Newport Brass = Expensive Garbage and Why I Love Moen and Kohler

10 years ago

I'm back, I'm mad, and I'm naming names. I logged many, many hours here at GW nine-ten years ago when we were building our dream home. I'm back because the insanely expensive Newport Brass valve in our master shower fractured and flooded not only the entire marble bathroom requiring it to be gutted but my formal dining room downstairs as well.

This is not the first failure we've experienced with Newport Brass. Two years ago the outrageously expensive faucet in the powder room started leaking. I took it to Ferguson's (where we purchased all our fixtures). They contacted Newport Brass. Newport Brass informed them and subsequently us, that their warranty covers basically nothing and we were out of luck. Whatever, we replaced it with good old reliable Moen, and it looks and works wonderful.

So, I'm sure you can guess what Newport Brass's response was when I contacted them about the brass temperature balancing valve that had a huge crack in the brass body that spewed water into the wall and caused over $20k (and counting) damage. The rep on the phone pretty much said, "So sad, too bad, oh and a new one will be $458 to replace the part - yes that's right, just that part, no, not the whole thing". Oh and the warranty for this ridiculously expensive fixture? "One year, parts only." Yep one year.

So who do I love? Moen and Kohler.

Story 1. Moen. After we finished building the house, I noticed a leak under the sink. There was a small crack in the corner of our undermount Moenstone kitchen sink. When I contacted Moen, they shipped out a new one immediately. When my installer said he couldn't replace the sink without damaging the granite slab counter Moen PAID for a new granite slab to be custom manufactured and installed! No angry calls needed, they were friendly and helpful every step of the way. They were AMAZING!

Story 2. Kohler
My beautiful Vinatta kitchen faucet started leaking a few months ago. I called Kohler. They shipped out a replacement cartridge right away - no charge. When it continued to leak after the cartridge was replaced, Kohler shipped a brand new Vinatta faucet NO CHARGE! Again, I had no issues, they were helpful, no jumping through hoops, no 'Too bad, so sad.' Just excellent customer service and a commitment to standing behind a quality product. They are amazing.

If you happen to work for Newport Brass and want to contact me to apologize for your deplorable product and customer no-service, please do. I welcome the conversation.

PS I hope I'm not breaking any GW rules, but I'm going to also post this in the building a home section. I know I was very grateful for feedback and product reviews when building our home. If it's a problem, please let me know. Thank you!

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Comments (4)

brickeyee
10 years ago
Just watch out.

The Moen stuff at the big box does not seem nearly that well made.
Elmer J Fudd
10 years ago
Reputedly, well-known brand fixtures and other plumbing items sold in stores like Home Depot, etc are seconds or lower quality than identically labeled models bought through the plumbing supply houses. Like Fergusons and other local ones.
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mike_kaiser_gw
10 years ago
Reputedly, well-known brand fixtures and other plumbing items sold in stores like Home Depot, etc are seconds or lower quality than identically labeled models bought through the plumbing supply houses.

If faucet 1234 and faucet 1234 aren't identical how would the manufacturer tell them apart? Isn't there some risk that a pallet of faucet 1234 intended for Fergusons ended up at Home Depot because some newbie warehouse worker couldn't tell the difference?

I won't bore anyone with the details but I've found Newport Brass' customer service to be deplorable and Moen's to be wonderful.
Elmer J Fudd
10 years ago
"If faucet 1234 and faucet 1234 aren't identical how would the manufacturer tell them apart? Isn't there some risk that a pallet of faucet 1234 intended for Fergusons ended up at Home Depot because some newbie warehouse worker couldn't tell the difference?"

In contracting for a number of major remodelling and repair jobs for myself and family members (in a different part of my state), I've heard this from multiple plumbers. Plumbers these days seem to not want to screw around buying the hardware you want - after working with them to decide what you want to put where, they'll then often send you to get it. And in recent occasions I was told "Don't go to one of the chain stores, go to a supply house". In response to "Why", I was told that the chain stores often have seconds, or for example faucet parts with plastic in places where other versions of the same thing have metal parts. Is it indeed true? You believe something if you hear it enough, but I'm not certain.

How would a manufacturer tell them apart once you've bought them? Why would they need to? They're the ones that identify seconds and versions with cheaper components (if what I was told is true), they know how to keep track of what they have.

Yes, there's a risk that 1234 destined for Fergusons would be sent to Lowe's by mistake. So what? There's also a risk that part 4321 gets shipped when 1234 was what was ordered. If you're hoping for a shipping error to get a better quality at Lowe's or Home Depot, you're a bigger optimist than I am.

Having been cautioned a few times, that presents a choice, and I've chosen to buy from supply houses.