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Original poster

To ask for my money back? How?

33 replies

AnchorDownDeepBreath · 05/05/2019 10:15

I don't know if I'm being a CFer or the plumber is.

The sealant on our bath wore out and caused the floorboards under the bath to soak. There was no sign that water was getting through until the plaster ceiling in the basement started to give way under the weight of the water.

We got a plumber out who said he could seal the bath with sealant but would recommend we used strips of white plastic instead. It looked awful; so we went with sealant, he sealed it up and we paid him £150. This was three weeks ago.

When it dried, it did. It look good.... it's not at all straight, and it peeled off behind the taps. He came back out yesterday, resealed a small amount and basically said sealant didn't work well on tiles, and that he was using window sealant instead of bath sealant as it's more waterproof Confused He didn't fix the unevenness or anything.

Today the ceiling has given way more, and having taken the side of the bath off, it's clear that where he has sealed is leaking quite a lot. The floorboards are now even more rotten and there's funghi Envy so we're going to get insurance to sort it out... but they won't refund us the £150, as he hasn't fixed anything and we'll have to pay for someone else to come out.

He doesn't really do phone calls, just texts.

Would you ask for your money back? How? He's spent about two hours here in total but if anything the problem is worse now, as it's been leaking for longer and there's now a lot of badly applied sealant to get off the bath and tiles.

Thanks!

OP posts:
AnnieMay100 · 05/05/2019 10:25

Does he work for a company? If so ring them and explain what happened. You can report him to trading standards if he isn’t willing to refund or repair his mistakes. Make sure you have photos of everything and a log of his visits.
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/problem-with-home-improvements/

PinkOboe · 05/05/2019 10:26

I’d be surprised if it was just a sealant problem causing that amount of wetness to get through. Are you sure you’ve not got a leak?

Littleduckeggblue · 05/05/2019 10:27

But he recommended something else and you said no?

Gabrielknight · 05/05/2019 10:30

He recommended the plastic but you said no... We had a similar issue with our bath n sealant didn't cut it. We had Plastic strips fitted and no more leak! He did what you asked so I'm not sure you can get your money back...

PotsOfJoy · 05/05/2019 10:34

Sounds like it's not had a chance to dry out and / or leak not repaired.

insancerre · 05/05/2019 10:36

He only did what you told him to
You ignored his advice and went for the short term solution

slipperywhensparticus · 05/05/2019 10:38

Plastic? Tell me about this? My shower has s leak which wears away my sealant if there is a more permanent way of sealing that gap I need to te the housing association to use it because its ticking me off!!

Kerberos · 05/05/2019 10:42

Hang on - you paid £150 for someone to come and reseal your bath?

Mintandthyme · 05/05/2019 10:46

Did he not check the pipes to see what was causing the leak ???
Sealing up won’t stop a leaking pi

Mintandthyme · 05/05/2019 10:46

Pipe

TheSerenDipitY · 05/05/2019 11:00

Hang on - you paid £150 for someone to come and reseal your bath?
@Kerberos
she could have gotten ten tubes of silicone sealant and and caulking guns and done it her self... assuming she knew what the issue was

Original poster
AnchorDownDeepBreath · 05/05/2019 11:06

He said there wasn't a leak; it's just that the sealant has come away in the corner. It was sealed before.

The plastic was odd. He had to use sealant on that too; and it was wide and white - the bath is grey. It looked terrible. He said the choice was ours; if he'd said that sealant wouldn't work; I'd have made DP go for the plastic! He just said the plastic would be easier to fit and he preferred to use it.

I can't decide if it's unreasonable to ask for at least some of the money back!

(I didn't agree the £150 fee, DPs mum did... that's another story, she was trying to help!)

