Hello everyone,
I am quite new to the forum and unfortunately, a really unpleasant incident has brought me here.
We bought a house located in a newly developed area where a total of 160 houses were built by one company.
The interior finishing work was carried out by subcontractors, with whom we were still able to plan some final details.
In the main bathroom, we decided not to install a shower fitting and planned to install it ourselves instead of buying the expensive one from the bathroom company.
So, at the handover on Wednesday, the fitting was naturally not installed yet, and the pipes coming out of the wall were exposed but sealed off.
So far, so good! When I returned to the house for the first time since the handover yesterday, there was a large puddle in the living room on the ground floor, and on the ceiling, there was a big water stain around the cable intended for the dining table lamp.
I immediately called the construction company, who told me to contact the plumbing company. I did that, and a technician came to find and fix the cause.
The problem was with the pipes in the shower in the bathroom above. The plug that was supposed to seal them was not watertight, and water leaked behind the wall, traveling through the cable slot down into the living room.
For now, it is fixed and no longer dripping, which is good. But the bad feeling remains, and we don’t know how to handle this situation.
Neither of us knows anything about such issues, and the plumber just says, “No problem, it will dry out in a few days. The wall is made of calcium silicate brick, which absorbs and then dries the water, and the ceiling between the ground floor and the first floor is concrete, so nothing will happen!”
However, we are worried that water is now inside the ceiling cavity, which cannot dry properly. We are afraid of mold or other problems that might develop in our brand new house. We already expect that the construction and plumbing companies will downplay this. We would feel better if an independent building inspector could take a look. Who would have to pay for this if necessary? Can the plumbing company be held responsible since they caused the issue?
Thank you in advance, and I look forward to your helpful advice!
Best regards and have a foot-dry weekend
jessica
I am quite new to the forum and unfortunately, a really unpleasant incident has brought me here.
We bought a house located in a newly developed area where a total of 160 houses were built by one company.
The interior finishing work was carried out by subcontractors, with whom we were still able to plan some final details.
In the main bathroom, we decided not to install a shower fitting and planned to install it ourselves instead of buying the expensive one from the bathroom company.
So, at the handover on Wednesday, the fitting was naturally not installed yet, and the pipes coming out of the wall were exposed but sealed off.
So far, so good! When I returned to the house for the first time since the handover yesterday, there was a large puddle in the living room on the ground floor, and on the ceiling, there was a big water stain around the cable intended for the dining table lamp.
I immediately called the construction company, who told me to contact the plumbing company. I did that, and a technician came to find and fix the cause.
The problem was with the pipes in the shower in the bathroom above. The plug that was supposed to seal them was not watertight, and water leaked behind the wall, traveling through the cable slot down into the living room.
For now, it is fixed and no longer dripping, which is good. But the bad feeling remains, and we don’t know how to handle this situation.
Neither of us knows anything about such issues, and the plumber just says, “No problem, it will dry out in a few days. The wall is made of calcium silicate brick, which absorbs and then dries the water, and the ceiling between the ground floor and the first floor is concrete, so nothing will happen!”
However, we are worried that water is now inside the ceiling cavity, which cannot dry properly. We are afraid of mold or other problems that might develop in our brand new house. We already expect that the construction and plumbing companies will downplay this. We would feel better if an independent building inspector could take a look. Who would have to pay for this if necessary? Can the plumbing company be held responsible since they caused the issue?
Thank you in advance, and I look forward to your helpful advice!
Best regards and have a foot-dry weekend
jessica
J
Jessica85ber17 Oct 2020 10:11Ötzi Ötztaler schrieb:
Try calling all the rental companies, you can manage that. If necessary, buy a household appliance at the hardware store (there are electric dehumidifiers from brands like Trotec or Comfee), but due to their size, these will definitely not be sufficient on their own. Still, it’s better than nothing for a start. For example, I bought a Trotec TTK 30E, but that would be overwhelmed over time by something like this. The question is whether you can remove more moisture by heating and ventilating or by using a small construction dryer. If in doubt, heat and ventilate during the day, and use the small dehumidifier at night. Always follow the rental company’s instructions strictly when using professional dryers.
Otherwise, turn up the heating, set up a fan, and ventilate very thoroughly with short bursts. Do you have a ventilation system? And take plenty of photos, ideally with one or two neighbors or acquaintances as witnesses. We invited our immediate neighbor to join us yesterday. The painter, who works there as a subcontractor, was also on site with me first thing and helped with mopping.
Yes, the house has a ventilation system.
J
Jessica85ber17 Oct 2020 10:13Mycraft schrieb:
So not everything is finished yet, for example, in addition to the fixtures already mentioned, the wall coverings or paint are also missing... what else is missing? No, wall coverings, tiles, vinyl floors – all finished. We just planned to paint the bedroom and children's room in color over the weekend.
T
T_im_Norden17 Oct 2020 10:24What I’m wondering right now is how water could get behind the wall?
The shower must be properly waterproofed and have a drain, so the water should be able to flow away.
The tiles should also all be sealed.
The shower must be properly waterproofed and have a drain, so the water should be able to flow away.
The tiles should also all be sealed.
T_im_Norden schrieb:
What I’m wondering now is how water can get behind the wall?
The shower must be waterproofed and have a drain, so the water should be able to flow away.
The tiles should also all be sealed.The drain plug is usually installed inside the wall. The small amount of water that seeps through drips into the wall and masonry, then into the insulation, and from there runs along the conduit pipes through the ceiling.Similar topics