Moisture in the walls - Who do I contact?

PiratePete1911 on 12/02/2022 - 23:57
Last edited 13/02/2022 - 00:17

Not long after moving in to our newly purchased house we noticed that there was mould forming around where the wall meets the floor in the room backing directly on to the shower. We had a plumber out and they told us it was a builders problem, the builder says a plumber needs to look at it. Eventually we had someone come out who said that the shower just needed to be re-grouted which they did.

Its been a few months since the re grout and a moisture meter indicates its still extremely wet in the walls and floor around that area. Who should we contact about this? It seems like something in the wall is leaking. Is it a plumber? Is it a builder? Is there some kind of super combo person that does both?

We are in WA if that helps, thanks for taking time out of your day to read my post!

EDIT - I am not looking at going after anyone for this, I just want to fix it.

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Sinful on 13/02/2022 - 00:09
    -1

    Ombudsman?

  • Summoner on 13/02/2022 - 00:16
    +3

    Not sure what kind of warranty you got from the builder. So not sure if builder is responsible.

    Anyway if you want to fix the issue, its the plumber you contact. Since re-grout did not fix the issue, you will need to find the source of water leak. This may involve cutting the wall plaster to visually inspect inside the wall.

    In such case, you might be better off claiming it through your insurance if your insurance covers the damage caused by escape of water (depending on the cost and your excess). In such case, your insurance would cover the cost of cutting, re-plastering, and painting the wall, but usually not cost of repairing the leak itself.

    Once you find out the source of leak. If the poor workmanship from the builder caused the leak, you might be able to have them repaired by the builder.

    • PiratePete1911 on 13/02/2022 - 00:18

      Thanks, I will seek advice from a plumber and I will see what my insurance says.

      • Summoner on 13/02/2022 - 00:29
        +1

        I had the similar issue with our house. Watermark appeared on the ceiling on settlement day, made the claim trought the insurance. Insurance assessor came and left as they could not identify the issue, so they werent willing to help, they just wanted to close the claim. So i had to call plumber to cut the plaster on the ceiling. The plumber didnt find any issue, so both plumber and assessor agreed water leak was caused by the cleaners who cleaned the bathroom above with excessive water. So i withdrew the claim and dealt with rest on my own.

        So, there is a high chance you would need to find out the cause of the leak with the licenced plumber, before you can get your insurance or the builder to fix the issue. If you do not have the opinion from the licensed plumber, they might not do anything to help you.

  • MrThing on 13/02/2022 - 00:33
    +3

    Ghost busters

  • garetz on 13/02/2022 - 00:46
    +2

    Once you regrouted the builder is no longer responsible, as they can just blame that work as the culprit.

    I would say the problem is the water proofing was not done to a good standard. That is probably why the plumber blamed the builder.

    The builder wanted a plumber so as to obfuscate the real issue.

    You should probably post photos if you want an accurate assessment.

  • morse on 13/02/2022 - 00:46
    +1

    newly purchased house

    Newly built and purchased or just newly purchased?

    Could either be leaky pipes or inadequate waterproofing or both. Plumber for former, builder for latter. Sometimes grout will suffice but other times you’ll need the waterproofing to be redone.

    Our insurer sends some one to diagnose the issue and estimate costs and bases repairs off that. Just be aware not all issues are covered by insurance.

    • PiratePete1911 on 13/02/2022 - 00:57

      Just newly purchased, the house itself is 40 years old.

      • morse on 13/02/2022 - 01:13
        +2

        Yeah really could be either or both. We’ve had similar issues and our house is 40 years old too (bathrooms about 15years since last Reno). In one room we took out the plaster on the wall behind in the wardrobe as it had to be replaced anyway and were able to see it was leaking pipes. My husband took out a tile in the shower, did the plumping work himself and replaced the tile and it’s been okay since except now the pipes rattle (downside of DIY plumbing). Other bathroom was re grouted and siliconed but I feel in time we’ll have to rip out the old tiles re water proof and tile. Just waiting until we decide to do a full bathroom reno. We tend to do a lot of investigating ourselves due to that exact issue you’ve had with trades people. If the plumber said there was no issue with the pipes leaking (and you trust their judgement) then likely you’ll need someone who does waterproofing. I always try and get a recommendation from a friend or colleague to find a good tradesperson.

  • p1 ama on 13/02/2022 - 02:21
    +1

    House is 40 years old, these sorts of things happen. Only way to figure out what's going on is to cut the plasterboard (DW - these things are cheap, can get a replacement from Bunnings). Then you can see where the water is coming from. Without context, it's hard to figure anything out - is the wall against the "pipes" side of the shower, or the other side, for instance?

    • PiratePete1911 on 13/02/2022 - 02:39

      Its against the pipes side, I think you are right about it needing to be opened up to find out.

