Bathroom Query (or why did I look behind that wall!)

[gothiceye]

Hi,

We've had a leak from our shower on and off for some time, but have finally plucked up the courage to make an inspection hole in the plasterboard wall which seperates it from the spare room... and are definitely wishing we hadn't! Owing to the close proximity of the shower to the toilet, the builders had apparently had the bright idea of building the wall around the shower tray... with part of it sticking through the wall. What little plasterboard they used to create the wall on that side extended only partway down the wall, with the rest of the tiles hanging on by what looks like sheer willpower..... :shock:

Anyway the mount for the shower tray is rotten, so will have to come out, as will most of the wall so we can repair it. We have however, through more investigation holes (most of our house which isn't original seems to be mainly built of plaster board!) discovered the old fireplace for upstairs behind the back wall of the shower, so we are planning to move the bathroom wall along when we rebuild it so that the fireplace can be revealed, as a decorative feature, even if we cannot use it (since the main chimney has recently been lined).

Question is... moving this wall will mean that we need to rethink the arrangement of the bathroom, and we are looking at moving the placement of the fittings to accommodate this. What do we need to consider in order to do this?

Additionally - when we remove the rest of the plasterboard to reveal the fireplace, it looks like we will need to reroute a ring main or similar and a water pipe (and remove a ton of rubble), which have all been run round the back of the plasterboard (?) :shock: .... any advice?

 

[Penners]

What do we need to consider in order to do this?

Well, here are a few random thoughts.

* LBC - this has been covered in another post, and I think you know what's required, now.

* Plumbing - if you're going to move a wall and reinstate the shower in a different position, you'll need to ensure that the water supply to, and the waste run from the shower will still be workable. The waste is probably the more tricky, because you need to ensure that you can run it to the original outflow point (presumably a soil stack or downpipe) and still have sufficient fall on the pipe. If this proves impossible you could consider pumping it, but this is more costly and involves a fair bit of work on the plumbing and the electrics. It's also a bit noisy.

* Electrics - it shouldn't be difficult to re-route a ring main, but remember that the new Part P regulations will require you to have this done by a "competent person" or to pay for an inspection if you do it yourself.

* Shower - when you re-install the shower in a new location, don't be tempted to stick tiles staright on to plasterboard, or even plasterboard that's been skimmed. Either use a proper waterproof tiling board (eg: http://www.knaufdrywall.co.uk/aquapanel/) as the backing wall, or tank the plasterboard (eg:http://www.thetilingshop.co.uk/modules/shop/view.asp?Prodcode=9005-102).

 

[gothiceye]

thanks for the advice - and as for putting tiles onto plasterboard, no chance - not after seeing the damage caused by the previous 'builders'. If you've got an existing plasterboard wall (in this case seperating our room from the bathroom, can you put this other tiling board directly onto it, or does it need to be removed?

 

[Penners]

I don't see why you can't put the tiling board over the top of the plasterboard - providing the latter is not damp. Trapping moisture would be a bad idea.

 

[gothiceye]

Thanks - As far as I can tell, the board on all remaining bathroom walls is sound. The only moisture that gets there is condensation, which clears easily enough.

 

[Penners]

OK, but do make sure you don't trap any in there. Get it really dry before you cover it up.

 

[gothiceye]

Update - We pulled the lino back in the bathroom in the corner nearest the leaking shower - and rapidly wished we hadn't. The bad news is that it looks like we have wetrot, but the good news is that it looks like it is only affecting the one floorboard nearest the affected wall.

The insurance said that they will pay for the damp (and I am hoping that this includes replacing said floorboard with suitably shaped oak, as the LBC would require), but they cannot quote for anything until we remove the showercubicle (understandably) - so that will be something to look forward to this weekend or next!!

 

[Penners]

The bad news is that it looks like we have wetrot

Actually, I would regard that as moderately good news. Bad news would be dry rot! Once you've replaced the affected timber and fixed the shower leak*, the problem will go away.


