Shower exploded and flooded whole house after builder removed and replaced

bertiebb_2

Had some tiling done in our shower. Builder removed shower to do the tiling and replaced it afterwards.

Next day we noticed some water leaking into ceiling below so we called him back. He came out, said it wasnt his fault it was the dodgy pipework behind, but he said he'd fix it and it'd be ok.

Went out tonight came home, entire house flooded, 1" of water upstairs bedroom, same in living room below.

Flooring ruined in both rooms, its going to need a new ceiling, landing carpets - its going to cost £1000s. I am insured albeit £750 excess!

I'm getting home emergency people out (another £50 excess).

As the builder left earlier, he said he didn't break it so its not his responsibility but it "should" be fixed. Wish I'd not believed him to be honest.

Where do I stand legally with this? Yes he didn't provide a new shower, but he did remove it and refit as part of the job. It was fine before with no major issues.

Is it fair that he should be, at least, paying my excess here?

Grumpy_chap

You need to understand what actually happened - the root cause.
The dramatic language does not help to understand - shower "exploded" implies something with a lot of pressure but even if the builder left a valve closed, the static pressure behind a shower is not usually that great.
While the extent of damage may not be altered, 1" (25mm) of water across the whole of two floors is quite hard to imagine, especially upstairs.

MattMattMattUK

You report it to your insurance company and let them argue with his insurance company.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

bertiebb_2 said:

Is it fair that he should be, at least, paying my excess here?

Happy to be corrected but my understanding is if the insurance co find the plumber is at fault he may be on the hook for the insurance co's costs.

Is this a sole trader or a LTD?

Marksfish

We had this when a friend re- done our en-suite. Our insurers wanted to go after our friend for repayment of their losses, but stopped when they realised he wasn't trade and it was a DIY issue. I hope your builder had insurance, as it will be him they ultimately pursue for repayment of your claim.

Mr.Generous

Depends where and why it exploded!

A failed push fit downstream of where he worked that probably had no pipe stiffener fitted would be best guess. A leaking compression fitting wouldn't flood an inch of water, and how on earth that built up upstairs is beyond me.

Although the removal and refit may have contributed that wouldn't be his fault. You cannot go back along a pipe run and check other fittings that should have been done properly every time you plumb. Of course if the failed fitting was one the plumber worked on, or fitted he has more responsibility, but you need to know the cause before attributing blame.

Aylesbury_Duck

I agree with others.  You need to know the cause here.  It’s almost certain the shower refit was the decisive factor, but it might not have been the cause.  Until you’ve worked out which part of the system has failed, you can’t pin the blame on the plumber.

tetrarch

I had an Aqualisa concealed shower spontaneously explode for no apparent reason. I actually went in with a hammer and chisel through the wall behind to cap it off temporarily

I would never fit a concealed valve again. I used to swear by my Grohe exposed shower, but now I am a digital shower advocate

Regards

Tet 

bertiebb_2

Grumpy_chap said:

You need to understand what actually happened - the root cause.
The dramatic language does not help to understand - shower "exploded" implies something with a lot of pressure but even if the builder left a valve closed, the static pressure behind a shower is not usually that great.
While the extent of damage may not be altered, 1" (25mm) of water across the whole of two floors is quite hard to imagine, especially upstairs.

Ha ha not lying honestly

bertiebb_2

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

bertiebb_2 said:

Is it fair that he should be, at least, paying my excess here?

Happy to be corrected but my understanding is if the insurance co find the plumber is at fault he may be on the hook for the insurance co's costs.

Is this a sole trader or a LTD?

sole trader - so far all I've had from builder is I didn't break it, all I did was remove it and refit its not my fault.

bertiebb_2

Mr.Generous said:

Depends where and why it exploded!

A failed push fit downstream of where he worked that probably had no pipe stiffener fitted would be best guess. A leaking compression fitting wouldn't flood an inch of water, and how on earth that built up upstairs is beyond me.

Although the removal and refit may have contributed that wouldn't be his fault. You cannot go back along a pipe run and check other fittings that should have been done properly every time you plumb. Of course if the failed fitting was one the plumber worked on, or fitted he has more responsibility, but you need to know the cause before attributing blame.

Know what you mean but his attitude at the moment is awful - not my problem.
All I know is he disconnected it all and reconnected it. Hes saying not his fault for the fittings behind the wall etc.

It was a big leak could hear it from outside on the driveway when we got home. The water was spurting out from the shower.

Got home emergency coming out this am so we'll see what they find.