they won't order the toilets elsewhere, you can strongarm them (which is what I would do...at some level in the builder's organization, they can cave to what you want) or you can tell them to delete the #$*(&*Q! toilets, credit you the astronomical amount of money Ferguson is charging them for the toilets, and YOU get the toilets delivered to the building site by a good local plumbing supply place. Call 5 in the yellow pages and price the totos you want; don't waste their time, call with the exact model number and color you want. Or have supply.com or similar deliver them.

Bottom line: people let "builders" run roughshod over them when the builders in fact work for YOU, and you are making the single biggest purchase you will in your life. They aren't doing you a favor, they are selling you a product and service, and it's your money and your house. If anyone hasn't noticed, we're falling back into a recession, and a "builder" would rather sell a home than not sell a home. For them to walk away over toilets is asinine. And if you want to know how they will deal with the inevitable zillion punchlist items you are going to have for them, how responsive they are on something as trivial as this will inform you about how they are going to be down the road when they need to fix something that they really screwed up (and there will be MANY such things). It's not too late for you to walk away.

(PS Don't be put off by my direct New York tone. This is intended as a pep talk, not in any way as a slam against you.)

Thanks a bunch for opening my eyes over this building process.
So their plumbers most likely work with other supplies other than Ferguson???
Is a Toto what you would recommend over all others?
Thoughts on ProFlo?
 

hj

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I have not used Gerber or ProFlo toilets in my 60+ years. They were considered "entry level" fixtures. But, then I have not used Toto all that much either. My preference is one that few companies carry or have access to.
 

Larry S

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...my builder deals with Ferguson as their plumbing supplier and it looks as if they do not sell Toto...

It's been several years, but I did a major bathroom remodel and we bought all of our stuff from Furguson including expensive tub, sinks, and fixtures. When they told me they didn't sell Toto and recommended other brands I told them I'll just order the Toto from someplace else. The salesman didn't flinch and immediately said they could order the Toto for me and pulled out a catalog to identify the model I wanted. It came in along with everything else we ordered.

So ask your builder to call their salesperson, or get their name yourself and ask the person if you have to demand the builder start buying the stuff for your home from another supplier or if they can get your Toto toilets.
 

Veta

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It's been several years, but I did a major bathroom remodel and we bought all of our stuff from Furguson including expensive tub, sinks, and fixtures. When they told me they didn't sell Toto and recommended other brands I told them I'll just order the Toto from someplace else. The salesman didn't flinch and immediately said they could order the Toto for me and pulled out a catalog to identify the model I wanted. It came in along with everything else we ordered.

So ask your builder to call their salesperson, or get their name yourself and ask the person if you have to demand the builder start buying the stuff for your home from another supplier or if they can get your Toto toilets.

Oh this is GREAT to know!
We will for sure ask them and we will probably even ask Ferguson ourselves to see if it's possible.
Thank you so much for the heads up about this.
Do you like your Toto toilets? What models do you have?
 

Veta

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Ferguson also carries Kohler and American Standard.
Kohler Wellworth
American Standard Cadet 3
Either would work for you.
I don't believe they carry Gerber

But if so,
Avalanche
Viper
Maxwell

Terry, what are your thoughts on the ProFlo PF1203WH that the builder/contractor is wanting to install?
They told us they have used them for years without issues....however I've read Proflo isn't very good.
We will have to pay a change order fee, plus the upgraded cost of another toilet.
Should we just stick with the Proflo PF1203WH or do you feel we will have problems like leaking and stopping up from day one?
 
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Larry S

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Oh this is GREAT to know!
We will for sure ask them and we will probably even ask Ferguson ourselves to see if it's possible.
Thank you so much for the heads up about this.
Do you like your Toto toilets? What models do you have?

I have an Ultramax one piece toilet I bought at the time of the remodel mentioned above that has worked great. I'm back looking at this website as I'm doing a relatively simple remodel of the guest bath. Decided to go with the Entrada toilet as we're trying to keep the budget down. It's on order right now.
 

Wallijonn

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Proflo PF1203WH...

Why would you want an ugly toilet (IMO) in a new home? And, no, I wouldn't buy a Kohler for the look(s), either. To me, the Drake II (and the Drake) is the epitome of good looks (IMO). ymmv.
 

