I’m thinking of importing bathroom fittings such as taps, shower and perhaps toilet bowls from overseas. I’m rebuilding my house and my builder said need to have approved bathroom fittings (taps, shower) to clear TOP as the authorities may ask for certification.

Does anyone have any experience in this? How true is this?

thank you!

7 hours ago, Snowcapper said:

I’m thinking of importing bathroom fittings such as taps, shower and perhaps toilet bowls from overseas. I’m rebuilding my house and my builder said need to have approved bathroom fittings (taps, shower) to clear TOP as the authorities may ask for certification.

Does anyone have any experience in this? How true is this?

thank you!

True but also depends on your luck. 
you are supposed to have all the water usage ratings for all sanitary ware which can only be obtained by getting products locally. However not everything needs to have that water rating sticker/card. Some item categories are not classified under the WELS so you can get anything you want. Eg are angle valves and some shower mixers. 
 

So for other items which fall under WELS, you are likely to be asked to remove if PUB does the inspection before TOP. Why I mentioned luck is because not all projects get checked especially during this current pandemic. 
 

One legal work around is to buy online for items which have already a WELS rating. You can find the info on PUB website and then just buy the same model items online. I had done this method and bought taps from taobao. Just keep the boxes with the model numbers first just in case since overseas purchase won’t have the WELS card. 

basins are not regulated so you can get anything you want but toilet bowls are.

anyway unless you are buying all the high end stuff and you get savings of 50% or more on the item itself, it’s still easier to buy locally. With overseas purchase, you still need to get your own freight forwarder and transporter to deliver to site so need to factor in this cost also. BTW, freight costs has increased due to the pandemic as well as Suez Canal incident. Not to mention you need to time the purchase properly else if your items get delivered too early, accidental damage may occur when stored on site. With local purchase, the shops will keep the stock and only deliver when you need them such that things get installed almost immediately.
With toilet bowls you need to know what model you are getting so that you know what is the distance required for the trap to wall if you are using floor standing toilet bowls. This is so that the plumber can put in the waste pipe at the correct location in the floor before the floor slab is casted. If the location is wrong, you can’t install the toilet bowl properly. This is not a problem if you doing all wall mounted toilet bowls. 

FYI Econflo is having a sale at their Pasir Panjang warehouse 14-15 May.. might be a better alternative to importing. Support local ..

Appreciate the replies and help, snoozee and petetherock 

yes, we want to buy the high-end ones and the savings are great. This forum is really helpful in sharing some details our builder hide from us.

My project is a little delayed by planning changes and now the dorm covid cases. So I think it gives us enough time to shop around. 

As mentioned, most of the fittings need to have the WELS rating and approved ones are listed on PUB website. So if you want to buy online, get those approved models. At lease there’s still grounds for you to argue on why you don’t have the WELS card but it is an approved model. If totally not approved then no chance. The worst part is having to replace the toilet bowl if you encounter such situation 

The QP has to declare that the fittings are compliant, not so much abt physical inspection. If u really want to use exotic stuff, TOP with HDB type fittings then after CSC, arrange to swap. 

Hi all, I have a credit voucher from Yafen worth $897. Im selling at $700 can buy anything from the shop. They have all kinds of fan, lighting, bathroom accessories. The shop is at defu lane. 

the voucher is transferrable and no expiry date. Pls pm me if interested.

 

We are thinking of purchasing high end bathroom fittings from Europe. Anybody encountered compatibility or installation issues? We found a few sites like myGermany, xTwo and Reuter. Any recommendations from others? Would love to hear other members experiences. Thanks!

Did any of you guys manage to import the bathroom fittings and from which site you guys go to? Quite worried to run into scam site where you pay money but they don’t deliver to you 😓

has anyone bought from xtwostore before? 

Even if i include tax/forwarder, the price are incredibly cheap. 

 I always have to do something in my house. Recently, I bought a corner tub, which I can tell you looks awesome!!

Edited March 22, 20251 yr by GoodVictor

On 5/1/2021 at 8:10 AM, snoozee said:

True but also depends on your luck. 
you are supposed to have all the water usage ratings for all sanitary ware which can only be obtained by getting products locally. However not everything needs to have that water rating sticker/card. Some item categories are not classified under the WELS so you can get anything you want. Eg are angle valves and some shower mixers. 
 

So for other items which fall under WELS, you are likely to be asked to remove if PUB does the inspection before TOP. Why I mentioned luck is because not all projects get checked especially during this current pandemic. 
 

One legal work around is to buy online for items which have already a WELS rating. You can find the info on PUB website and then just buy the same model items online. I had done this method and bought taps from taobao. Just keep the boxes with the model numbers first just in case since overseas purchase won’t have the WELS card. 

basins are not regulated so you can get anything you want but toilet bowls are.

anyway unless you are buying all the high end stuff and you get savings of 50% or more on the item itself, it’s still easier to buy locally. With overseas purchase, you still need to get your own freight forwarder and transporter to deliver to site so need to factor in this cost also. BTW, freight costs has increased due to the pandemic as well as Suez Canal incident. Not to mention you need to time the purchase properly else if your items get delivered too early, accidental damage may occur when stored on site. With local purchase, the shops will keep the stock and only deliver when you need them such that things get installed almost immediately.
With toilet bowls you need to know what model you are getting so that you know what is the distance required for the trap to wall if you are using floor standing toilet bowls. This is so that the plumber can put in the waste pipe at the correct location in the floor before the floor slab is casted. If the location is wrong, you can’t install the toilet bowl properly. This is not a problem if you doing all wall mounted toilet bowls. 

Hi snoozee,  

I'm looking to buy fittings with same approved model number as those sold in sg, from amazon.
Can I please check with you how is the inspection done?
 

1. will the plumber be willing to do for you? (heard will get demerit points)
2. do we need to submit certification for each required fitting? If so, what did you submit for those you bought overseas but is actually approved locally?

I don’t know if anyone actually checks whether your faucets are approved, certified, and legit. Better focus on quality.