OP posts:
pikapikachu · 05/05/2019 11:25

Why did it take 2 hours to reseal a bath?

pikapikachu · 05/05/2019 11:28

By plastic strip I assume this kind of thing

To ask for my money back? How?
adaline · 05/05/2019 11:38

But he did what you asked him to do Confused

Buster72 · 05/05/2019 11:48

This is a pain I have experienced my self.
The sealant needs to be good quality, b&q stuff won't cut it.
The surface needs to be 100% dry to start with
Is the bath plastic? It will flex when you get in, or put water in it.
I assume this happens when you shower as opposed to bath?
I paid £90.00 for a guy to do it properly after I fucked it up twice....and £400.00 to replace my ceiling, go with his recommendations it may look hideous but water leaks are expensive

Original poster
AnchorDownDeepBreath · 05/05/2019 11:51

He did it very slowly, it took him about an hour the first time, and he came back for 45 mins or so yesterday. He's quite chatty!

The plastic he bought was bigger than Pikas picture, and seemed like offcuts. It didn't match the bath and he didn't say it was necessary (or I'd have done it!) just that it was easier to fit. The bath hasn't changed and has been sealed with standard sealant for five years or so, so there's no reason to think it's not sealable anymore as far as I know. He was quite happy to seal it, he bought window sealant ready and didn't suggest it'd be difficult for any reason, just that the plastic option is easier and could be cheaper.

Plumbing isn't my strong point... I'm not relishing paying someone else to come and seal it, as well as having to fix all the damage, but I'll take the majority view that this is my fault and take it on the chin. Thanks all!

OP posts:
WiddlinDiddlin · 05/05/2019 11:54

He doesn't sound like a good trades person.. however..

The damage under the bath to the subfloor and ceiling below is already done, you need that dried out and repaired.

You need to check for any other leaks under the bath as part of that job (I'd be surprised if there aren't any!)

Once its checked, sorted, and all dried out, THEN.. fill the bath up.. and then seal around the bath, or as Buster says above, the weight of you/water in the bath pulls the sealant away from the bath/wall.

TBH most of htat is work you could do yourself, applying sealant neatly IS difficult though and lots of people can't (I can seal something effectively but it isn't pretty!).

I suspect you are on a hiding to nothing trying to get your money back from the plumber, so I'd give that one up tbh.

pikapikachu · 05/05/2019 12:26

I found myself needing to seal my bath so I watched on YouTube how hard it was to do before deciding whether or not to hire a tradesperson. I'm in the Home Counties but for £150 I could have had several jobs completed. How did your MIL pick this plumber? I've had great success asking for recommendations on local Facebook pages and the tradesmen always say that I can contact them if there's any problems.

Hecateh · 05/05/2019 14:07

You can ask him but I very much doubt you would get anywhere.

As he recommended something different and you chose not to follow his advice (even if his advice was crap) event he small claims court would not support you.
Sorry, but you are probably just going to have to suck it up.

Confusedbeetle · 05/05/2019 14:13

You cannot cause that much water damage even without sealant unless you are overfilling the bath and sloshing it over, or using an over bath shower all over the edge. You need to take off the bath sides and double check for leaks. Bathroom sealant works perfectly well on clean tiles. I am not a plumber and do it myself. It does need replacing every few years. It is a skill anyone can learn+

roses2 · 05/05/2019 14:30

I've got the plastic strip pikapikachu has posted a photo of - this is by far the most long lasting and effective sealant I have used.

MatchSetPoint · 05/05/2019 14:30

£150 to put sealant around a bath? Sealant and a gun should set you back £10 at most! I doubt a bit of sealant missing would cause such damage unless you are splashing about a hell of a lot, check if the bath or a pipe has a leak.

roses2 · 05/05/2019 14:33

Can you run the water and take a look yourself to see if you can spot the leak? Plumbers don't always know what they are doing - I've come across many who have insisted on having fixed the problem when they haven't.

M00rhenRunning · 05/05/2019 15:58

Suggest when the water goes down the plug hole, into the pipe - this (the pipe) may be loose & where the water is leaking. Put newspaper under pipe & run water into plug hole.

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