My clients ask for help with many aspects of their bathroom project. However, they most commonly need help picking out the right fixtures. With so many options these days to choose from, it’s hard to know what’s good quality and what isn’t, what will fulfill your needs effectively, and what is a good value for your hard-earned dollars. We bring our 30 years of experience to this blog post to provide you with our top picks for your bathroom fixtures.

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Toilets

Toilets!! Now there’s something no one really wants to talk about. They aren’t pretty. They just serve a purpose. But there are definitely some key things you want to look for when shopping for a new toilet.

Two of the most important things to consider are the glazed trap and the MaP rating. A glazed trap will help the solids flush smoothly and cleanly down the bowl. Most toilets have these, but some of the really cheap ones won’t. Read the packaging carefully, and if you aren’t sure, ask your contractor or call the manufacturer.

The MaP (Maximum Performance) rating represents the number of grams of solid waste (soybean paste and toilet paper) that a particular toilet can flush and remove completely from the fixture in a single flush. MaP testing is an independent testing program that is neither affiliated with nor controlled by any manufacturer or group.

MaP testing first came out in 2003. At that time, the average score was 336g. However, these tests forced toilet manufacturers to improve their toilets, and by 2017, the average score was 882g. Participation in the MaP testing program is voluntary, so you may not have a MaP rating for every toilet on the market. We recommend selecting a toilet with a MaP rating of at least 1000.

Our top pick for toilets is always American Standard. We have never had a problem or service call with an American Standard toilet. They all have glazed traps, and most have MaP ratings of over 1000. They are well priced and easy to find at your local hardware store, such as Home Depot or Lowe's.

American Standard Concealed trap from their “Clean Collection”

The American Standard Sonoma is one of our favourites.

Another feature to consider when purchasing a toilet is a concealed trap. This doesn’t do anything for the function of the toilet, but aesthetically, it’s much nicer and easier to clean. Concealed trap toilets feature smooth sides in the back of the bowl, and the outline of the trap and trap drain is hidden. American Standard makes a great WaterSense model with a concealed trap.

Many of our clients really like Toto toilets. These are definitely really nice toilets, but they come with a high price tag. The main benefit of these toilets is how quietly they flush. For families that get up or go to sleep at different times, or if members of the household are light sleepers, then this is the toilet for you.

Toto toilets are also highly efficient, so they can save you money in the long run. You can also select some unique features for your Toto toilet. For example, you can have a heated seat, a bidet function, or an air purifying system that deodorizes during use. You can almost eliminate the need for toilet paper by choosing their air dryers. Some of their models even have the lid lifting and closing automatically.

Bathtubs

Now what about tubs? There are so many options, styles, and types to choose from that it would be impossible to go through all of them here. I’m just going to talk about alcove tubs in this post, but if you have questions about other types of tubs, please reach out to me, and I’d be happy to help.

The biggest thing to look for in an alcove tub is the weight of the tub. I know this sounds odd, but we had a client who found a nice soaker tub at a plumbing store in town and then found the same one at a local big box store. The one at the hardware store was $100 less. She called me to see why I sent her to the plumbing store when it was cheaper elsewhere. I told her to check the weights of the two tubs. Although they were the same tub, made by a reputable manufacturer, there was a 70-pound difference between the two fibreglass tubs.

Tubs are lightweight to begin with, so 70 lbs. was a big difference. When she put her hand behind the cheaper tub, you could see the silhouette of her hand right through it. That wasn’t the case with the tub from the plumbing store.

This type of thing happens a lot. The big box hardware stores know they have a lot of buying power because they are purchasing large quantities of products from the manufacturers for all of their stores. They also know they want to offer products at lower prices than their competitors. The big-box stores will often go to the manufacturers and tell them they want X product at Y price. In order to sell it to the big box stores at a certain price, they often have to cut corners. This accounts for differences in the weight of products. If quality matters to you, make sure you fully investigate when you find the same product at a lower price.

For alcove tubs, we really like the Mirolin brand. The soaker tubs are nice and deep at 20”, and many, like the Sydney and Tuscan models, have arm rests as well.

