Off-Plan Shower Size

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  [Deactivated] on 24/09/2018 - 10:47

  It's highly likely an issue with the shower head/output pressure.

  Some shower heads create a lot of splash.

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  HighAndDry on 24/09/2018 - 10:47

  The entire bathroom is tiled right? Then it's not really a problem, and definitely not a 'major' problem that the builders will have to fix. You could just ask for a bigger piece of glass, but honestly? Just install your own shower curtain after it settles.

  Edit: also, did you have a person standing in the way of the showerhead when you tested? I assume you won't be running it empty usually.

  • 

    chobani4lyf on 24/09/2018 - 11:15

    +1

    We didn't have a person standing under the water when we tested. However I think this would cause even more water to bounce off outside the shower as where you stand when you shower would be already beyond the glass panel (The entire recess is 1m x 1m and the glass panel comes out about 20cm).
    Would be very annoying and messy having a large puddle of water outside the shower every time we intend to shower.
    Would there be any grounds for us to get the builders to fix it?

    • 

      HighAndDry on 24/09/2018 - 11:16

      Ah ok. Well try that first. But,

      Would there be any grounds for us to get the builders to fix it?

      No, it's not broken.

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  [Deactivated] on 24/09/2018 - 11:09

  +1

  What seems weird to me is the glass not extending to where the drain is.

  • 

    HighAndDry on 24/09/2018 - 11:17

    Might not leave enough space for some people to get into the shower if it did…

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 24/09/2018 - 11:20

      +1

      ugh. Off the plan / design before functionality sucks. I just have one with an actual door, works fine even if it doesn't look as good in a magazine.

      If it couldn't have a larger piece of glass it sounds like an rectifiable design flaw. I'd never use that architect / construction company again. Just one more reason why I'll never buy off the plan unless it's MY plan.

      • 

        HighAndDry on 24/09/2018 - 11:23

        This is an apartment - no one buying in there is choosing the designer or builder haha, plus, if it's settling now, this was likely bought at the height of the property boom, which was very much a seller's market.

        And it might not even be design over functionality, but rather size constraints and fitting enough apartments into the DA over everything. Oh, and cost. A swinging door takes up more room. A sliding door also takes up some room (and probably costs more). Piece of glass? Cheap and easy.

        Just one of those things which come with buying off-the-plan.

        OP: There really shouldn't be a puddle though, isn't there a floor drain in the bathroom outside the shower recess? Again, my suggestion would be to put in your own shower curtain after settlement, or just keep a towel handy.

      • 

        [Deactivated] on 24/09/2018 - 11:27

        @HighAndDry: You can at least see other buildings that they've made etc. Depending on the marketer. Massive red flag if there have been none. But yeah, stuff like this is why buying off the plan almost always leads to making a significant loss if selling within a few years. They're just never worth what you paid for them when you settle, even with the massive boom.

        I've seen way to many apartments designed like this where the next issue you find is the waterproofing on the apartment above wasn't done properly, and their 'puddle' begins soaking through your ceiling paint. A problem that sometimes presents after the builders warranty is done and dusted (assuming the builder is even around long enough for that).

      • 

        geek001 on 24/09/2018 - 11:40

        Totally agree. We used to live in a house with a frameless shower glass door. There is a small gap between the glass door and the shower glass. Every time I shower, water leaks through the small gap. It looks really nice in photos, but not very practical.

      • 

        HighAndDry on 24/09/2018 - 11:58

        @Bargs: Hahaha yeah, where to start.

        1. Yes to sticking to reputable developers, tier 1/2 builders, known designers… but you pay a premium. You can have apartments next to one another where the more reputable one is a solid 10-15% mark-up over the fly-by-night developer for basically the same apartment/area/etc.

        2. People made absolutely bank during the boom. Buy on release of off-the-plan, sell before that settled, make about 2x your deposit in pure profit (e.g. $70k 10% deposit on a $700k ppty, sell for $900k before it settles, make 200k profit off 70k outlay.) Sht was utterly *cray. Those days are over now.

        3. Any decent strata will commission a comprehensive building defects report (and they're comprehensive because you'll pay between 20k and 50k for one) at around the 4-5 year mark, just before building warranty runs out so you can claim for any issues.

      • 

        [Deactivated] on 24/09/2018 - 14:55

        @HighAndDry: I guess the key is selling before it settles. Until recently though this was considered a second sale and not eligible for foreign investment or FHB grants.

        That sort of increase in price was really only a Sydney thing, and then you found the odd developer dragging out completion to they could hit a sunset date and scrap the contract. They’d get your deposit for a few years and you’d get nothing but the deposit back.

  • 

    chobani4lyf on 24/09/2018 - 11:29

    +1

    They couldn't have the glass extend to the drain as the shower is quite small (1m x 1m with a 20 cm glass panel) and extending the glass would make it difficult to get in and out.
    Make sense to me that a sliding door be installed

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  Cheaplikethebird on 24/09/2018 - 11:51

  +3

  This seems to be the trend with modern bathroom builds, annoys the hell out of me.

  • 

    boomramada on 24/09/2018 - 15:19

    +2

    This is not a builder issue, its a design issue, look neat but not practical.

    • 

      Euphemistic on 25/09/2018 - 07:05

      Like free standing baths - more difficult to clean around, but look good. Form over function annoys me too.

  • 

    SlickMick on 26/09/2018 - 10:50

    I stayed in an apartment that had no door to shower, just a tiled wall on one side and a glass screen on the other.

    I loved the simplicity of it… until I used it. It seems that this bathroom was designed to have a permanently wet floor!!??

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  thepigs on 24/09/2018 - 11:52

  +1

  was the apartment a bargain?

