Can anyone offer me any advice on this building matter please?

[Kingfisher101]

25+ years ago we had an undetected bathroom leak. When it eventually became obvious we claimed and our insurers paid out.

You can't know the insurance position until you've spoken to them. It's impossible to know what's happening under the floor until you have reason to look which is what you have done.

This is why people have insurance.

I think things are a bit different now with home insurance and that they try to get out of paying more. I've put in a claim but I'm not hopeful really because they wont pay out for damage that occurs over time. I've gone through the policy.

 

[midlife]

Slightly off topic but if building work needed I'd start looking for a builder now. It's a nightmare getting building work done. Our builder did some bathroom work and have waited months for him to get some free time to look at our extension. He is rammed with work (he is good) not to mention the cost going up.....

 

[Kingfisher101]

Thank you everyone for your kind replies. After I get this fixed, I'm going to check the bath for leaks very couple of weeks or so. I dont want this to happen again.

 

[Kingfisher101]

If anyone is still interested I got a very nice chap a carpenter to look at the joist and he said that it needs replacing and the floor beneath the bath but he doesn't know how far until he starts taking it up. He is going to send me a written quote over this weekend at some point.The bath and the toilet will need to come out.

 

[Kingfisher101]

Contacted various plumbers about the bath/toilet etc. Someone was supposed to be coming out today, he didn't turn up. I had a quick look at his Facebook page and he's suffering clearly from a severe mental health crisis, loads of suicidal messages etc. So he's obviously too ill to take the job on. Someone else may be able to come to quote tomorrow, but wont be able to do the work till Dec.

 

[Chislenko]

The one big problem with doing all this work is if you are paupers like us and don't have a second bathroom to fall back on.

I did most of my own bathroom but continually hooking the loo back up every night was a pain.

And the obvious problem of removing tiles, skimming the walls etc means no showers.

Luckily I was a member of a local gym at the time so went there for a shower but having your only bathroom in disarray for any length of time is not good news.

 

[Kingfisher101]

What I'm worried about is getting the plumber to take everything out then being let down for some reason by the carpenter. I'd still have to pay the plumber and I'd be no better off. Also I'm not paying anything upfront either. I'm getting stressed out with it because I've had some very bad experiences with tradespeople in the past. Like not turning up etc and someone once became threatening saying I had to have job done.

 

[gbb]

It may not be neccessary to remove a row of tiles. I tiled my walls to the appropriate height before fitting the bath. If i need to remove the bath now, i just have to lower it on the mounting feet and it will drop away. That may be the case in OPs house ?

 

[Drago]

someone once became threatening saying I had to have job done.

I'd love some water fairy to try that with me. I'd stuck his plunger up his arriss and parade him up and down the street like a giant lollipop.

 

[berty bassett]

I have had to change a bath for someone before and took it out without damage to the tiles by lowering bath first - but it is a real ball ache , only did it as tiles were discontinued
Could be a easy job , could be a horrible job
Could be pipes and electric going through old joist , bath could be screwed to wall , tiles could be well and truely stuck - if I was to price it then I would definitely cover myself
On the other hand , it could go like clockwork and be a breeze
I wish you good fortune 👍

 

[CXRAndy]

Make a claim, nothing to lose. You weren't aware till now-not your fault

 

[CXRAndy]

Most trades are thin on the ground. I ended up doing all my own plumbing of my new house, just signed off by building inspector and water authority-who was far more thorough than the building inspector.

 

[Kingfisher101]

Make a claim, nothing to lose. You weren't aware till now-not your fault

Yes it wasn't my fault but most homeowners insurance doesn't cover water damage that occurs over time. Also mine doesn't cover wet rot. They will cover things like a flash flood etc. I've spoken to them and its a no.
I've someone else coming round to offer me a quote tonight. I don't mind paying a reasonable price but I'm not paying anything upfront either. Its really hard at the moment to get anyone to even quote you for a job.

 

[newts]

The wording & terminology of insurance can be a bit of a minefield. I would persevere with your claim. My experience with this is they won't pay to fix a leaking pipe, but do cover the damage caused by the leaking pipe.

 

[CXRAndy]

My joiner has said that he was called back to a renovation he did last year. The plumber found a leak on push fit connections going into the underfloor heating system( the expansion and contraction of the slab weakened the fitting. This wasn't part of the original works-so no blaming the plumber. He has said the water has damaged lots of the renovation work.

Estimated £12K to remove new bathroom, re-tile, replace stud walling bases plate(black mould) plasterboards-water has wicked up the boards, and re instate all fittings. I personally would never use plasterboard or green moisture resistant board in future. Either something like Knauf Aquapanel or Abacus Elements board. Totally water proof