A Buyer's Guide to Plumbing Supply Materials

You can get plumbing supply materials from several places (these have been in no particular order).

Big box hardware stores like Home Depot, Lowes, or Menards are the most well known. You can even visit the local hardware store like Ace or True Value, for example. Industrial supply houses mostly sell to businesses and contractors and will sell everything industrial; from material moving equipment to safety equipment and plumbing material. Some examples are Grainger and McMaster Carr. You can even browse the net for e-commerce or on-line plumbing supply houses. These suppliers could offer everything from several niche items to anything you are able to possibly imagine. Professional plumbing supply houses are another possibility. Most of them will only sell to professionals who carry credit lines, however, many (the number is increasing every day) are finding it exceedingly difficult to show away cash-paying customers (professional or not).

How do I Decide Where to Buy My Plumbing Stuff?

If you should be a customer and looking for nap ho ga material to complete a simple repair the big supply yard must have what you need. They carry basic plumbing rough-in material and high-end fixtures. Their pricing on common items is very good, however, when you have a repair that requires uncommon materials (materials that they don't carry in-stock), the big box may possibly not be the best place to purchase. Remember, the reasonable pricing on "common" materials is very good at a huge box is because of the tremendous volume they buy from manufacturers. If a product is not in stock, they are not buying it in tremendous volume. Therefore, they don't carry the discount the in-stock item would.

Your neighborhood hardware store will carry a restricted level of plumbing materials (nowhere near the quantity of the big box stores), but you will probably pay more for the exact same issues you will discover in the big supply yard (see above). Mostly, local hardware stores should be utilized if you are in a pinch. You may be able to locate some private label fixtures which are pretty durable and competitively priced.

For materials or fixtures in large quantities, a commercial supply house or plumbing supply house/wholesaler can offer you some very competitive pricing. However, for everyday plumbing supplies, these choices are not very practical.

For both professionals and consumers, the best pricing will invariably result from e-commerce sites or on-line plumbing stores. Since these companies have less overhead (physical space, salespeople, distribution, etc) they can, and do, offer materials at less price. The downside is that you will be buying from the "faceless" entity. You can't go to the store any physically browse the aisles or keep in touch with a salesman or clerk. If guess what happens you are looking for, this can be a very cost-effective way to purchase your plumbing supplies.