OK for waste to run uphill a short distance?

[trf0412]

Yep, shower tray instructions say tray must be installed on bed of sand & cement. I'm 90% sure I didn't see him put down any sand & cement unless he managed to knock some up and install it in the 15-0r-so mins I wasn't looking! But, I can see no sign whatsoever of a sand & cement mix having oozed out beyond the edge of the tray, which I think would be the case if it had been used, right?

I was happy to cut him a little slack with the messed up waste pipes (on the assumption I could get someone else in to fix things from below if absolutely necessary), but not installing a tray correctly and leaving open the possibility of it cracking several months or years down the line and leaving me with a big mess on my hands is making me seriously consider finding someone else to finish the job!

Just how easy will it be to remove it now he's siliconed it into place? Can the silicone be carefully cut away or have I already got a big problem on my hands?

 

[Best]

Probably the silicone will have glued the tray to the floor enough to prevent you moving it without damaging it.
Hard one to call, but if it is installed level and seem solid with no movement, it might not give trouble. Risk is yours though.

 

[trf0412]

Probably the silicone will have glued the tray to the floor enough to prevent you moving it without damaging it.
Hard one to call, but if it is installed level and seem solid with no movement, it might not give trouble. Risk is yours though.

Hmm... tricky. It's sat on a new piece of OSB flooring, so pretty level, but do I want to take the risk when the installation instructions say it must be installed STRICTLY in accordance with them? If I go down the route of removing it and it gets damaged, couldn't I deduct the cost of a replacement from what I pay him, since it would have been directly due to his negligence?

Talking of which, how do plumbers and clients generally agree on an amount to be paid when work is cut short in cases when the quote is for the whole job? Any advice?

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Osb ? really tbh should be 18 marine ply

And work - anything bad / having to be re done which is most of it in my opinion

 

[trf0412]

We agreed on marine ply when he quoted me... and it got mentioned again in an email. Then the day he started the job he talked about using chipboard! I talked him out of that and we ended up with OSB, which I thought was as strong as ply and therefore this didn't concern me too much. What are the main reasons for using marine ply over OSB? (i.e. should I be considering having the flooring changed over?)

 

[ShaunCorbs]

We agreed on marine ply when he quoted me... and it got mentioned again in an email. Then the day he started the job he talked about using chipboard! I talked him out of that and we ended up with OSB, which I thought was as strong as ply and therefore this didn't concern me too much. What are the main reasons for using marine ply over OSB? (i.e. should I be considering having the flooring changed over?)

If it's gets wet for any reason it goes to mush and fails

That's mainly why we install cylinders or tanks on ply bases

 

[trf0412]

If it's gets wet for any reason it goes to mush and fails

That's mainly why we install cylinders or tanks on ply bases

OSB goes to mush as well? I know that happens with chipboard, but didn't know about OSB. So, if I have the tray redone, would you suggest replacing with marine ply? Or is that more of a belts & braces approach and OSB is just about ok?

 

[ShaunCorbs]

OSB goes to mush as well? I know that happens with chipboard, but didn't know about OSB. So, if I have the tray redone, would you suggest replacing with marine ply? Or is that more of a belts & braces approach and OSB is just about ok?

Well I would but will only go to mush if it's wet so thinking like that just make sure all your seals are good and mastics are good quality and are re sealed pre actively you should be fine

 

[trf0412]

What else should I be on the lookout for?

Hopefully all the hot & cold feeds are ok, as the room has now been plastered (no concerns there, though, as we used our own plasterer who has done an excellent job - put up a new suspended ceiling to make sure it's dead level, built out a wall so bath isn't sat in a corner which isn't a right angle etc.).

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Atm nothing should be just second fix if your happy ish atm

 

[trf0412]

Yeah, that's what I mean... what things could go wrong at the point of 2nd fix? He's already (i) shown complete ignorance of building regs, (ii) messed up waste pipes, even on 2nd attempt, (iii) stuck down stone resin shower tray with silicone. I can't do much about (i) and (ii) has been partly resolved.

I don't really want to let him mess around fixing the shower tray issue, but if I can't find anyone else, are there many more things he could screw up during 2nd fix or has most of the damage been done?

 

[ShaunCorbs]

TBH I would say most of the damage has been done second fix is the easy ish part

 

[trf0412]

Ah, right... tough call to make then....

I can live with the OSB, even though it's not what we agreed.
I can live with the fact he made schoolboy errors when cutting out floorboards.
I'm not happy with the holes and notches, but can't do much about it now.
I'm not entirely happy with waste pipes, but they are at least better now and just about acceptable if I can tweak it to give it more of a fall.

But the shower tray issue is causing me to rethink things. What's the point of spending thousands of a new bathroom if there's a real risk of the tray cracking some unspecified time down the line? Replacing that would cost hundreds if not thousands given all the upheaval and retiling that would be required.

I think it's going to be a case of getting someone else in to finish the work or else accepting that the shower tray isn't installed as per the manufacturer's instructions and hoping it never cracks. Asking the current plumber to redo the tray is not an option I'm willing to consider.

 

[FG28]

Ah, right... tough call to make then..

I can live with the OSB, even though it's not what we agreed.
I can live with the fact he made schoolboy errors when cutting out floorboards.
I'm not happy with the holes and notches, but can't do much about it now.
I'm not entirely happy with waste pipes, but they are at least better now and just about acceptable if I can tweak it to give it more of a fall.

But the shower tray issue is causing me to rethink things. What's the point of spending thousands of a new bathroom if there's a real risk of the tray cracking some unspecified time down the line? Replacing that would cost hundreds if not thousands given all the upheaval and retiling that would be required.

I think it's going to be a case of getting someone else in to finish the work or else accepting that the shower tray isn't installed as per the manufacturer's instructions and hoping it never cracks. Asking the current plumber to redo the tray is not an option I'm willing to consider.

He needs sacking
Osb floor , seriously got to be a wind up this Siliconed resin tray , against all mi s which in turn foooks the guarantee which will no doubt come back to haunt you
Did he pva the osb before laying it or did he bosh it straight onto dusty osb
Are the walls aqua paneled or greenmoisture resistant plaster board
I would not be letting it go any further
Imo that tray needs to be redone ,.

 

[FG28]