Plumber fixed an issue but created another

johnny182

Hi all. Apologies if this is not the right forum to post my question.

I recently purchased a house which had water leaking from the shower tray into the room below. It wasn't too bad but I could see the water marks in the ceiling. Since I'm not from the area, I got a few plumber recommendations from the local Facebook group. Anyway, the plumber came over and diagnosed that the issue was with the waste pipe - basically he had to cut a hole in the ceiling to be able to replace it. I had to wait until the day after to test the shower as the new seal had to be dry. This is when I noticed that the shower tray was getting flooded a few seconds after turning on the shower. By the way, this wasn't an issue before the new waste pipe was fitted.

I sent him a message and he came to check the problem. He told me it was a blockage in the flexible waste pipe - he tried using a powerful vacuum/blower and a plunger but neither fixed the problem. He then said I'd need to use a pipe unblocker fluid which I bought off Amazon (HG Drain and Plug Unblocker). I ended up using a whole bottle, leaving it overnight and it did not work at all. 

I've messaged him again and he's still adamant that the blockage is in the ridges of the flexible waste but it's hard to understand why if it wasn't there before. He's now become difficult to contact and says he will come back to check it out once he 'has spare time to get down' and not providing a specific date.

I'm just looking for advice on what to do next, please. I'm obviously not a plumber so I can't tell if he did something wrong or not but the fact is that I still don't have a working shower. I can't shake the feeling that the plumber must have done something wrong when installing the waste pipe which is why the water is no longer draining as it was before. The baths drains less than a meter from the shower tray and it works just fine.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Bendy_House

Hi Johnny.
Always horrible when this sort of thing happens, at least it is if you don't have a proactive plumber determined to sort out issues - as he should be.
At the mo' you simply don't know if it's as he says, or whether he messed up. 
Did HE fit this flexible waste, or was it already there? (In general, flexis are bad news, tho' can be useful at times.)
The ceiling is still open? Could you take some photos of the waste pipe, both 'wide' and closer to show as much detail as possible? Also try shots as low to the ceiling as possible to try and catch the pipes sideways-on.
There's at least a couple of plumbers on here who may be able to help based on this.

johnny182

Thanks a lot for the reply, Bendy!

The plumber already patched the hole so unfortunately I can't take these photos. Honestly, I'm not sure what exactly he fitted - from what he told me, it was just the waste trap which was previously loose/damaged so he probably didn't replace the actual flexible waste.

Bendy_House

Rats, the access has been covered. He did this on the first day, when he couldn't have tested his repair due to the fresh sealant?! Blimey, that was bold of him.
He's since tried his vacuum/blower, and this hasn't worked at all. Blimey again - this is a serious blockage. 
Just HOW bad is it? HOW slowly does it drain?
Can you post a photo of the shower drain - it must surely have a way of checking and cleaning the trap from above?
Did he fit a NEW drain/trap?

Bendy_House

Do you have a plunger yourself? I'm wondering if this IS an actual blockage, or whether he's fitted a trap with a lower outlet so the waste pipe has an upwards slope at some point? 
The difference would be, if it's a blockage, then the plunger will struggle. If it's a slope/poor plumbing, then the plunger will seem to work fine - it'll shift the water easily - but the shower will still not drain as the water is only leaving under gravity, and a slope could stop it.
Do you have a plunger?

johnny182

That's a very good point. I don't have a plunger but I'll purchase one and do what you just mentioned.

johnny182

Bendy_House said:

Rats, the access has been covered. He did this on the first day, when he couldn't have tested his repair due to the fresh sealant?! Blimey, that was bold of him.
He's since tried his vacuum/blower, and this hasn't worked at all. Blimey again - this is a serious blockage. 
Just HOW bad is it? HOW slowly does it drain?
Can you post a photo of the shower drain - it must surely have a way of checking and cleaning the trap from above?
Did he fit a NEW drain/trap?

Bendy, just to answer your questions - I believe he only fitted a new drain/trap (apologies if I used the wrong terms). I've uploaded a video to show you how long it's taking for the water to rise and then drain: https://streamable.com/ovbb50

Bendy_House

Yup, that's slow.

I guess if you have a 5 minute shower, it turns into a swim? How deep does it get in the tray? Does it seem to 'stabilise' at some point, so it doesn't get any higher? After, say a half-inch of depth, or whatever?

I think the plunger might give a good indication, as might whether it's always slow, or gets better when a bit deeper. A 'blockage' is a blockage is a blockage; it'll always be slow (although slightly faster with more water weight).

kev25v6

Try a kettle of hot water down the plug hole or put a small vent pipe in the waste pipe outside to help with the flow. Mine was always filling up until I put a small air line pipe outside to help stop a vacuum that caused the pipe to back up then empty again 

laceythomson

Did you tried texting him that you will post this incident on google reviews ?
If the blockage is really in the ridges its not that difficult for him to clear it out I don't see any legit reason for not becoming unavailable on phone.
If the blockage is in the pipe then that's going to be a bit difficult.
There are few options we can try to remove the blockage if its in the pipe
Using a drain snake. If the blockage's size is not big and minute it can be removed by using drain snake.
Use a plunger. Plungers aren’t just for clogged toilets: They work on kitchen sinks, too. 
Use a pot of boiling water. If there are no visible obstructions blocking the drain, and a drain snake has been unsuccessful, contact with boiling water can help dissolve softer build-up like soap scum or cooking grease around the edges. 
Use a natural drain cleaner
Remove and clean the drain trap
If all of the above fails, hire another one to get this fixed. they might do one of the above methods but they know how to do it remove the blockage. 

NSG666

johnny182 said:

Bendy_House said:

Rats, the access has been covered. He did this on the first day, when he couldn't have tested his repair due to the fresh sealant?! Blimey, that was bold of him.
He's since tried his vacuum/blower, and this hasn't worked at all. Blimey again - this is a serious blockage. 
Just HOW bad is it? HOW slowly does it drain?
Can you post a photo of the shower drain - it must surely have a way of checking and cleaning the trap from above?
Did he fit a NEW drain/trap?

Bendy, just to answer your questions - I believe he only fitted a new drain/trap (apologies if I used the wrong terms). I've uploaded a video to show you how long it's taking for the water to rise and then drain: https://streamable.com/ovbb50

Just watched this. At the very end, is that the final water level in the trap or does it go down further? With the internals of the trap removed I'd expect there to be hardly any water in there.

If that is the 'natural level then it's very high and suggests either a blockage in the pipe or that the pipework goes uphill from the trap. It looks like you have a fixed head shower but if it has a hose then remove the shower head (retrieve the washer for safe keeping) and shove the hose down the  trap and try and blast out what is there.

It's possible that if he's used a flexi waste and not supported it it has sagged effectively creating another trap or u-bend slowing the flow down.