One of the best ways to pick your tub is to actually get in one and pretend you’re having a bath. I know this might seem a bit unconventional, but you wouldn’t buy a couch or chair without sitting in it first! You shouldn’t buy a tub without trying it out too!

When purchasing your tub, make sure you know whether you need a left-hand or right-hand drain. To determine which you need, stand in front of your tub. If the drain is on the left, you need a left-hand drain. If it’s on the right, you need a right-hand drain. Also, when purchasing your tub, make sure it comes with an overflow kit. Many don't, so if it doesn’t, you will need to purchase this separately.

Shower Faucet

What about the shower faucet and shower head? There are many varieties, from simple ones right through to body jets and more, that can run you thousands of dollars. When you purchase a new shower controller (the knob or lever that turns the water on and off and from hot to cold), make sure it comes with a valve. Not all of them include the valve, so you may need to buy it separately.

Moen Lindor Spot Resitant Posi Temp Brushed Nickel Shower Faucet

There are many options, including rainhead shower heads, slide bars for the shower wand to be positioned on, and more. If you’re just looking for a simple shower faucet system, one of our favourites is the Moen Lindor Spot Resist Single Handle Faucet. It is sleek-looking and comes in brushed nickel, and the fairly large square-head shower head offers a similar look and feel to a rain-head shower head. The shower faucet is well-priced at below $250 (in 2020) and even comes with the valve required for the controller. It’s also available at most big-box hardware stores.

For a little more luxurious system that includes a rainhead shower head and a slide-bar shower wand, we like the Grohe Lineare Shower Bar System. This system easily allows you to switch between a rainhead and a handheld. It’s a little pricier at $700, but it's available through most of your big-box stores, such as Home Depot or Lowe's.

One of our all-time favourite manufacturers for shower faucet systems is Riobel. Outstanding quality, amazing customer service, and the latest in design innovation—you can’t go wrong. They're not the cheapest ones around, but I guarantee you will be happy with your purchase. They even have matching bathroom accessories such as towel rings, towel bars, etc.

Sink Faucets

For sink faucets, we love American Standard, Delta and Pfister for simple but stylish and functional faucets. These are generally well priced and available at Home Depot or Lowe's. We recommend you consider a hi-arc faucet, which will allow you enough height to wash other things, such as delicates, as well. When selecting your faucet, you will have to choose a single hole, a 4" centre, or widespread 8" centres. If you have already selected your countertop and it comes with pre-drilled holes, then ensure you purchase the right type of faucet.

The Delta Sawyer is a great two-lever, high-arc faucet. It’s even WaterSense-certified. It’s very affordable at under $150.

The Delta Sandover is a great, wide-spread faucet. One of the benefits of widespread faucets is that it’s easier to clean in between the faucet and the handles. This is also the benefit of a single-handle faucet—only one thing to clean.

Delta Matte Black Sandover Widespread Faucet

One of the newest looks in sink and shower faucets is a black matte finish. We LOVE this look! It’s contemporary and adds great interest and a focal point to bathrooms. The best part of matte black is that, by nature, it is smudge and fingerprint resistant!

What’s the most important thing to remember?

The most important thing to consider when picking any fixture for your bathroom is to consider function and efficiency first. It doesn’t matter how pretty it is if it’s going to break down a lot or not do what you need it to do. Style is obviously important, but it should be the last thing to consider once you have narrowed down your selections based on function.

Be sure to be consistent throughout your bathroom if you can. If you really want a brushed nickel shower faucet, go for a brushed nickel sink faucet as well. Black matte is becoming standard these days. We’re doing a bathroom in Whitby right now. Our client loves the contrast of the matte black sink faucet against her white vanity. So... we’re also installing a black matte shower faucet with slide bar, black matte hardware on her custom glass shower enclosure, and black matte pulls on her vanity. It really ties everything together beautifully.

Take a walk through your local hardware or plumbing store, or even do some internet searches to begin your selection process. Consider glancing through magazines as well to see what type of look you like. If you’re having trouble figuring out which fixtures to buy, don’t hesitate to reach out to us for some guidance. We’re always happy to help.