What to do - Plumbers cause leak . .ceiling sodden

[Tringo]

Hi - got a local reputable firm of local plumbers to refit ensuite and main bathroom. Coupe of hiccups along the way nothing too serious.

Get home tonight and they let me know that the shower is good to go and can be used. Didnt have a shower but simply checked it out see what difference the pump made etc.

Only on for a few minutes - come out of the bathroom and the landing carpet is soaking. Go downstairs and the dining room ceiling is waterlogged - water dripping from the light fittings.

Was just going to leave it till Monday morning when they are back in but to be honest i think i need to get them back out tomorrow (saturday) - or am i being over dramatic?

Disappointing thing is that the leak is coming from behind the tiles so looks like they will be coming off - would i be reasonable to expect them to pay for any tiles that need replacing?

Advice much appreciated.

 

[doitall]

Get on the phone and create merry hell.

Yes get them out asap, last night would have been better.

They are responsible for any damage including a new ceiling, redecorating, and a new carpet if it shrinks.

Don't pay for their time in making the repair, a reputable company will have public liability, so make absolutely sure you keep a check of the times, from the contracted work.

 

[BingoBongo]

this happened to my mums neighbour

fitters for q + b flooded her l/room ruined suite and carpet

she had dehumidifiers in for weeks and they cant get it all fixed until after xmas

it amazes me that some plumbers dont double check for leaks behind bath panels etc

to be fair thogh it could be the shower grout or the silicone seal may have been done by the tiler

i would still be going off my chump though

 

[bengasman]

Call them straight away. We all like our times off, but this qualifies as a genuine emergency, and as they are responsible, they should be over in a rush to solve it.

 

[Agile]

There was a leak from an old heating system joint that I was called to repair that was leaking into the flat below.

It turned out that it was the second time there had been a leak from his flat.

The previous time the owner of the downstairs flat got the entire wood block floor replaced as well as the kitchen ( at the other end of the room ).

The total cost of the renovation was over £10,000.

On the second occasion the area wetted was only about 4m². I dont know what the repairs were but the tenants moved out but possibly not as a result of the water leak.

Tony

 

[Nige F]

I had 2 like that in my career BUT I got away with it . One the house was empty for months @ a time -so I got it de humidified and sorted. Second one whole house was carpeted except kitchen . Guess where the water came through - onto a tiled floor and stopped before the lady came home through a small existing crack in the ceiling., Didn`t even notice it

 

[JayJay1978]

It sounds like they couldn't wait to get down the pub on Friday afternoon, nothing wrong with that but why they didn't check it before they left?

Crazy

I take it they've been back to sort it, where was the leak coming from?

 

[Boilerman2]

At the end of the day things like this will always happen,

The Measure of a Good Company or Installer is his attitude to putting things right, the person that says he never gets it wrong is either Lying, or off his head in some fantasy world!!

Callem out and Get em Back and FAST

 

[RHS]

Why are people saying "go of your head at them" .......people make mistakes I find if you go "of your head" people dig there heals in. Ask them nice to get round ASAP you will get more.

Then again the time to shout is when the softly softly approach does not work.

 

[DP]

Question that come to my mind is, did the plumber cause the leak deliberately? Did the leak appear elsewhere while work progressed in the bathroom? Did the plumber know or was he aware of pipes behind the plasterboard (have been caught out by this)

End of the day, it pays to be diligent. Ensure all fittings are dry, no unexpected wetness etc. I replace the sink unit and sink plus associated pipes in my daughter's flat. Made sure my joints were dry but the floor started to get wet. Further investigation indicated water leaking from a yourkshire elbew I had not even been near. Copper pipe entered the elbow by 2mm instead of full depth. Work downstream resulted in water leak.

 

[Tringo]

Called the plumbers on saturday morning and they were here within 30 minutes.

Source of the problem was the shower fitting they had installed. They accesed the fitting through the landing wall (new build) rather than disturbing the tiles. Obviously they need to plaster the new wall which they are cracking on with today.

As for the dining room - ceiling is not look so good with the water following the beams along and leaving some nice brown stainage - also got similar damage to all the wells. Dining room carpet no damage - had buckets down to stop the water dripping from the light fitting etc.

Carpets in landing and main bedroom now dried out with no damage - little bit inconseqential since i am getting all upstair carpets replaced next week.

One thing that did concern me when they were there on saturday was that they said 'Oh we'll get you some paint for the dining room'. Couple of things on that;

1) I aint painting nothin' and

2) Although i am a complete novice DIY'er i know that you need to leave the walls to dry, then prime them and then paint it.

Will pick this up with them tomorrow as i will be attempting to work from home.

Thanks for the advice chaps

 

[doitall]

You will also need a stain block or it will just come through again.

 

[kevplumb]

tell them your getting a decorater in and sending them the bill

 

[doitall]

Don't touch anything untill the insurance guy has seen and approved the claim, or they wont pay.

 

[JayJay1978]

Hi doitall

What is a stain block? I take it it's something you paint over a water stained area to stop it showing through?