Shower Basin Cracked. Advice Needed.

carfax

Not sure if this is in the right forum but just need some advice here;

Bought tiles, toilet + cistern, sink, shower basin and shower doors from ***** ** ***** (Coolock) about a month ago. Total spend was a little over €4k before tiler and plumber costs. The plumber is a long-time friend of my Grandfather's and has done lots of work for me and all of my family over the years. He also currently works for a well established company.

Yesterday the shower basin cracked close to the drain. It happened when I was standing in the shower (I'm about 13 stone) so it wasn't due to any mistreatment or anything out of the ordinary .

I spoke to ***** ** ***** (we were recommending them to a number of friends up until yesterday) who were extremely blunt with their answer that this simply could not have happened and that I must have dropped something heavy on it. I went on to email them about the matter at which point they cliam that the shower basin should have been bedded on mortar or sand by the plumber (Has anybody ever heard of this when installing a shower basin?).......The basin was put in before the tiles went in and although I'm not 100% sure what fixed it to the floor I know that a large sheet of plywood is underneath so it is completely flat.

I'm simply trying to discover who is responsible now. If it was the fault of the plumber I'm sure he will hold his hands up (he's calling up later today to take a look) and I will pay for a new tray a new tiles (not from ***** ** ***** now)......If its a product fault it has been made abundantly clear to me that ***** ** ***** do not want to know.....

Obviously the product is under guarantee, I don't know if my house insurance will cover it but will be getting info on that shortly. Small claims court will only cover the cost of the basin (about €300) if we go that road.......I am very willing to go to a solicior and pursue ***** ** ***** if necessary.....There is also some water damage to my kitchen ceiling.

If I wanted to get an independent report from a plumber etc who would you recommend?

Mods if this is in the wrong forum please delete.

If you're offering advice can you please state if you work for a tile/bathroom company or if it is just your general opinion etc.....

Thanks,
Stephen Mc Lean,
Santry,
D9.

Hagar

I've put in a few shower trays and I've always bedded them on tile adhesive. Expensive option I know but it's always to hand when tiling. They are irregularly shaped underneath and AFAIK they need support across the whole undersurface. I prefer this to putting them in on plastic feet/pads. I prefer to share the weight as evenly as possible. The area around the plughole is thinnest and I always make a point of putting it in the inner corner where it will get least traffic. Due to restrictions with drains etc. this is not always possible. In that case I take particular care to make sure that the area around the drain is well supported. care is advised when installing the drainage. It is possible to overtighten the drain fittings and cause hairline cracks that will eventaully give rise to bigger cracks.

I'm not an expert nor do I pretend to be, I just work on a common sense basis. HTH.

carfax

Hagar wrote:

I've put in a few shower trays and I've always bedded them on tile adhesive. Expensive option I know but it's always to hand when tiling. They are irregularly shaped underneath and AFAIK they need support across the whole undersurface. I prefer this to putting them in on plastic feet/pads. I prefer to share the weight as evenly as possible. The area around the plughole is thinnest and I always make a point of putting it in the inner corner where it will get least traffic. Due to restrictions with drains etc. this is not always possible. In that case I take particular care to make sure that the area around the drain is well supported. care is advised when installing the drainage. It is possible to overtighten the drain fittings and cause hairline cracks that will eventaully give rise to bigger cracks.

I'm not an expert nor do I pretend to be, I just work on a common sense basis. HTH.

Thanks for the feedback Hagar, it definitely wasn't due to overtightening around the drain but everyone else I have talked to so far (including tradespeople) have never heard of this........Haven't seen many new posts from you in the humour forum lately?

Either way this company have done themselves out of business by the way they have handled it :mad:

Hagar

I agree it would be very difficult to over-tighten the fittings nowadays, they are all plastic and will break before causing a problem with the ceramic. I'm just over cautious I guess.

I posted a few in Humour this week and a few in Lolocaust.
This mornings one I think is quite good.:D