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Builders demolish wall and rebuilt it using wood

6 replies

Lana78 · 03/02/2019 19:28

First time posting here so no idea whether I've selected the right topic. I'm having new bathroom but into my home, originally the toilet and bath are in separate rooms and this is being made into one room. In the original plans for the remodel, the wall between bath and toilet would be removed completely but when reviewing this, it means I don't have a solid wall to put up a bath screen. So it was changed so at least part of the wall would stays so I could have a bath screen. If the screen was put up on other end of the bath, it would go over the window. It is not a load bearing wall. I kept the builders informed and even asked them for advice on to work a bath screen in. The original wall was tiled half way up the wall with the rest plastered and painted up to the ceiling. There were no cracks in the plaster then. During the day at one of the times I bought them teas/coffee , they've already had the old tiles taken off and there was a large crack in the wall all the way up to the ceiling. After builders went home for the day I saw that the whole wall was demolished and they rebuilt it using wood and plasterboard. When I asked for the wall to be rebuilt out of more solid material they then said the original wall was not salvageable. That it was made from a very old material that is no longer made. And that a wall was not part of the original design. They said that rebuilding the wall would put the schedule back and it would cost me more money. This I understood before I asked them. They also said they've done other tasks I've asked that they have not quoted for, and they did this free. When ask whether they could do those tasks, they did not ask for more money. Even on one of the tasks it was asked whether there was a difference putting in a circular arch compared to square one, they said it was about the same. Now they're saying it is more expensive and I was not charged for it. Could the builders have damaged the wall in their haste to get tiles off? If there was originally a crack in the wall wouldn't that have shown in the plaster? Are they now saying all this because they want to finish the job, get paid because they have another job lined up? My preference would be for a solid wall than one made from wood as it is stronger.

OP posts:
PettyContractor · 03/02/2019 19:42

I don't think there is should be any practical disadvantage to having timber frame and plasterboard interior wall. It will be just as capable of supporting a bath screen. (OK plasterboard is more likely to be damaged by water if allowed to get wet, but presumably the relevant parts will be tiled to prevent that.)

Maelstrop · 03/02/2019 19:50

Is the crack in plaster or a brick wall? I’m confused. Having a ‘wall’ made of wood in a bathroom is very impractical, surely?

PettyContractor · 03/02/2019 19:50

A frame and plasterboard wall is much easier to get flat and maintain. For example, if you need to put a concealed mixer or pipes in the wall, you just cut holes in the plasterboard, put everything in place, and cover over again. If you are going to put anything heavy on the wall, you can cut it open, put in extra wood to reinforce the wall where it's going to go, and cover again. Hell, if you need to repair/maintain plumbing that is buried in the wall, instead of having to re-tile the whole bathroom, you can open up the wall from the opposite (untiled) side and fix it from behind, in that case having a non-solid wall could save you thousands.

(I'm not an expert, but I have just had two bathrooms re-done, and there are lots of pipes for showers and mixers buried in my walls. Even the waste pipe from one shower is buried in a wall to prevent the need for boxing along one skirting board. My walls were plasterboard originally though.)

NewPapaGuinea · 03/02/2019 19:56

Won’t most of the bath screen be supported by the bath anyway? We have a stud wall with a shower screen attached above the bath and it’s been fine for years.

PettyContractor · 03/02/2019 19:57

Removing tiles is fairly violent job, I don't know if it's unusual for it to cause a crack in a single-layer brick wall, if that's what it was, but with plasterboard walls, it is usual for the whole plasterboard layer to come off with the tiles, and have to be replaced.

greenelephantscarf · 03/02/2019 19:59

frame and plasterboard (aquapanel) would do the job

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