a mare of an installation

[moony]

im currently working on a house - a lot of plumbing, kitchen and bathroom. now the bathroom ive lifted the floor boards today to have a look at the wastes and the 1" and a quarter and inch and a half from the basin and shower respectively are notched into joists trhough every single one... so there is 2 2" notches 4 inches apart from each other in each joist going through bathroom - also the waste for shower, is notched half way down joist as the previous shower tray sat straight onto joists and landed half on half off a joist....

also basin waste went along joists and 45 down and back up under 2 15 mm heating pipes and continued on its run

either a diyer or a plumber who didnt give a flip done this.

now im wondering what can be done to joists ? maybe add some strength to them apart from ripping out and ideas ? or is it something the structural engineer would have to look at? or would you just crack on and install the new bathroom ?

 

[oldplumber]

eaisest option is to ask buildings control to have look, and follow their advice, owner may well be upset by their opinion!.

 

[Centralheatking]

Agree with OP get proffesional advice and do not get left holding someone elses baby - cover your bottom on this one

centralheatking

 

[moony]

ok will do thought it may be a tricky one....

 

[moony]

ok phoned the building control today - and the bloke i spoke to was oh my god they havent done that have they that is bad etc etc.... Then i informed him it was a job that was done by grant work from the council ten years ago that converted the bathroom for a disabled person - ive never heard someone back track so fast in my life....... he then said it could be ok depending on the span and thickness of joists, so i now have to phone him with the measurements of the joists, centres and size of the span onto loading walls - he then questioned me on whether i have the qualfications to install waste pipes? what would this be ? i have my nvq level 3 and im time served - does he mean water regs? seemed to me he was more interested in whether i was qualified to install the waste from the bath shower and basin into the stack than the original shoddy work carried out by the council or sub contractors to the council.

 

[Bartdude]

He didn't offer to come out and have a look then?? Far too busy I suppose

What did the customer say when you told them?it's their house after all.No builder on site then? You could have just passed the problem on to him.

 

[oldplumber]

funnily emough no qualifications are required for basic plumbing as long as you follow building regs, ring again, get someone different and ask for a visit as you believe the situ a dangerous and needs rectifying and you would like their advice on work required. they should come out as you have reported a problem that they should ensure is made safe, and ask for the officers name and contact details incase any problems arise in the future that insurers may need to refer to building regs, you may find that helps, nothing like the threat of being sued to encourage a response, but talk this through with your custard first.

 

[moony]

he said to get the joist dimensions and he would be able to tell me if the joists can have notches in them to the sizes ive mentioned - now this is ridiculous in my view as they would have to take into account condition of joists etc etc wouldnt they ? i will follow your advice and ask for a site visit as this would be best solution.

 

[oldplumber]

so gived him the joist sizes and notch sizes and he can let you know if they are ok to go, however why not look up your level 2 notes and do it yourself, its part of the training we all did. Having read your last post i wouldnt have advised a site visit as all you need is to see whether the cuts are within limits, however fm your first post i wouldnt have thought they were and a visit might be needed to remedy the issues. do as he says first.

 

[moony]

i know the notches are oversized for the joists, simple look at them will tell you that.

i'll humour the lad though and give him his measurements