leaking bathroom

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Had our family bathroom re-fitted a year ago. Recently we have noticed wet patches on the ceiling under the bathroom. Investigation work indicates that the shower is leaking. We don't know if there is a problem with the seal, the tiles, the waste or something else.

The guy who fitted the bathroom says it can't be the shower. But all the evidence indicates it is. Another bathroom fitter says the only way to be sure is to take the whole shower tiles etc out and see where the leak has been coming from.

I don't know whether we should be going back to the original guy to rectify this or if we should make a claim on the house insurance? I really don't want the original guy back in the house - so don't want him fixing it when he couldn't get it right in the first place. But can't afford to pay again to fit the bathroom out again.

I assume that cost wise then taking out the shower will mean labour cost, tiles, shower tray and probably shower enclosure plus any damage and re-work to the floor tiles. Plus there is repair work needed to two rooms underneath that have suffered water damage.

I have never had to make a claim on the house insurance. Do they even cover situations like this? Will they expect me to claim from the original fitter? How do you even do that? Should I approach the original fitter first and ask them to pay for the repairs needed? Any advice gratefully received.

I'd try the insurance first, that's what you pay for, plus they can only say no.
Phone them tomorrow.

Is the work guranteed?

The guy is an independent rather than from a company. When he quoted for the job he said he would always come back to deal with any snagging issues. I think he probably would come back - but the problem is that I have lost any faith I had in him. There have been various issues with the whole job. I chose him over other quotes because he had done work for neighbours and they had been happy. But he started our job then ran over the 2 weeks he had allocated. He then had to fit days in here and there to finish it off and in the end the whole thing ran on for another 6 weeks. I found out after he had finished that he was not electrically certified despite telling me he was. So I had to pay for certification - his work failed the tests and had to pay extra for remedial works so it could be certified.

We had a leaky shower recently. I felt it was down to some tiles which had been knocked loose when someone fell over in it and the resulting cracks which spread out along the grouting lines. So got plumber in to retile shower area. He said he was surprised I thought it was the tiles as in 90% of cases it usually turns out to be the seals that need redoing. But agreed to do what I asked - was a day's labour and £50 on tiles. Did fix the problem no problems before this though.
Is there any way you could cut a hole in the ceiling below to have a look at what's going on above? Might be less disruptive? Imagine shower drainage is a contender too.

Got various holes in the ceiling and cut into the wall of the room next door. That's why we are pretty sure it is the shower - but they can't tell if it is the waste or the seals leaking. Either way there has been so much water through that it all needs to come up to replace the damage underneath.

My question is really about whether anyone else has experience of this as a claim on the house insurance? Or should I be going back to the fitter - who I really don't want back in my house?

Ive had a recent similar problem - the plastic panels we have on the wall in the shower has moved very slightly apart and was letting water through and into the ceiling below.

My insurance wouldnt cover it as it was considered a 'breakdown of the grouting or sealant' therefore not covered.

We had to take absolutely everything out - shower cubicle, tray, all the wall cladding and pretty much start again.

You should be covered but be careful how you word it, they won't usually cover due to problems with sealants etc as pp has said, if it is a slow leak over time, it needs to be a sudden and unexpected kind of incident so you were in the shower this morning and your dh who was downstairs realised it was leaking through the ceiling.

Having said that they won't cover the cost of the repairs but they will cover the cost of damage caused due to the accident.