New build house- issues

[Deleted User]

If it was originally to have carpet on the floor how could it ever be considered a wet room? Clearly carpet is not watertight and would in fact be damaged by constant soaking and drying.

achtzen18

it wasn't originally supposed to be carpet- we were given a choice. however, that's not the argument. I did not know that it was common knowledge that bathrooms are not water tight. Since nothing was mentioned throughout the buying process and even afterwards when I asked them to apply sealant around the corners of the bathroom, they didn't say a word. I even mentioned to the site manager who hand completed the handover at the time, that I wanted the corners sealed as I know there is a risk of water spillage with a child around.

EmmyLou30

You didn't realise a bathroom wasn't a sealed unit!? Really?? Unless it's a fully tiled, fully tanked wet room it's like any other room in your house - you pour water on the floor, it's going to trickle down through to the ceiling below. This is entirely your fault and you will have to pay, just like if you spilt paint on the carpet - you wouldn't expect the builders to replace that would you? I imagine in a bathroom the water finds its way downstairs a little quicker due to holes in the floor for pipes but other than that, there's no fault of the builder here.

goggle

a small cup of water spilled & mopped up quickly shouldn't cause a problem on a vinyl floor, but of course several litres of water poured on the floor in a small ensuite room is likely to cause damage - the water has to go somewhere if it's not in a sealed container like a shower tray or bucket and down the pipe run is obviously the easiest way!

It's probably best not to get me into a discussion about whether a child should be left unattended in a bathroom ...

Pincher

The shower tray should sit on top of the tiles. If the tiles are put in later, then ANY water will seep down through the gap, because the sealant will not last forever.

When done correctly, a small amount of water will just pool on the floor.

I have a bath tub sitting on bare floor boards, but the bath panel sits on top of the tiles, with no sealant. We got lots of splashes from the shower, but only the floor gets wet, and no water gets into the floor board.

Ideally, you want to have a floor level drain, but that usually requires raising the floor level.

Even with Berkeley Homes, I got a shower room with the floor tiles done the wrong way. It's just whether the tiler turns up before the plumber or after.

ash28

This happened to us but it was quite a few years ago. One of our children, who was about 3 at the time, left the tap on in the bathroom sink, and had put the plug in. Result - water overflowed the sink and we ended up with a split kitchen ceiling and the kitchen light fitting hanging down by the wires. The tap wasn't running for very long probably a few minutes though, not 30 seconds.

It was a new build, but it never crossed our minds to blame the builders or think the house was in some way defective. It was our fault, but because the builders were still on site we went to the site foreman, explained what happened and asked it they would re-skim the kitchen ceiling for us - we were happy to pay. They were more than happy to do the work and did it for nothing.

There was nothing wrong with the house.....and we had vinyl on the floor not carpets.

achtzen18

achtzen18 wrote: »

however, that's not the argument. I did not know that it was common knowledge that bathrooms are not water tight. Since nothing was mentioned throughout the buying process and even afterwards when I asked them to apply sealant around the corners of the bathroom, they didn't say a word. I even mentioned to the site manager who hand completed the handover at the time, that I wanted the corners sealed as I know there is a risk of water spillage with a child around.

As I said before- I did not know, nor was ever told that the bathroom is not water tight. Logically speaking, a bathroom runs a greater risk of water spillage, than any other room in the house. This is the first time that we bought our own house and the bathrooms are situated on the first floor. All the previous houses we rented, had a downstairs bathroom. So you have to excuse me here for not knowing that it is ok to have unsealed holes in an upstairs bathroom. Now that I know, I will not pursue the matter with the builder.

Additionally, this thread was started only to clarify things. I genuinely thought that it is the builder's responsibility to make the bathroom water tight due to it being at a greater risk of water spillage and water damage to other areas of the house- obviously not, from all your responses. Some of you did belittle me with your responses.

jbainbridge

I think a vinyl floor will cope with you getting out the shower and dripping water on the floor ... but not a flood.