Bathroom refit by insurance - disaster

[Beachy77]

Hi Folks,

Apologies for the emotive title but it does feel like a disaster.

Had a water leak under bath just before Christmas. This was fixed same day by my BG homeserve cover. Floor tiled lifted and cracked due to the amount of water so I logged an insurance claim.

This took a while as the BG plumber had lost the photos and report he had done so had a bit of a nightmare coordinating what was needed for the claim.

I asked the insurers to get their contractors to do the refit as all the bathroom (small) had to come out and be retiled and floor relaid. This took them 3 months to arrange. Bathroom was useable so no issue.

They advised as only one bathroom had to move out. No problem, insurance paid. They initially said 9 nights and this ended up being 11 as their tilers didn't show and then did show and didn't follow instructions for access (keys in lock box on side of building). They got another tiler in and the finish is awful. I have attached some photo's. multiple tiles are chipped on the edge. Lots squinty and uneven grout lines. Edging around a recess for window and along shelf are awful. I noticed last night that the floor has been laid squinty also.

I have complained to insurers and the bathroom company are sending a quality manager out tonight to see about resolving the issues. I am looking for advice on how hard to push this. I really think they need to start from scratch again and as much as I don't want to move out again, I do want a decent looking bathroom.

Also, not wanting to be money grabbing but should I be looking for my excess back for all of the hassle? I've never dealt with insurers before so not sure what to expect here. I have been under so much stress the past two weeks. They started the job on 20th may and I only had a usable shower as of this morning.

Thanks if you got this far, any advice or what you would do welcome.

I am with clients on and off this afternoon so will respond to any questions asap.

I know it's done on insurance, but I wouldn't be happy with that finish. They won't have to do the whole thing again and you won't need to move out, so it'll be an easier job for them (not sure why it was suggested you move out anyway, we stayed insitu when we had our only bathroom gutted - it was done in stages and we were told exactly when some things wouldn't be in use, so could plan. Stick to your guns.

But that was your choice. An insurance company can’t tell someone “no shower for 2 days” or “no toilet for today.” They have to make sure their client is provided for, so they have to send you to a hotel or something.

Hello, thanks very much. It helps to have a second set of eyes as I live alone.

They said I had to move out for 9 nights as it was such a small flat and also I wouldn't have a plumbed in toilet for much of it. I don't know why it was so long either, it seems they have different trades people coming and going each day so possibly 2/3 jobs on the go at any one time.

I am wondering if they need to retile the whole floor, will they not need to take out the toilet again? (It's tiled underneath) and the wall around the cistern, end of bath and around the window and sink.

I'm just stressed and want things back to normal. I was told it would be simple, the contract company would organise and co-ordinate everything and I had multiple calls daily asking how people could get in to the flat and what were they there to do. I work as a therapist so couldn't stop to take calls and told them this up front several times.

that's a bad job

I've always done my own tiling and I wouldn't accept all those chips from myself, let alone a professional I paid!

Thanks all, appreciate the comments. A surveyor from the company came out last night and whilst I was prepared for a fight, he was visibly annoyed at the state of the work. He said there is nothing to defend and you can't look anywhere in the room without seeing an issue. There was more I noticed last night such as the ceiling hadn't been replaced, they had re used the old one that had holes in following tile removal and just put sealant over them. They have offered to rip the entire bathroom out and redo the full job and will be using different tradespeople this time.

He did say the walls are off and while they can start the tiles from the centre of the room which will lose some of the squint lines on the floor, because I've chosen a pattern it will be more obvious. Does anyone have a suggestion on the best type of floor tiles for an off room?

I'm not happy at further disruption but glad it will be getting done properly. Only 5 days work this time.

I’ve got squinty walls (very old house). I just had mine tiled with plain tiles. One bathroom, I’ve tiled wall and floor all the same one a sort of sandy beige textured tile. And the other bathroom I went with black textured tiles on the floor and then just white around the walls. The squinty walls are less obvious with the tiles all blending in together and the textured tiles makes it a bit nicer than just plain white or something.

Thanks very much, your bathrooms sound lovely. I like the idea of the textured tiles, I will have a look at what they have on offer.