*sounds easy when you say it quickly! :wink:

 

[gothiceye]

Especially when you add quickly - "when the showers been replaced, the walls been moved to reveal the hidden fireplace in the adjoining room, and the bathroom gets completely remodelled to fit in the new smaller gap"!

Quick question tho - the wall below (brick, plaster, I think) shows sign of water damage - at least what looks like water marks appearking through the paintwork. Is this something that will recover naturally, and need nothing more that an overcoat of paint, or would more detailed work be necessary? The wall itself is very solid - not crumbling or soft - and the fireplace which adjoins it is brick faced and in fairly good condition (we've just had work done on it to line it and put an access hatch in). That is of course another suggestion to the damage, that at some point rain got in and it soaked through?

...Am veering between loving this house and hating it at the moment - puts me in mind of 'the money pit'!

 

[Penners]

If it's fairly obvious that the wet wall below is due to the leaking shower, then clearly when you've stopped the leak the wall should dry out.

You may find, however, that stains in the damp part of the wall will constantly find their way through the paint, when you redecorate. It would therefore be a good idea to paint the damp area (once it has thoroughly dried) with Stain Block, or a similar paint, before you put on your final decorative paint.

 

[gothiceye]

Thanks - can you get stain block or similar from regular diy shops?

 

[Penners]

Yes - it's made by Polycell. Any DIY should have it. I recommend the tin rather than the aerosol - the latter doesn't give very substantial coverage.

 

[Pford75]

And don't be tempted to lay the replacement floorboard until the area has thoroughly dried....or it will warp

 

[gothiceye]

Do you know roughly how long it will take to dry out - or a good way of telling? The floorboard which was wet in the adjoining room when we removed the carpet dried out within a couple of days once the air could circulate to it (however, this one had not got any rot, it was just wet.

Are we looking at a similar period for the bathroom area? The vinyl is up in the bathroom to expose it to the airflow (unfortunately no direct window or ventilation into this room - although there will be when we remove the plasterboard wall) so we just need to get the shower tray out now.

 

[Penners]

It all depends on the weather. In nice warm, dry, breezy weather, it should dry in around a week or so, provided it's well ventilated.

Don't be too hasty, though, when the surface looks dry. If the water has soaked right in, the centre of the wood will take longer to dry out. Unless you've got a moisture meter, just leave it as long as you feel you can.

 

[gothiceye]

Re: creating a new shower - We were pricing a few things up in b and q, and the assistant suggested using exterior plywood as a more affordable alternative? (The aquaboard was about 16 pounds for a fairly small sheet)

Any good?

BTW - we took out the shower enclosure and tray yesterday (on the instruction of both the CO and the insurers), and it doesn't look too bad, I think the floorboards were more wet than rotten (although the reverse side has got some fungus growing on it - it looks like the pine batons that had the tray resting on it, and the ones in the lower part of the plasterboard wall had absorbed most of it. We now have a nice hole in the wall too, as the damaged plasterboard was so rotten that it just caved in as we were dismantling the enclosure!

 

[Penners]

W-e-l-l... exterior ply would certainly be better than ordinary plasterboard, but I still wouldn't use it. Essentially the thing that makes it exterior grade is the waterproof glue used to laminate it. The wood is still wood, and you've seen for yourself that wood and water are not happy bedfellows in such applications.

Ask yourself whether it's worth the saving of a few pounds to risk having to re-do the job a few years ahead. If you use aquapanel, you will remove that risk.

However, if you do decide to go the plywood route, make sure it's stamped WBP. This refers to the proper waterproof glue used to make it.

 

[gothiceye]

Are there any online shops that would offer aquaboard at more reasonable or trade prices?

 

[Penners]

Mr Google will give you an answer to that.

 

[gothiceye]

Yep tried that! - lots of forums asking the same question! I think it will have to be wickes or b and q