There is probably no area in the mechanical industry where bidding is as competitive as in residential new construction. And when a contractor is preparing a bid on a 100-home subdivision, he needs all the help he can get from the manufacturer.
Recent product innovations that do everything from making the installation quicker to allowing the builder to offer the homeowner more options are helping the savvy contractor enhance his bid.
In the last issue, we looked at how the contractor can work with the manufacturer to present a winning bid. In this issue, we look at some of the "game changing" products in today’s plumbing market:

Delta Faucet's electronic kitchen faucet makes life easier for the household chef.

Digital control

It seems that just about everything has some kind of electronic micro-processor control these days, so it was only a matter of time before that technology moved into the bathroom.
This spring Moen introduced its ioDigital electronic shower valve. This allows the user to set and maintain their preferred water temperature and flow for the shower and tub as easily as they might set program buttons for their favorite radio stations in their car.
Available for three applications – vertical spa, shower and Roman tub – the technology allows up to four different pre-sets, allowing each member of a typical family to program their favorite settings. A remote control allows the bather to turn on the tub or shower from across the room. LED indicators flash until the ideal programmed temperatures are reached.
Despite the electronics, Moen has gone to considerable lengths to make the ioDigital valve easy and quick to install.
It fits a standard 2x4 framed wall and includes push-fit connections that easily mate to PEX, CPVC and copper piping. It does require a 110-volt outlet and a 14-1/2 by 30-inch access panel. Maximum temperature is adjusted via a dial control (as opposed to calibrating a thermostatic cartridge).
Moen offers a number of other innovations designed to help the plumber do quick and reliable installations. The Posi-Temp shower valve, for example, with PEX barbs for either crimp or expansion fittings, dramatically outsells Moen’s conventional versions.
And today the contractor can buy the rough-in components separately from the trim. "The contractor can go into a wholesaler and buy four Posi-Temp valves, four widespread valves, (for example) and just do the rough-ins," noted Tim McDonough, vice president, wholesale marketing and brand development for Moen Canada.
Separate trim packages help the builder and contractor win the buyer. Moen, goes even further, offering first upgrade, second upgrade and third upgrade.
Everything on a plumbing project has to fit together quickly and easily. "We believe connectivity is key," says McDonough. Moen’s Hydro-Lock system allows the plumber to connect the side spray to a faucet in seconds. "Even on our pullout kitchen faucets – that last connection is a quick connection…"

The American Standard Verdi provides a complex shower system with a simple installtion.

Electronics in the kitchen

The electronic kitchen faucet is quickly becoming a demand item for consumers, but some plumbers are still leery of the installation, remarked Steve Dunn, trade channel marketing manager for Masco Canada.
However, Delta Faucet has worked to make these as easy to install as a conventional faucet. The company’s Touch 2o kitchen faucet, for example, uses a simple one-wire hookup with battery power.
As well, "the price points on the electronic faucets are coming down dramatically from what they have been in the past," he added. This is the first in what Dunn expects will be a flood of electronic products for the kitchen and many builders are now offering electronic kitchen faucets as an upgrade.
Delta Faucet has also designed to its products for quick and reliable installation. Its Diamond Seal technology (DST) combines a new cartridge system designed to last 10 times longer than the industry standard with a number of other options geared to making installation easier with fewer tools, minimal under-the-counter operations and fewer potential leak points, said Dunn. And 36-inch water supply lines are already attached to the faucet, allowing the plumber to simply drop them through the deck and connect to the shutoff valves.
Delta’s new Dura-Mount system allows faucets to be installed quickly without tools. Nuts are simply hand-tightened. "We’ve designed them for bigger fingers so you can get a good grip. You can really get in there and tighten them down without reaching for a basin wrench, which doesn’t work well under a sink at the best of times," said Dunn.
Not only does the new mounting system work on four and eight-inch models, but it holds the faucet rigidly in place with one or two-hole mounting systems as well.
And Delta’s Multi-Choice Universal system provides one rough-in for the shower for the company’s entire range of tub and shower products. "The rough-in plumber doesn’t have to worry about what the customer picked for an upgrade," notes Dunn.
Many products and upgrades result from focus groups with plumbers, he adds. "A few years ago, one of the first four-piece Roman tub fillers that we brought to the marketplace came about purely because of plumber meetings. They said: ‘why don’t you get rid of that fifth hole in the tub for us – that transfer valve – and all that complicated plumbing and give us a product with a diverter?"

Moen's electronic shower controls allow family memebers to program their favorite temperature and flow rates.

Quick installation

Ed Del Grande is a master plumber and contractor based Rhode Island who has become the "how to do it spokesman for Kohler."
The Kohler Quick-Install system allows the lavatory faucet to be installed through the top, he explains. Likewise, water lines are pre-installed, so that it’s just a matter of connecting them to the valves. "So there’s no connection high up underneath the bottom." Mixing valves also include pre-installed connections.
The company’s new Flipside shower allows the user four different sprays. "I guarantee, if you put this up to the standard showerhead, the homeowner is going to go for it," says Del Grande. "If I was meeting with the builder, I’d take one of these Flipside showerheads with me. I’d let him touch it, feel it."
In bathroom design, it’s important that all the trim matches to "bring the bathroom up to higher level," he adds, noting that grab bars are becoming mainstream and not just for special needs.
Kohler is also moving into electronics with a water-saving digital bathroom control and an electronic kitchen faucet.
Kohler constantly looks for ways to make its china quicker to install too. The new Dry-Lock mounting system, for example, allows the plumber to complete a toilet tank installation in a matter of seconds.

Innovative shower heads like the Kohler Flipside appeal to new home buyers.

A better drain system

The Speed Connect drain system from American Standard is drawing considerable attention. "It’s easy to put a faucet together; when it comes to the drain it’s another matter," said Nunzio Di Cesare, product manager for American Standard (Canada).  "Speed-Connect reduces the number of parts in the drain to just four parts without tools and putty. It seals all the time, first time. We’ve designed a gasket that will compensate for any variation on the outlet," he adds.
On the plumbing side, American Standard shower valves allow the plumber to change the valve from single to dual function simply by changing the cartridge.
Shower systems can be complicated. However, the American Standard Verdi system allows a complex system with a simple installation. It features a two-handle valve with a built-in diverter. One handle is a cycle valve; the other controls water volume. As a result, one outlet can control five functions or anything in between.
"All you’ve got to do is rough in your valve and you’ve got all your diverters in there…" remarked Di Cesare.
Many of these innovations resulted from talking to plumbers, remarked Graeme Lennox, marketing manager for American Standard Brands. "We keep our ears pretty close to the ground."
All manufacturers interviewed for this article are well established. Quality and parts backup are critical to the plumber doing large residential projects. And while it may at times be tempting to go with less expensive offshore products, that can come back to bite the contractor.
"When you need parts, you’ve got to know you can get them," says Dunn.