Moen was a great faucet until Home Depot, they lasted decades plumbers have gone from repairing or replacing 25 and 35-year-old faucets to dealing with throwaway brands and models.
In the early 1990s as Home Depot and homeowners doing repairs became a thing, Moen published full-page ads in the plumbing trade magazines apologizing to the industry for the fact that they had to introduce lower-quality lines at the insistence of Home Depot or the store would not carry its brand.
“the fact that they had to introduce lower-quality lines at the insistence of Home Depot or the store would not carry its brand.”
This crap goes on all over the place. Home Depot is not my favorite place to buy anything.
Regarding lumber, I go to a local lumber yard whose primary product is lumber, and it’s a good quality. The first board off the pile is usually ten times better than the one you find at places like Menards or Home Depot after digging through their twisted warped knot and crack filled boards.
We’ve bought water heaters at those big box places too. They do not last as long. Our last purchase was from a real plumber that sold top of the line products that cannot be found at Menards, Lowes or Home Depot. We paid dearly, but are very happy with it.
You pay for what you get. I’ve learned it’s best to do it right the first time by paying more for quality. Fewer headaches. Costs less in the long run.
I have put Grohe faucets in all bathrooms and kitchens in my last two houses. I have been in my current house for almost 13 years. So, all four faucets(three baths and kitchen)were installed 11-12 years ago. No issues so far.
I replaced both shower heads with adjustable spray models made by Seimens. They are also both about 11-12 years old. No issues. I have hard water too(calcium and some iron).
I also replaced all three toilets with American Standard 1.6 gallon comfort height elongated bowls. One is their Cadet model. The one they show flushing the bucket of golf balls at trade shows. This toilet works incredibly well. It has a different flushing method than the standard flapper. IMHO, it works great.