Argument with tradesman re bath panel. Advice requ'd pls

[Campbdy]

H

We are currently getting our bathroom installed (from a major high street retailer) and we are happy, for the most part, except for the bath panel.

The bath was put in tight to a wall on the left hand side and the resultant few inches gap between the bath and the wall on the right hand side was boxed in. Then the tiles were laid all round the bath and on to the boxed in area.

The problem is that because the bath sits tight against the rhs the plastic front panel extends beyond this to the right and so the tradesmen have simply cut it! They have said they do this all the time. But, what this means is that we are left with a cut and completely unfinished bit of panel on the rhs, with a big gap between where the panel bows out (it is a beveled panel) and where it meets the wall/tiles. There is no neat way (that I can see) of finishing it off and closing this gap that doesn't avoid huge amounts of silicone!

Surely, instead of boxing in the lhs, they should have placed the bath in a central position that accommodates the panel in its entirety (there is room for this)? Then the boxing in (if any) should have been done.

We still have workmen here today and tomorrow and would like it addressed while they are still on site, so any quick replies as to the way this should normally be done would be appreciated.

Stress headache....

 

[jj4091]

Just tell them you are not happy with the cosmetic result & require it to be rectified to your satisfaction. It sounds like a thoughtless mistake has been made & they are trying to fob you off. Panels do have to be cut but the finished result should always be decoratively acceptable.

 

[foxhole]

The panel should be cut to the left so the right sits tight against the boxing which should be wider than the bath as a wall would.Though bath should not be so tight as to need the panel cut at all unless the room is shorter than the bath [not in this case] or it has to fit around another obstacle [boxing at skirting etc].

 

[xr4x4]

Picture?

 

[Campbdy]

Basically what the guy did is cut a long piece of plastic (presumably from the cut off bit of panel) and held it against the end of the bath panel and then siliconed it in place. It looks rubbish (not sure if you can really see in the pictures) and probably will fall out fairly quickly. Surely that cannot be the way to fit a bath panel?

The guys said the reason the bath had to go tight against the right hand side of the wall (sorry, I said left in my original post), is that you cannot box in the end that the shower is at, as you cannot get a waterproof seal with the boxed in bit, even when it is tiled, and with water raining down constantly in this area, you need to have a waterproof seal. So, because of this, and the way the bath was positioned, they had to cut the end off the panel to make it fit and we are left with this patch up job!

Is this normal?

 

[Campbdy]

Sorry, here are images now. For whatever reason, they have all uploaded side on! :-/

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• Campbdy
• 2 Sep 2013
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• Campbdy
• 2 Sep 2013
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• Campbdy
• 2 Sep 2013
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[mattylad]

Eeek, looking at that I wonder what the rest of the job is like?

 

[foxhole]

Looks like a mucking fuddle.

 

[Campbdy]

I reckon the consensus is that this is not acceptable, then. Thought not. Shame, cos the rest of the bathroom we are actually pleased with.

Oh well, off to try and get it rectified. That'll be a fight, no doubt.

 

[JohnD]

If, as I believe, that is a thin, moulded plastic panel, supplied free with the bath, that you could cut with a pair of scissors, you may as well start looking for a new moulded MDF panel (or fabricating one with tiled ply)

The thin plastic will crack and break quite soon, once someone leans over the bath to clean it or lift out a child, and their knees press against it, or if a cat bumps against it, or a muscular spider. They are very flimsy.

BTW you ought to have the panel attached with screws and easily removable for when you have a leak or need to get at the waste or taps.

 

[Bosswhite]

As he says ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Chuck it out and get a decent panel, The builder did his best with what he was given.

 

[xr4x4]

That looks terrible and I wouldn't except it...period.

Did they build that bit of wall/boxing in the picture? If that was slightly longer it wouldn't be a problem.

Also a different bath panel, ie a flatter one might look better.