ᐅ Poor Workmanship in the Bathroom? Drywall Instead of Plaster

Hello everyone,

Currently, my parents’ bathroom is being renovated. We hired a local plumbing company for the work. Since we live several hours away by car, we were unable to supervise the construction in person. However, it was important to me to attend the initial meeting in person and discuss all the work in detail. Afterwards, we received a quote that matched my requirements and signed the contract.

About a month later, I visited the site and was surprised to see that the workers had installed drywall panels on all the walls. We had previously agreed that the walls would be plastered and tiled. I then measured the walls and found that with this (not agreed upon) drywall construction method, we lose about 15cm (6 inches) of space on one wall, for example. This likely means we can no longer place our washing machine there, even though a washing machine connection was installed on that wall. The WC recess has also become extremely small, measuring only 69cm (27 inches). The company has covered several freestanding walls (without any connections) extensively with drywall panels.

At home, I reviewed the contract again carefully and found the drywall work only listed as “At WC and riser pipes.” Furthermore, it states that the walls will be “leveled and evened out” before tiling, but nothing about drywalling every wall and ceiling of our old bathroom.

Now, as mentioned, I am concerned that some planned sanitary fixtures and furniture will not fit or will fit only very tightly, or that the drywall walls may not hold up in the long term under the tiles, since the bathroom is supposed to be fully tiled up to the ceiling.

Is this considered poor workmanship, and who is responsible for the costs of correction? Has anyone had similar experiences?

Best regards,
MarinaS

Gypsum boards are a common solution in renovation or refurbishment projects to level and even out old walls—especially in bathrooms or kitchen splashbacks as a substrate for tiles. This is not poor workmanship. I see no reason for corrective work. Of course, it’s unfortunate that a few centimeters are now missing, but no one is to blame. Perhaps the process of leveling should have been better communicated, as non-experts sometimes have different expectations…

… if you were to level it with proper mortar, you would probably lose “about the same” amount of surface area, minus of course the 18mm (0.7 inches) of the drywall panel. It is usually very difficult to accurately estimate how much the wall deviates from being flush or is uneven.

ypg schrieb:

Drywall panels are a common solution in renovation or refurbishment projects to straighten and level old walls—especially in bathrooms or kitchen walls as a base for tiles.
This is not shoddy workmanship.
I don’t see any reason for corrections.
Of course, it’s unfortunate that a few centimeters (inches) are now missing, but no one is to blame. Perhaps the process for leveling should have been communicated better. Laypeople often have different expectations...

What is really missing, though, is communication: Why doesn’t a company inform the client that they are doing something differently than outlined in the contract, explaining that a, b, c reasons exist? That could be a valid reason.

Hello,

thank you for your reply. The bathroom itself was not very old, only about 30 years, and it was already properly renovated and leveled in the 1990s. It needs to be modernized. For example, my parents will get a walk-in shower, as they had increasing difficulties with the old one’s high threshold.

During the initial appointment, we also discussed the topic of drywall construction. He advised me to choose a surface-mounted fitting, because “with a recessed fitting you would lose about 10–15cm (4–6 inches) due to drywall construction.” I decided on the surface-mounted fitting, as having more space is much more important to me. I also communicated this clearly—several times. So it cannot be due to a lack of communication.

I rather suspect that the company reduced the scope of work here to save time and money.

I would definitely consider making a complaint. The main issues are the relatively narrow toilet space at 69cm (27 inches) and the potentially unsuitable location for the washing machine. I would address this before any tiling is done, since, as I understand it, the tiles have not been installed yet.

Also, leveling walls with plaster or alternatively using drywall is not just a matter of the drywall panels themselves. Proper drywall construction includes studs, which add a certain depth.