      • Euphemistic on 13/02/2022 - 18:52

        If opening up you are better off opening the side not in the bathroom. That way you won’t disturb any waterproofing - although you might find it needs waterproofing anyway. Not sure when waterproofing became mandatory.

  • AustriaBargain on 13/02/2022 - 02:59

    You should figure out what is causing the moisture first. How can you know who to blame when you don't even know what the problem is.

    • PiratePete1911 on 13/02/2022 - 05:15
      +3

      Im not looking for someone to blame, I am looking for someone to help me figure out what the problem is so that it can be fixed.

  • AndyC1 on 13/02/2022 - 09:35

    The water proofing has gone. Rerouting will help, but it will come back. You need the shower re-sealed for water penetration, which can be done without removing the tiles. I have no idea how they do it or what they do. Google "resealing shower" and read up and get quotes etc.

    As the building is 40 years old the builder will not do anything and has no obligation to do anything as it is well and truly out of warranty.

  • TurboTortoise on 13/02/2022 - 10:05
    +4

    If you have another shower in the house consider not using the leaking one for a while and see if the moisture goes. If the moisture decreases that might suggest it is the waterproofing. If the moisture keeps coming, then suggests it is the pipes. Epoxy regrouting and replacing the silicon can work. But often retiling the base and re waterproofing is the long term solution. Grinding out the old grout, replacing with Epoxy grout and then silicon the wall / floor joins typically costs about $500 to $800.

  • JimmyF on 13/02/2022 - 10:07
    +1

    I am not looking at going after anyone for this, I just want to fix it.

    Your bathroom is leaking, most likely the shower….. If you want to fix it right, then you need to pull it out, redo the waterproofing layer, tile etc. Basically plan for a bathroom upgrade :)

    If you have time on your side, you can pull the shower walls/tiles out, and use a fan to dry the framing etc. But I see you're in WA, so guessing brick walls? If so, not much you can do here to speed up the drying. Put a fan on the wall, dehumidifier in the room with wet walls to help suck moisture out.

    Basically you want a bathroom reno place to look at it, as your real fix is a new bathroom.

  • iCandy on 13/02/2022 - 10:22

    It sounds like a leak in the waterproofing membrane. If a new build, builder needs yo organise rectification.

    • AndyC1 on 13/02/2022 - 11:11

      From post above:
      Just newly purchased, the house itself is 40 years old.

  • [Deactivated] on 13/02/2022 - 11:59
    +1

    We had the same issue years ago and just like in your case, the advice from the plumber was to re-grout the shower stall walls and floor which we did and cleaned and repainted the shared wall.

    A couple of months later, the shared wall was showing signs of damp again with bubbling paint. We had another plumber look at it and he confirmed that it was a burst pipe which was repaired and no further issues since that time. The second plumber was surprised the burst pipe was not located by the initial plumber as it's meant to be the first thing they check for.

    Find a good plumber - if you are new to the area, request recommendations from your neighbours or friends/family/colleagues.

  • thatonethere on 13/02/2022 - 13:09
    +1

    Grout isn't a waterproof barrier. If you know how old the bathroom itself is - if it's 40 years old then just get the entire thing ripped out to the walls and start again.

    • iamherenow on 13/02/2022 - 13:34

      Or just pull the house down?

      Being serious, could just be a leaking pipe.

  • wei13 on 13/02/2022 - 15:19

    Had similar problem.

    Usually , either a pipe leak , or waterproofing issue with the shower.

    Can get plumber to do a pressure test on the pipes, to see if there is a leak in the pipe itself. If so then quite straightforward, get pipe fixed .

    If not pipe leak , then can get tricky , as there might be a leak anywhere along the shower base. Building inspectors will typically block the drain and flood the shower , then watch for leaks into the adjacent walls. There can be leaks anywhere from degraded silicone to grout to needing areas around the shower ripped out and redone.

    In my case I was lucky . The silicone alone the edge of the shower base was visually cracked , so I stripped the old silicone and put in new silicone, which fiXed the problem .

  • jackary on 13/02/2022 - 15:37

    Had a similar issue with our upstairs shower causing bubbling of the paint of the ceiling below, which eventually turned to black mould. Had the shower regrouted, mould continued, turned out to be the waterproof membrane. Wasn’t as expensive as expected. Around $1500 to fix.

  • Euphemistic on 13/02/2022 - 18:53

    Is here any hands you can avoid using the shower for a while to see if it dries out? Ie use another bathroom.

  • bradl822 on 13/02/2022 - 21:07

    Chances are like a few have said your water proof membrane has failed. I have an investment property that I have had this repaired in rather then a full renovation. Price was just under 2k from memory.

  • Feinnyiix on 27/08/2023 - 12:24

    Hey you’re probably more than sorted already but just in case you and or anyone else had the same issue and the shower needs Re grouting and resealing, we used a company called MegaSealed and can highly recommend them as they did an awesome job

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