Veta

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Proflo PF1203WH...

Why would you want an ugly toilet (IMO) in a new home? And, no, I wouldn't buy a Kohler for the look(s), either. To me, the Drake II (and the Drake) is the epitome of good looks (IMO). ymmv.

I don't want an ugly toilet, however the builder/contractor is placing fees upon us to make a change that it's going to make it cost prohibitive. Seems it might be better to just let them put in the proflo and hope for the best and change it later if needed.
 

WJcandee

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If they are trying to make it cost-prohibitive, let them put in the least-expensive toilet, or, if a change order is required even to do that, then whatever they want.

If you like it, great. If you want something else, installing a toilet is a relatively-easy DIY job, but it does require some brawn. Accordingly, if that's not your thing, you can also find a decent plumber to put one in at a reasonable cost after the house is built, or even give you a good price to do several. You can also get the toilet separately and just buy the labor from them, or shop by price for labor + product from the plumber. With a little research, you can find a price/quality ratio you can live with.

What you can do to protect yourself, however, is to warn the contractor/builder/nitwits that you are going to be in every bathroom with a tape measure, insuring that every toilet rough in is a PERFECT 12", and if that's what is on the plans, then you are going to hold them to that. (A 12" rough in is standard and probably found on most plans, but it often gets messed up by trade coordination and other issues when the building is actually going up. It is the distance from the FINISHED wall, not counting any base moulding, to the center of the flange on which the toilet is mounted, otherwise usually known as "where the bolts are" on the toilet base.) 12" gives you the maximum choice of toilets, because probably 80 percent are made to fit on that distance. Often, contractor/builders get sloppy about the distance, which starts to limit your options about what toilets will fit. If they are going to jerk you around with prohibitive fees to have what you want, let them know that this means that you are going to be a stickler about your punch list, to the point of bringing in your own inspector to make sure the contractor complies with the plans precisely in absolutely every respect, and they don't get the final payment until the thing is done right. Two can play that game. YOU can cost them money by not letting stuff slide, and they have exhausted their goodwill with you by being typical selfish jerks.
 

Veta

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If they are trying to make it cost-prohibitive, let them put in the least-expensive toilet, or, if a change order is required even to do that, then whatever they want.

If you like it, great. If you want something else, installing a toilet is a relatively-easy DIY job, but it does require some brawn. Accordingly, if that's not your thing, you can also find a decent plumber to put one in at a reasonable cost after the house is built, or even give you a good price to do several. You can also get the toilet separately and just buy the labor from them, or shop by price for labor + product from the plumber. With a little research, you can find a price/quality ratio you can live with.

What you can do to protect yourself, however, is to warn the contractor/builder/nitwits that you are going to be in every bathroom with a tape measure, insuring that every toilet rough in is a PERFECT 12", and if that's what is on the plans, then you are going to hold them to that. (A 12" rough in is standard and probably found on most plans, but it often gets messed up by trade coordination and other issues when the building is actually going up. It is the distance from the FINISHED wall, not counting any base moulding, to the center of the flange on which the toilet is mounted, otherwise usually known as "where the bolts are" on the toilet base.) 12" gives you the maximum choice of toilets, because probably 80 percent are made to fit on that distance. Often, contractor/builders get sloppy about the distance, which starts to limit your options about what toilets will fit. If they are going to jerk you around with prohibitive fees to have what you want, let them know that this means that you are going to be a stickler about your punch list, to the point of bringing in your own inspector to make sure the contractor complies with the plans precisely in absolutely every respect, and they don't get the final payment until the thing is done right. Two can play that game. YOU can cost them money by not letting stuff slide, and they have exhausted their goodwill with you by being typical selfish jerks.

Thank you so much, that makes total sense!
So we should ask them what the rough in is planned to be?
We have our plans, however it doesn't have the rough in for the toilet.
Just ask them the plans for the toilet rough in?

It's just so frustrating. I'm wondering if anyone out there has had a Proflo be "ok"??
I haven't been able to find any good reviews about them, but I just don't feel we have a choice since it wouldn't really be worth paying their fees.
 
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