leaky shower

It appears the remodeled shower stall in the master bathroom is leaking water below the floor of my one-story house. The shower has marble tile on the wall and granite-like tile on the floor. The grout on the floor has separated from the wall and water is getting past that. Investigation by contractors reveals there is no shower pan under the shower and the subfloor is damaged. There is some mold under the house also. I am told the shower was constructed incorrectly and that this problem has been going on for a long time. Evidence of clear caulk at the junction of the floor and threshold supports that idea.

The home inspector that I had look the house over before purchasing it

13 months ago missed all this despite there being no insulation under the house at the time of inspection. The owner of the company which is reputable in this area claims if there was a problem at the time his inspector would have seen it. He hints since the house was vacant there is no way he could have determined any trouble with leaks or copper pipes since the pressure wasn't fluctuating due to use. He also reiterated several times the 12 month liability has passed and refused to come inspect it himself.

I have contacted a lawyer to inquire of my options and am awaiting word. One contractor has provided a quote for repair of $1700 plus cost of new tile so it appears the damage isn't large. Considering the estimate is lower than I expected it will probably not be worth litigation.

Let my experience be a lesson for potential home buyers. Go into the crawl space with your inspector and look for yourself. You may save yourself some trouble later.

Reply to
badgolferman
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*Forget about a lawyer and the inspection company. Focus on fixing the problem correctly. You won't get satisfaction by suing.
Reply to
John Grabowski

You might see evidence of a leak, but would see nothing to tell you that the shower had no proper pan. That would be hidden within the concrete shower pan.

Reply to
Bob F

Cannot imagine inspector being able to see that shower pan was missing. He could not lift the tile floor to see if pan was there.

I had same problem with new construction and was fighting with the builder. Shower floor had been installed over torn pan. I went to the plumber and tile installer that contractor had used and convinced plumber to replace pan and tile installer to put in new floor. A couple of years later I had to redo the whole shower as tile walls were installed on regular dry wall which eventually came apart.

I sued builder over the other problems, settled out of court but never got a cent. Builders know how to hide their assets. Who would you sue: previous owner/builder, plumbing contractor or tile installer? Also lawyers don't work for free and you may need to hire expert witnesses. But, if you do decide to sue, you could go through small claims court and act on your own for cheap. I actually did this with Ford and a Ford dealer and got a good settlement.

Reply to
Frank

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