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Should we pay?

9 replies

leakycauldron · 18/12/2024 07:56

Hi,

Just wondering peoples advice on this one.

We had our bathroom done back in October. Full rip out and refurbish. We used a builder we have used before and have always been happy with their work.

About 6 weeks after the bathroom was finished we had a ton of water come through the ceiling into the kitchen.
Messages builder and he came straight round. He thought it was the trap from the shower so he sorted that and said to leave it a day or two for mastic to dry etc.

Gave it two days, DH has a shower and same thing happens. So much water coming through the ceiling.

Builders says he will need to remove the section of ceiling under the shower to take a proper look. I will admit I was not unhappy about this as we had an historical leak which had left patches on that bit of ceiling that we had not got round to sorting out.

Anyway he comes, takes a bit of ceiling of down. And turns out a pipe to the hand held shower had busted. He couldn't figure out how or why it happened as he tested everything and it had been fine for over month. He asked us if we'd fallen on the hand held shower or anything, we hadn't and there was no damage to the outside.
He said it's like the pipe has been machine cut not torn, which he would expect to see tearing if it was slow rupture.

Anyway to repair it has taken a day to remove the new tiles in that section, replace and fix the pipe work etc etc the ceiling has been patched up but not sanded/painted.

He wants to charge us £320 for the days work.... I have sort of agreed to pay it but now thinking about it I'm really wondering if we should??
He hasn't charged us for materials just his time. But I think the only materials he has used was the new pipe fitting and some plaster boarding stuff, we thankfully had spare tiles still.

He's coming back today to regrout the tile.

He obviously doesn't think he is at fault as he tested everything. But we also aren't at fault.

Would you pay?

OP posts:
StillTryingToKeepGoing · 18/12/2024 07:59

We had new bathroom fitted. Something went wrong with part fitting to sink. Caused ceiling below to collapse. Claimed on house insurance.

randoname · 18/12/2024 07:59

Absolutely. It sounds like he’s gone above and beyond to rectify something that wasn’t is fault, wear and tear. It would have been convenient if it had all been done at once by no one’s fault.
Having an on side helpful builder to hand is priceless.

leakycauldron · 18/12/2024 08:16

Keeping a good builder is def the reason why initially I agreed to pay.

He does excellent work and we all get on.

Wear and tear after 6 weeks?
We did say the part that has failed could be faulty but there really is no way to know.

Can't claim on insurance as it's under our excess.

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TizerorFizz · 18/12/2024 08:24

Who is redecorating the ceiling? I would say the fault was down to the builder. We had similar in a shower room and installer took full responsibility. We didn’t pay anything. The bathroom installer came from the bathroom shop and we didn’t use them again. We now have a builder we trust.

Lovelysummerdays · 18/12/2024 08:27

I had a new bathroom fitted and a bit of new pipe sprung a leak. The bit that refills the toilet cistern. Bathroom was fine initially. Luckily it was visible rather than hidden so no damage. These things just happen.

leakycauldron · 18/12/2024 08:30

Apparently we are finishing the ceiling.

I'm guessing because it was badly damaged from a previous leak, they have left us in a better place than we were before. It now just needs sanding and painting.

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Dbank · 18/12/2024 08:54

Grin and bear it, but it would be nice if the plumber met you half way.

Sounds rather like it may have been a plastic pipe connection failure, they are notorious for popping off after a few weeks of use, especially if incorrectly fitted.

I know plumbers will tell you they are fine, but three out of four friends who had bathrooms done had pipes disconnect.

Mine have been fine 10+ years) but I would insist on soldered copper next time.

Twiglets1 · 18/12/2024 09:06

We had an issue after our en suite was refitted and paid an extra days work to get it resolved. I was hoping it would be free as may have been the plumbers fault but these things are hard to prove one way or the other.

I just paid the bill for the sake of good will and having a reliable plumber to use in future. He did an excellent job on our en suite and that was the only issue we had.

leakycauldron · 18/12/2024 09:09

Consensus suggests to pay up, which is fine. Just wanted to check I wasn't being abit of a mug. Generally a people pleaser so good to know I'm doing the right thing and it's not worth arguing over .

Thanks all

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