How to fix shonky shower waste grate?

[memoryman]

Hi, I have two upstairs showers, put in by the previous owner, a shonky owner-builder. Now suffering the latest example of his unwillingness to use qualified tradesmen.

After being in the house for 18 months they have leaked and partially destroyed the downstairs ceiling. Opened one of the shower grates and he had grouted/glued the 100mm metal grates directly onto the upturn of the 100mm PVC drain pipe.

The shower floor flexes slightly in use (its tiled, on some sort of hardboard, on bearers) and it has cracked the grouting around the floor waste over time. Water now pours down the outside of the 100mm pipe onto the ceiling below with each shower.

What can I do now? Can I use some sort of flexible sealant or mastic to replace the grouting around the grate? Will this adhere enough to the surrounding grout and tile edges, to provide a flexible seal? Will it also stay hard even with warm water running over it?

Or does it require a plumber to install an adaptor under the grate to properly transition to the 100mm pipe (dunno why the pipe is so large either ..)?

Photo shows view from floor below, of drainage pipe, with U-bend.

Any and all advice much appreciated.

[ozwinner]

Get a plumber now!!, before that timber beam rots away..
Better to spend the small ammount of money now, that a lot later on.

I would also get in touch with the Plumbing board in Sydney for some recourse on the previous owner.

Al :eek:

[bitingmidge]

Sorry but it's more than a plumber, and you need to do it NOW as Oz says, before those nasty little rot spores get a whiff of the wet timber.

The floor shouldn't be flexing, not even slightly, and the shower should be tiled on a waterproof tray or membrane, which is turned down into the drain.

You have a few choices, but they all involve ripping up the shower floor and the wall for at least 150mm I'm afraid.

I would think if the water proofing hasn't been done correctly to the floor, there'd be a fair chance it hasn't been done on the walls as well!

Your options are: take off the tiles to the floor of the shower to see what is really going on, is there a tray there and has it failed?

Fix the flex in the floor, either by getting underneath and adding noggings, or putting a whole new compressed fibre cement sheet over the top.

Waterproof the lot, or put in a metal shower tray, then retile.

Alternatively, you may find it more economical to buy a complete moulded shower enclosure and install it over the entire mess.

Hope that helps!

cheers,

P

[memoryman]

Thanks for the replies ... you guys are always on the job! But it hasn 't made my day, I gotta say ...

I need to investigate more ... the moisture on the beam may not be related ... the photo was taken from the room below (another bathroom) ... by taking out one of those fan-light-heater combos, and as you can see the moisture laden air is expelled straight into the ceiling void (i.e. sub-floor), with nowhere to go. It may be that this moisture condenses out on the fibre cement you can see, and runs back down the beam. Its appearing on the beam a fair way away from the shower recess - but then again, I agree it could also be running horizontally from the shower and then dropping onto the beam.

Just another problem ... as the only way to expell this air is past the 100mm piping :(.

:mad: BTW, how can I get this guy? He in one case ran 3-core flex for lighting circuits (from the fitting to the wall-switch) ... and it just goes on. I had the building pre-purchase inspected ... but they don't really inspect anything that actually matters ... and then exclude all liability anyway ...

He's not a plumber or an electrican (he owned a couple of petrol stations, maybe an ex-carpenter, but that maligns all chippies so I take that back ...) . I think he now does commercial developments. Could I get him banned from construction work? That would be very satisfying!

But not if I just end up with an even longer list of things I have to fix at my expense.

Once again, thanks.

[Carpenter]

Sorry Memoryman, you've been delt a crap hand. If there's any doubt with the waterproofing in the shower, you'd have to be very suspicious of the entire wet area. I reckon your best bet is to go with a metal tray or as Midge says an enclosure. This way, even if the rest of the wet area is compromised, you're fixing the shower & thats where 99% of the water comes from, & the rest of the wet area will have a chance to stay dry enough.

As I often say, "If building is so easy, why do I spend most of my time fixing everyone else's mistakes.?"

[graemecarson]

Hey Memoryman, I work for the BSA in Queensland and have seen some bodgy work up here too. I'm sorry to hear about your problem. I would suggest you get in touch with the Building Authority in NSW and let them know whats happened. I think they're part of the Office of Consumer Affairs. They may not be able to help you (I'm not sure if the NSW licensing system is like ours) but they may be able to stop this bum doing more shonky work. They may be able to chase the so called "inspector" that looked at the place for you too. They may also be able to assist you in getting help or by giving advice. In Qld we have inspectors who respond to complaints like yours and often mediate a solution. There might be something like that in NSW. I'll look up our interstate links tomorrow and see if I can give you any more details. Like most others replying - I'd seek advice from a LICENSED plumber or waterproofing tradesperson. Waterproofing is one of the most prevalent defects in homes and can cause horrendous damage if not carried out to the letter of Australian Standard specs. Good luck.