A Tiler, a Toilet and Around £2,000 Worth of Damage
We attended a property where a tiler had removed the toilet so they could lay the new floor tiles.
Nothing wrong with that.
The problem came when they decided to refit the toilet themselves.
It wasn’t installed properly.
It leaked.
And by the time the customer realised something was wrong, the water had already caused around £2,000 worth of damage.
The tiles looked lovely.
Unfortunately, the water leaking underneath them wasn’t particularly interested in the finish.
A simple job done by the wrong person
Removing and refitting a toilet might look straightforward.
Undo a few fittings.
Move it out of the way.
Put it back.
What could possibly go wrong?
Quite a lot, apparently.
A toilet has water connections, seals, waste fittings and fixings that all need to be installed and tested properly. A small mistake can allow water to leak slowly beneath the flooring, into the ceiling below or into nearby timber.
And hidden leaks are patient.
They can sit there quietly causing damage while the bathroom still looks absolutely fine.
Need a Gas Safe engineer in Weston-super-Mare?
Use the right trade for the job
You wouldn’t use a hammer to put a screw in.
It might eventually go in.
That doesn’t make it the right tool.
The same applies to trades.
There are tilers who are brilliant at tiling. There are plumbers who are brilliant at plumbing.
Being good at one thing does not automatically make somebody competent to do everything surrounding it.
If a toilet, basin, radiator or other plumbing fixture needs disconnecting and reconnecting, use somebody who understands how to install it, test it and take responsibility for it.
The cheap option became very expensive
Paying a plumber to refit the toilet properly would have cost a fraction of the damage caused by getting it wrong.
That is the frustrating part.
The original saving was tiny.
The repair bill was not.
The cheapest option is normally only cheap until it leaks.
The lesson
When different trades are working on the same room, make sure each part of the job is completed by the right person.
The tiler tiles.
The electrician handles the electrics.
The plumber handles the plumbing.
It sounds obvious.
Then you see a £2,000 repair caused by a badly fitted toilet and realise it apparently needs saying.
Kesselmann Heating & Plumbing provides plumbing repairs and bathroom work across Weston super Mare, Clevedon, Portishead, Nailsea, Bristol and North Somerset.
