exasperated
Registered User
- Messages
- 33
We bought our house in 2005 and have had problems with what we think is a leaking shower from 6 months after moving in.
The house was a new build and our first time buying so to be honest i think we were naive and the builders/estate agents saw us coming.
The ensuite (where the problem shower is) wasnt tiled when we bought the house so we had to organise this ourselves. I did notice at the time that there seemed to be quite a large gap between the wall and the shower tray and that this was filled with a foam like substance. I then organised a tiler to tile the ensuite but he never mentioned that he felt there would be any problems with this gap. At the start everything seemed fine but then a few months after it was completed we noticed that water seemed to be getting through to our downstairs ceiling. At first we thought it was the seal coming away but after resealing it a number of times it didnt seem to be resolved. I then contacted the builders plumber and he came to have a look at it. He said that it just appeared to be the seal coming away all the time.
It continued on again for a while so i decided to have another plumber and tiler have a look at it. This time the plumber said that the shower tray was too small for the opening and that this was causing the problem. He advised 2 things,
1. Take off the existing tiles and get a larger shower tray to fit the gap properly or,
2. build out the wall with additional tiles to meet the tray and thus avoiding the leak.
He advised us to go more so with option 2 as this would avoid too much trouble. So again we took his advice and retiled the ensuite.
After this i was transferred out of the country with my job for a few years so we rented out the house. We left the house in the care of an estate agents who were supposed to manage it for us.
Shortly after we left the house the tenants contacted the estate agents to say that there was a leak coming through the ceiling. The agents then organised a plumber to have a look at it and advise what to do.
He said again that the shower tray was too small along with the shower door and that it would have to be retiled yet again.
We agreed to do this, so they set about doing this. After forking out well in excess of €5,000 this time round we were told that the problem was sorted. In August of this year we ceased renting the house with the intention of returning to it ourselves shortly. On the day that the agents were handing back our keys i noticed that there appeared to be another wet patch on the ceiling and i mentioned it to the agent. He said that he would have someone check out. It is now over a month later and even though i have continuously rang them they have not sorted out the problem.
I have managed to contact the plumber they dealt with and he has informed me that at the time he was fixing the leak he had mentioned to the agents and the tenants that there was a second leak coming from some where. I was never informed of this and the agents are denying all knowledge.
So basically my problem is i have a leak which has caused quite extensive damage, nobody is obviously owning up to messing things up and nobody seems to be able to tell what to do or where to go from here.
I have contacted the regulatory authority set up to deal with estate agents auctioneers builders etc but they state that they can do nothing as these particular agents are not registered with them so they cannot pursue them!!
i dont necessarily want to pursue someone for compensation as such i just want to sort out the problem before it causes any more damage. I dont know if i should take down all the tiles and take off the shower and see where the problem is this way which will cause a lot of work and money or if i have any other options.
The house insurance will only cover if the damage is accidental not as the result of shodding workmanship so i dont know what to do and we are at our wits end!
Any advice would be much appreciated
The house was a new build and our first time buying so to be honest i think we were naive and the builders/estate agents saw us coming.
The ensuite (where the problem shower is) wasnt tiled when we bought the house so we had to organise this ourselves. I did notice at the time that there seemed to be quite a large gap between the wall and the shower tray and that this was filled with a foam like substance. I then organised a tiler to tile the ensuite but he never mentioned that he felt there would be any problems with this gap. At the start everything seemed fine but then a few months after it was completed we noticed that water seemed to be getting through to our downstairs ceiling. At first we thought it was the seal coming away but after resealing it a number of times it didnt seem to be resolved. I then contacted the builders plumber and he came to have a look at it. He said that it just appeared to be the seal coming away all the time.
It continued on again for a while so i decided to have another plumber and tiler have a look at it. This time the plumber said that the shower tray was too small for the opening and that this was causing the problem. He advised 2 things,
1. Take off the existing tiles and get a larger shower tray to fit the gap properly or,
2. build out the wall with additional tiles to meet the tray and thus avoiding the leak.
He advised us to go more so with option 2 as this would avoid too much trouble. So again we took his advice and retiled the ensuite.
After this i was transferred out of the country with my job for a few years so we rented out the house. We left the house in the care of an estate agents who were supposed to manage it for us.
Shortly after we left the house the tenants contacted the estate agents to say that there was a leak coming through the ceiling. The agents then organised a plumber to have a look at it and advise what to do.
He said again that the shower tray was too small along with the shower door and that it would have to be retiled yet again.
We agreed to do this, so they set about doing this. After forking out well in excess of €5,000 this time round we were told that the problem was sorted. In August of this year we ceased renting the house with the intention of returning to it ourselves shortly. On the day that the agents were handing back our keys i noticed that there appeared to be another wet patch on the ceiling and i mentioned it to the agent. He said that he would have someone check out. It is now over a month later and even though i have continuously rang them they have not sorted out the problem.
I have managed to contact the plumber they dealt with and he has informed me that at the time he was fixing the leak he had mentioned to the agents and the tenants that there was a second leak coming from some where. I was never informed of this and the agents are denying all knowledge.
So basically my problem is i have a leak which has caused quite extensive damage, nobody is obviously owning up to messing things up and nobody seems to be able to tell what to do or where to go from here.
I have contacted the regulatory authority set up to deal with estate agents auctioneers builders etc but they state that they can do nothing as these particular agents are not registered with them so they cannot pursue them!!
i dont necessarily want to pursue someone for compensation as such i just want to sort out the problem before it causes any more damage. I dont know if i should take down all the tiles and take off the shower and see where the problem is this way which will cause a lot of work and money or if i have any other options.
The house insurance will only cover if the damage is accidental not as the result of shodding workmanship so i dont know what to do and we are at our wits end!
Any advice would be much appreciated