Based on your conversation with the mfr, should there be any addl. LaTorre components ordered for a typical install or not? If they're merely optional to a full install, do you intend to omit them?

"Can a rough-in be created for Italian tub faucet?"
I have no doubt that some shade tree engineer can step forward and cobble together some configuration that would attach the faucett to your counter and actually get the water lines attached.........

BUT,

"Can it be done and still pass inspection?",

And the answer now becomes "Maybe, but unlikely"

Everyone knows that in the electrical industry an item must past the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) independant inspection before it is code approved for installation, but did you know that the plumbing industry also has a number of independant testing facilities that must approve all pipe, fittings, fixtures & appurtenances??

In order to pass inspection it must have labels stating it has been approved by:

ASTM- American Society of Testing & Materials

ASSE- American Society of Sanitary Engineers

ANSI- American National Standards Institute

Thanks for weighing in - that was fast! La Torre says that there are no additional components, that it all just "ties in directly to the plumbing."

My first conclusion is that in Italy there are no standards like we have here. However, It surprises me, with the myriad of Italian faucets on the market, that I cannot find one Google search result that involves a question/complaint about installing them. La Torre faucets are sold on efaucets.com and other popular sites. Yet no one can answer this question. Surely I'm not the first US customer ordering an Italian faucet!

Frustrated with how this limits my options . . . wanting to make sure I leave no stone unturned before I settle for less than what I want :-(

Quote: "My first conclusion is that in Italy there are no standards like we have here"

That is not true. Contrary to popular opinion the plumbing code is not a building code, it is a health code.

Throughout history more then twice as many ppl have died from contaminated water supplies than what has died from war and as a result all the Industrialized Nations of the world have adopted very strict plumbing codes, which are intended solely to protect the potable water supply from contamination; however it also must be understood that while all those nations have adopted plumbing codes, that does not in any way mean they have hall adopted the same codes. In fact, in the USA alone we have numerous "national model codes" which are then adopted and ammended to meet state or local requirements.

I have doubt that the Italian codes are every bit as restrictive as our own, but you must also understand. In their country they use the Metric System so they specify all their pipe and fittings in Meters, or millimeters, whereas in the U.S.A. all of our plumbing pipe & fittings are manufactured to the Foot, inch or fraction of an inch standard.

In addition, while there threaded components may be made to a straight metric thread, in the U.S.A. a pipe threads are made to the ASTM IPT (iron pipe taper) standard or SAE (society of automotive engineers) standard.

Occasionally we find foreign manufacturers such as TOTO who manufacture a separate line of fixtures to the USA standards in order to take advantage of our market, and occasionally we find a foriegn manufacturer who has develope a modification kit that will allow there products to be use in the USA, but regardless of whether they build s seperate line or modify and existing product, before they can market in the USA they must submit a prototype to the testing agencies and pay the cost to have their product certified. Now keep in mind in some instances the testing may take 3 to 5 years and the cost is in the thousands of dollars, but they cannot legally sell the product in this country until they receive the certifications.

The real problems come about when homeowners take it upon themselves to purchase materials without adequately consulting with thier plumber or respective tradesmen and they end up purchasing something from another country that may be a very good product, but it cannot be installed here.

I did not mean to imply that Italians have no standards -- just that they don't have the type we have here. If they don't sell rough-ins, perhaps it means that they have more standardized (and logical) installation procedures than we do and don't need special parts :-)

It still does not explain why US companies would carry such a large inventory of these faucets (efaucets.com carries 36 La Torre models!)if there is no hope of installing them. I would expect to find complaints about this if it were the case, yet I cannot find any. This is why I'm having trouble with accepting "It can't be done."