Question to those who have used builders… who should pay for this?

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So the situation is that the client requested a bathroom shower hob and shower screen removed thereby converting the bathroom to a wet room.

Builder asked if the floor tiling extended under the hob to which the client mistakenly said it did. The floor had been laid many years ago and she thought the floor had been laid and the hob had been added afterwards.

When the builder removed the hob it became clear that this was not the case.

The hob had been built at the same time as the flooring laid and by removing the hob, the waterproofing is now compromised requiring the entire bathroom tiling and first row of tiles on the wall to be replaced.

So who should pay for this? The client or the builder?

Appreciate your views. Thanks.

The client of course. They provided duff information. It's not the builder's fault, who only did as they were instructed.

Thank you everyone.

For those asking, the shower hob is the white tiled raised area in this pic attached. This is not the actual bathroom.

Client

Plus another one for this 👆

This is the reason my DH who is a retired bathroom installer always gave estimates rather than quotes, as you never know what you are going to find once you rip out existing bathroom. Thankfully in his 40+ years it didn’t happen very often, but yes additional work should be paid for by the client, but if it was just labour my DH would probably have done it for free, but not extra materials.

Client pays, builder did nothing wrong

Client gave the wrong information, of course the client pays.

Definitely the client!

Builder has laid the new tiles without removing shower tray? If not then what is the concern - you would have to tile that part in any case?

Builder assumed under the shower tray was tiled to wet room specifications?

Client pays for tiling
Builder needs to learn a bit more about building

Client is at fault. But the builder should have been very clear about the specific design requirements of a wet room and established that these weren't in place before he started work.

Client. Very obviously, can’t believe it’s a question!

Are you going to tell us which you are?

I have never heard that called a hob before!

Client pays but builder sounds incompetent.

A tiled floor does not a wet room make. Even if the bathroom had been built to wet room specifications - spoiler it hadn’t, no one would go to those expenses and then put in a shower tray - there is no way that any decent builder would rely on the workmanship of work that they hadn’t got first hand knowledge of.

plus the fact the shower area was “enhanced” with a hob is an absolute give away that the floor wasn’t reliable on the other side either, the only reason for such an ugly addition is because you don’t want to risk water damage to the floor outside the shower.

At first I assumed you meant the tray but having seen the photo there’s a reason the surround and the doors were added and that’s because the water was going everywhere and not contained. It’s also a very small area to have all the fall for the drainage so that won’t have helped.

Client.

Reflooring the bathroom is a way bigger job than taking out the hob - it’s completely unreasonable to expect them to work for free because the client gave them incorrect information.

The client, obviously.

Obviously the client

Client should pay as they gave incorrect advice to builder.

I had to google what a shower hob is as I though a hob was a cooker:

A shower hob is a one brick high barrier around the base of your shower area. This can be a long wall to wall type typically done in open showers. The second type of hobbed shower base is the type you get in traditional 900mm x 900mm showers.

Client.

But a wet room floor is not the same as a normal / existing bathroom floor with the shower enclosure missing, even if the tiles had extended under the shower.

Client.

Shower hob?

I would be wary of a builder who expected me, not a builder, to know the construction details of my home.

Client is at fault as builder quoted based on information given. Once it became clear that the info given was wrong, the builder should requote for the extra materials/time that will be needed to finish the job properly.

My excellent bathroom fitter said he no longer does wet rooms as some clients don't understand what's involved e.g. that floor has to be sloped. Some even insist on wanting it done without this work being done.

Please don't think a tiled bathroom is a wet room. Please don't use an old tiled and patched in bathroom without the correct non slip wetroom tiles and no waterproofing underneath it as a wet room. An elderly or disabled user could slip and die in such a room. There's reasons they are different to normal bathrooms.

Did you find the "builder" on Facebook?! By the looks of it you're not going to end up with a wetroom, it will be an old tiled room, not up to spec in any way, not using the correct materials, which causes leaking and damp issues in your home. Some things you unfortunately can't cheap out on (and believe me, I usually pick the cheap option lol).

Client

But...
Whats a bathroom hob?