TomCat's new digs!

[blackcat20]

Did they use dye for the detection

Also the new plumbing standard is the use of PEX polyethylene pipes with press fit connections - it's even Ok to hide it behind the walls. Everyone says they are better than copper with soldered joints. But I'm not sure

No, they cut a hole in my living room ceiling under the shower. The collar around the drain is cracked, the only way to replace it is from above. And then they have to redo all the waterproofing so the whole thing gets done.

 

[Quickstatus]

We had nearly the same. But much older house. Leaking tracked with pink dye to under the shower recess. We weren't sure exactly which bathroom was the culprit. Required a complete detonation and redo. The the pipes were replaced with the new plastic ones. I would have insisted on copper but it was already put in and covered up with tiles.

 

[tgh]

For our reno here a few years back, I specified soldered copper . (full stop)
If the joints don't leak at construction testing they should never leak

 

[Quickstatus]

I specified soldered copper . (full stop)

Unfortunately I had not known about plastic press fit by the time it was all covered up except for one bit. The plumber says it's better. But I reckon he will be long gone if it leaks

And even copper to copper is pressfit these days

 

[tgh]

And even copper to copper is pressfit these days

99% of Plumbers have been trained to braze copper..it is not rocket science..
Everything now is driven by speed of build and designed to mostly last out the defects liability.

 

[VPS]

The good news is they identified the source of the leak in our shower. The bad news is that it will require the entire shower to be ripped out and rebuilt. Thankfully not as our expense.

Any news on the other building company? Are you likely to get anything back?

 

[blackcat20]

Any news on the other building company? Are you likely to get anything back?

Read this morning that the Townhouse division has been sold and the buyer intends to complete all builds including those not started. So hopefully that includes us

 

[Pushka]

We were renting a new apartment at Richmond pre Covid. The shower leaks were horrendous. They ended up pulling up the carpets, breaking into walls and while we were renting never identified the issue. This was over a period of 12 months. If it hadn't been convenient we would have moved out.

 

[Quickstatus]

They ended up pulling up the carpets, breaking into walls and while we were renting never identified the issue

That was my worry.
The leak appeared from under the carpet. Not sure where it came from initially. . Luckily the dye tracked to the shower. Otherwise it would have been a wild goose chase breaking into walls etc

 

[VPS]

Read this morning that the Townhouse division has been sold and the buyer intends to complete all builds including those not started. So hopefully that includes us

Great news. Fingers crossed indeed

 

[QF WP]

No, they cut a hole in my living room ceiling under the shower. The collar around the drain is cracked, the only way to replace it is from above. And then they have to redo all the waterproofing so the whole thing gets done.

We were renting a new apartment at Richmond pre Covid. The shower leaks were horrendous. They ended up pulling up the carpets, breaking into walls and while we were renting never identified the issue. This was over a period of 12 months. If it hadn't been convenient we would have moved out.

Completely understand this issue as we're undergoing it as well in our (rented) newbuild townhouse. Thankfully it was under Builders Warranty. hey first fixed it over 6 months, finishing July 2022. They said it was a leak from the A/C. So when we started to use the A/C again in December, it started again, only heavier.

The upstairs kids bathroom had the ceiling and back of toilet cut out to find the pipes and found the leak from a pipe which has been “fixed” - although I question the efficacy of the fix





Then they re-cut the ceiling downstairs to find the leak “highways”



One of them is the fan/light which has filled with water both times. Will be replaced again as it has siezed.

 

[Pushka]

Completely understand this issue as we're undergoing it as well in our (rented) newbuild townhouse. Thankfully it was under Builders Warranty. hey first fixed it over 6 months, finishing July 2022. They said it was a leak from the A/C. So when we started to use the A/C again in December, it started again, only heavier.

The upstairs kids bathroom had the ceiling and back of toilet cut out to find the pipes and found the leak from a pipe which has been “fixed” - although I question the efficacy of the fix

View attachment 323934

View attachment 323933

Then they re-cut the ceiling downstairs to find the leak “highways”

View attachment 323932

One of them is the fan/light which has filled with water both times. Will be replaced again as it has siezed.

View attachment 323935

That could be our apartment with all the missing panels! They just couldnt find it so they just kept chopping out walls!

 

[Pushka]

That was my worry.
The leak appeared from under the carpet. Not sure where it came from initially. . Luckily the dye tracked to the shower. Otherwise it would have been a wild goose chase breaking into walls etc

I reckon ours was the shower too although they said it wasn't. Suspect the bathroom was gutted when we left. I did hear other apartments had their ceiling flooded. What a mess.

 

[blackcat20]

Fortunately ours was easy to track down, just not an easy repair unfortunately. They were hoping it was just the join in the pipe right above the wet patch in the ceiling.

 

[Quickstatus]

found the leak from a pipe which has been “fixed”

They look like the PEX flexible polyethylene pipes I referred to earlier which are joined to copper inter connectors with pressfit

 

[Denali]

Excellent good news... that theyre going to pay for the refit. Did they give info on what went so wrong that it has to be redone?

 

[blackcat20]

Excellent good news... that theyre going to pay for the refit. Did they give info on what went so wrong that it has to be redone?

They said for that part to crack, its likely someone stood on it during the build. They dont fail often. The shower is barely used as its in the kids bathroom, so the leak has taken a while to show up.
I've also asked if I can pay to upgrade to epoxy grout, as its much better. We already had our ensuite shower redone (at their cost).

 

[blackcat20]

Shower demo was supposed to start yesterday but the plumber has been held up on another job. They disconnected the fittings and removed the screen. And it'll sit like that till next week now. Tiles all arrived as did a skip bin. And they've agreed to let us pay for epoxy which will be worthwhile.

 

[Quickstatus]

And they've agreed to let us pay for epoxy

Agree, much better in wet areas and can be colour matched.

 

[blackcat20]

Agree, much better in wet areas and can be colour matched.

It's frustrating that it isn't an option at the build stage.