New Build - Builder denying responsibility for water damage

Hi all,

Apologies in advance for the long post but any practical and legal help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

I moved into a new build house (in an estate and not a once off house) in February 2004. About three weeks ago the shower in the en-suite bathroom started leaking. As a result there is a damp patch on the stud partition wall between the bedroom and the ensuite, about the size of your hand; there is also water staining on the ceiling of the sitting room. When this happened I immediately resealed the shower tray in the ensuite myself hoping that this would sort the problem.

A number of days later I got an independent builder and plumber into the house to take a look and they said the partition wall would need to come down to find the leak, to allow the floorboards to dry out and to allow the laying of a damp proof lining to prevent further mould from growing. They suggested I chase the original builder (who is still on-site) to fix and make good as a shower shouldn't leak in a new house.

I showed the damage to the finishing foreman - he had the shower tray resealed and said that should sort it. I went back to him to ask about the damage to the wall, the ceiling and the floorboards - he has since come back to say the tiler (who originally tiled and sealed the shower) looked at the seal, saw that it had been replaced (which it had, by me) and is now denying any liability for the damage caused by the water. The builder, through the foreman, is now saying they will take no responsibility for the damage and if I want to take it further I need to send a solicitors letter to the builder stating my case.

Is this a reasonable approach by the builder ? I don't deny resealing the shower but I did it after the damage was caused but obviously have no proof of this. The builder is trying to say that my bad sealing caused the damage.

The quote I got to repair the damage was €2,000 to €2,500

What options do I have in this case ? Should I just suck it up and claim on my insurance ? Should I fight the builder ? (I'm not sure I would win as he has more money to spend on solicitors than I do!!) Am I being a pain in the This post will be deleted if not edited to remove bad language?

Hi efm,

Sounds like a cop out on the builder's part. Would be interested to see if others here have any views?

One question, was the bathroom completely finished by the builder and tiler.
Before the leak were you doing any work on it or was there anything for you to finish.
It would harly be reasonable for them to claim you ripped up their seal to put in your own which then leaked.

Write it down in a letter with the facts stated and send it to the builder. Threaten to take him to the small claims court although the limit is only 1200 which is less than you need but it might make him take notice.

I had the same problem in my house,I had the builder out 7 times and still was unable to fix the problem.They resealed everything ,changed the shower door and still it's leaking,luckily I'm in a bungalow so there's only concrete underneath,however it is starting to wet the grout between my floor tiles.It looks like I'll have to take out the shower tray to see where it's coming from,no joy at this stage from the builder,but when I was complaining I was told the builder had a responsibility to guarentee the house for a year afterwards...but this is up to them it's not in writing.To be fair he came out 7 times but just couldn't fix it!Once you "tamper" with it they use this get out of jail card.It's the same as if you tried to fix an new tv/computer the warranty is void,you may have caused more damage etc.

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies - Just for clarities sake the bathroom was finished and tiled by the builder before closing.

I think the point about me ripping up a good seal for no reason is a good one and I hadn't thought of it that way before.

Thanks again for the help - At this stage I am leaning towards getting the thing fixed myself to avoid the hassle - but I bet that's what the builder is hoping for!

Hve a chat with your neighbours and see if they have had similar problems. If so, approach the builder as a group. Builders may not be so dismissive of agroup than 1 individual...daithi

Xxxxxx

Perhaps tile sealant might do the trick, same stuff as you use to seal natural stone tiles...
Leo

Hi Zegar - there was a discussion on this last month - you might find something useful here