Help! New Bathroom Leaking - Who pays?

simonj007

Agreed - yes Lord knows how it went into the 7th week. Yes, it was a small bathroom too....not been updated since the 1980's (we moved in just last Oct) - so it was a bathroom and seperate toilet.

So wall knocked down and new window put it. Funny this was that all this 'major' work was all done inside a week!

The Son was actually working a 'day job', which we didn't know about...so he'd appear at 4.30/5pm for an hour - he was the tiler. The Father wis a plasterer by trade and was the labourer really.

The plumber was a professional - very nice guy, with large well organised van, name, number and ID etc on the side - local too. So he does check out as a professional.

It will be interesting to see the reply I get to the email asking for him to be present as it is clearly a 'plumbing' issue.

I think we paid approx £2,800 in total

simonj007

Update:

The Father of the Father & Son team called me last night to confirm he will visit this evening at 7.30pm.

It gives me the opportunity to show him the damage caused and show him the video I took at the time last Friday when we emptied the bath.

Still infuriating how they make you feel like they're doing you a favour!

He actually said on the phone, " So I'll come round tomorrow, it's the least I can do, can't say fairer than that"...!

I also suggested that they bring their plumber, as it's clearly a 'plumbing' issue.

I've contacted the plumber twice directly via text, but as yet no reply!

simonj007

Just had an email reply from the Son:

Simon

I hear your point, but my dad is in charge of the job, and he has enough experience to understand where to find/notice a problem, he will look at the job tonight and make a decision from there, I trust his judgement so I will wait to hear from him as what next steps are taken, Luke [plumber] is aware that my dad is going to look at the work this evening.
_____________________________

simonj007

Update:
Father visited last night and I think was a little shocked at the extent to the leak - well the mess it created when we emptied the bath on Friday evening.

Just received a voicemail from the son wanting to 'agree a way forward'...!

It's simple so far as I'm concerned - fix the leak and make good at no cost to me.

simonj007

Update from my brother who has his own Law Firm

No messing now.

Give them one week to fix everything and make good damage.

If they don't agree, tell them I am within my rights to get in other tradesmen to do the work, probably at emergency rates and that I will be coming back to them to recover ALL costs.

I'm just waiting for the Son to call me back or email me as I've requested.

Will update further later.

rustyboy21

I would advise you to edit your last post , in order to REMOVE your brothers website, before the Jobsworths on here start reporting you for advertising . You are not allowed to do this on this forum.

BTW Good luck with the builders. Let them have the opprotunity before you start getting all legal with them. Being polite, but firm works a damn site better than throwing the book at them. They may only do what is minimal now ( i.e fix the leak ) compared to painting your ceiling etc.

simonj007

Thanks.

Why would they only fix the leak and not make good the damage to the ceiling below?

To begin with, they'll have to remove the tiled access panel on the side of the bath...hoping the leak is there.

If it's not, then more tiled boxing in will have to be removed!

We've now been without use of our upstairs bathroom for almost a week - we've a baby and a two year old who can't have a bath.

We want it fixed asap.

Afterall, we've paid them for a fully functioning, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality, free of defects bathroom!

rustyboy21

I think you may be worrying unecessarily that they will not repair everything back to what it once was.

What I was trying to get over is that , most if not all tradesmen will take a threat of court and compensation as a smack in the face, when faced with it, before they have had a chance to even look at it or offer a remedy. IMO you would have been better to hold back on the threat of legal action, until they had been around and looked at it. You just seemed to be possibly getting their backs up and causing yourself more grief, before they have been out.

In my experience working WITH your builder etc instead of against usually comes out as a better outcome. I went on holiday and left the builder to knock a partition wall down and reinstate the staircase in hemlock wood. Came back and everything was fine except the staircase had been done in pine. Spoke to him on the phone and said everything was great except for the pine staircase. He said I asked for it, said no and showed him the quote he gave me. The staircase was swapped over at his expense and the plasterwork sorted out too.

The probem with sites like this is that the posters only give half the story, mostly from their viewpoint and ask for opinions and remedies. These remedies usually go down the route of legal action, as most of the posters think they are lawyers and know everything. If you speak to your complainant politely but firm, get over what the problem is and what you would like done in a reasonable time frame, then this usually works.

Most likely the pipework or drain on your bath has had a slight leak, which over time, most likely the plastic pipework which are compression joints hasn't slotted into place and has caused the small leak. This can over time stain the ceiling underneath. It is easily remedied and the ceiling painted over to cover. If he breaks a tile whilst doing it, fine, he needs to replace it, he will know this.

IMO i think you have just got your heckles up and have the opinion that they won't sort it, this has got worse as the emails started getting more and more. The son has said his dad is proficient enough to sort it, let him do so and if not to your satisfaction then go legal, don't threaten before they have the chance to sort it out.

Oldsoak

As a bathroom fitter who unfortunately has had a problem like this, might I suggest that the easiest way to get to the problem is by cutting a hole in the ceiling below and fixing the leak through that hole. As the father in the team is a plasterer by trade he will be able to patch and re-skim the ceiling easily. It would just cost him the price of the paint and/or a decorator to repaint said ceiling. I did it that way and customer was happy as my plasterer mate did a belting job at my expense.
However, 7 weeks is taking the you-know-what. 2-3 weeks is an average strip out and rebuild including removing a wall and all the pipe work.

Good luck.

simonj007

Thanks again.

To be clear I have not yet mentioned anything other than I want the leak fixed. No mention or threat of anything else.

I'm just waiting for his return call to discuss.

I received a voice message saying he had a 'proposition and to see if we could agree something'...

What this could be I have no idea as it's simple to me - return to fix the leak and make good - simple.

As pointed out - we certainly don't have much faith in them as the job went into a 7th week - Lord only knows why!

But, we're prepared to give them the opportunity to put right eveything - so long as it's at no further cost to us.

The thought of having to have them back is just awful and all the mess that goes with it - especially with two small children.

An apology from one of them wouldn't go a miss either...its still as if they're doing us a favour!!