  • 

    HighAndDry on 24/09/2018 - 12:01

    Settling now? Unless OP bought a solid 5 years ago, doubtful. At the time it might've seemed like one though. But if OP cares about puddles on the ground they're likely going to live in it themselves, so add in first home benefits plus long return horizon, and OP should still be fine when they do realise their gains/losses in 5-10 years.

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  Gandalf the Thrifty on 24/09/2018 - 12:47

  +4

  Blame the Reno shows where a wall-less shower looks great for 3 min of TV

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  bobbified on 24/09/2018 - 13:35

  What did it look like on the plan? Was there a display home that you looked at before you purchased?

  I've got the exact same problem with the shower in my apartment and my mate's apartment is also the same. It seems like a common design now.

  It costs money, but my solution is to redo the whole thing the way I like it.

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  hawkeye on 24/09/2018 - 14:29

  Does the water hit any cabinetry something I'd be concerned about.

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  TheBilly on 24/09/2018 - 21:06

  I just want to thank you for your Microsoft Paint diagrammatic explanation.

  Thank you

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  yolohobo on 24/09/2018 - 21:27

  +1

  Two things you could look into:

  • Check the contract, floor plans, renders, etc. for anything that notes or shows how the shower screen should have been built. If it's a significant variation from what you have now, that should be grounds for you to get them to fix it.

  • Check to see if water is draining correctly. If it's pooling anywhere, that's a safety issue and something that needs to be fixed - which will most likely involve them replacing the current glass panel with a sliding or hinged door.

  Hope that helps.

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  onevstheworld on 24/09/2018 - 22:11

  Good luck getting the builders to do anything about it now. Any niggles should have been brought up at the final inspection. It's amazing how quickly the care factor plummets as the money goes from your pocket into theirs.

  • 

    boomramada on 25/09/2018 - 09:08

    Don't think its a builder issue, when OP sign the contract, OP probably gone through the plans. Need to pick it up at that stage.
    Once the build is completed, its bit too late, add those minor issue as life lessons and move along :)

    • 

      onevstheworld on 25/09/2018 - 09:33

      On final inspection, you can still get the builder to sort out minor things you're not happy with… e.g. paint damage to corners, wonky cabinet joinery. That's the whole point of the final inspection.

      OP's problem is a bit bigger than that, but a shower screen isn't major structural work, so with a bit of negotiation, the builder might still agree to do that change.

      All that is out the window once you sign over the money though.

      • 

        boomramada on 25/09/2018 - 10:44

        True but builder has no obligation to fix that. It just a bad design. As always no harm to ask.

      • 

        chobani4lyf on 25/09/2018 - 11:10

        @boomramada:
        Very strange as well. Our "final" inspection was scheduled 2.5 months before actual settlement (settlement in 2 months). Trying to come to a solution before that happens as you guys pointed out, once we settle it will be near impossible to get it done.

      • 

        boomramada on 25/09/2018 - 11:22

        @chobani4lyf:

        It would be awesome if that the only issue you are having. When you are build from a plan or off the plan, there are lots of tiny things you don't think till you live in it. Ie. position of the shower head, location of A/C unit, position of the power point. etc. Those things need to discuss way before build complete.

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  Micko179 on 25/09/2018 - 10:15

  "after just a couple of minutes of the shower head being on the ground outside the recess was soaked"

  The ground? Is the rest of the bathroom not a wet area?! If there's no drain outside the shower all of the tiles in the bathroom should 'fall' back towards the shower waste

  • 

    chobani4lyf on 25/09/2018 - 11:13

    The rest of the bathroom is tiled, however it seems impractical in our view for half the bathroom to become wet upon turning on the shower.

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  SlartiBartFozz on 25/09/2018 - 13:27

  The floor waste should ideally allow water to flow from anywhere in the room to the shower waste, this is usually the case in apartments. There is often a secondary waste if the floor tiles can be screeded towards the shower waste. In very cheap builds, the builder will just throw in a preformed shower base, but this is a poor solution and prevents water outside the shower from getting to the waste.

  Often the screen is made small as possible to allow maximal use of a very tight bathroom, which can vastly improve access to the shower; this has a few drawbacks (eg. more floor to clean, nowhere to put a shower mat, etc).

  The main factor causing overspray / splashing is the design of the shower head — a fixed head is usually a safer option, as it can't be accidentally moved and worsen the problem; Unfortunately most shower fixture manufacturers don't give out data on the spray radius, so designing these spaces is purely guesswork, and even with that information a person using the shower will cause the the water to drip even further.

  I would advise going to a bathroom hardware display room and trying out a few fixed units to find one that works best for that small space, with a little user margin. You can replace it for $100-200, provided you install it yourself using a basic hardware kit.

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  donkcat on 25/09/2018 - 21:07

  I can't remember the exact measurements but I was talking to a builder a month or so back and he told me the building inspector at planning stage noted that the nib wall/partition wall to the walk in shower wasn't long enough and they would either need to extend it or install a door. By memory the wall on the plan was about 500mm long. So it may be possible your glass panel isn't up to code. I would make some calls around and see if you can find out.

  • 

    chobani4lyf on 26/09/2018 - 14:16

    +1

    Do you mean that there is a set requirement on how long the partition wall should be?
    On our plan there is no set length for the partition and is just quoted in the schedule of finishes, it is quoted as a "frameless glass panel"

    • 

      donkcat on 26/09/2018 - 18:52

      Yes that's what I was told, next time I see the builder I'll ask him exactly what was said. Most plans don't include a dimension but it does make sense that there would be a minimum length due to waterproofing.

      • 

        chobani4lyf on 27/09/2018 - 09:42

        Would be greatly appreciated if you could ask next time you see him and possible where the requirement comes from!