Big problem with water leak in shower.

[giddyup]

Noticed that water is seeping into the bedroom from the ensuite under the skirting board. It appears that the plastic pipe inside the wall has probably not been glued together at a join somewhere, once again highlighting the incompetence and apathy of "builders" in Thailand. Have rung the maintenance man that used to work for our village and he said (as I suspected) that it will be a major job. Tiles will have to be removed, (and fat chance of finding ones to match), then trying to find the leak, which could be anywhere. The overall repair costs are probably not going to be that high because of cheap labour, but there will be a major mess for aa few days, or weeks, who knows. All for the sake of a few bahts worth of glue. Houses are cheap here in comparison to my home country, but you really do get sub-standard construction.

[steven100]

sorry to hear about your sub standard piping, as you mentioned probably at the connecting point or a corner.

[giddyup]

sorry to hear about your sub standard piping, as you mentioned probably at the connecting point or a corner.

When we first moved in 5 years ago, the water wouldn't drain from the bathroom sink. Turns out that the pipe just ran into the soil under the house, it wasn't actually connected to anything. The next door neighbour had to have his bath removed because there was no outlet attached. What can you expect when the workers are unskilled and really don't give a rat's?

[JAS21]

Deciding what to do about the tiles is your biggest problem.

If you can't find ..maybe post a pic and others can look when they are out and about.

It's always worth keeping a few of everything ..wallpaper ...floor tiles ...wall tiles ..roof tile ...ect

Just a though .. can you access from the other side.

[giddyup]

Deciding what to do about the tiles is your biggest problem.

If you can't find ..maybe post a pic and others can look when they are out and about.

It's always worth keeping a few of everything ..wallpaper ...floor tiles ...wall tiles ..roof tile ...ect

Just a though .. can you access from the other side.

Unfortunately, the builders didn't leave any spare tiles, they are mostly white, except for a strip of mosaics that run up from the floor around the tap and shower hose. I hope that the pipe can be accessed from the bedroom side, which has wallpaper, but I guess one wall will have to be stripped and painted.

[eyecatcher]

You seemed to have jumped to several conclusions; when actually you don't know where or what the problem is....do you?

Let me tell you plumbing leaks are just as common in Blighty, I know because I have had many years as a local authority surveyor.

Water appearing at point x could have come from a point 5m away very easily. until you calm down and evaluate the situation stop assuming there are incompetents at work.

pipes come apart..(if thats your problem) for several reasons; rapid increase in pressure; someone pouring sodium sulphate drain cleaner, house settlement, and even earth tremors; stretching it i know!

can you isolate your cold water supply to each of your water points to confirm which water outlet is the problem?

As for Thai incompetence, have some humility, granted the majority are not professionals as you and I would recognise but remember they dont go to college and learn city and guilds trades, they learn by experience in the months they are not in the paddy fields or the longan orchards.

Accept it, find your problem and enjoy your retirement.

[stoneyboy]

Best get one of these on the go.

[MaeJoMTB]

You only need to remove 1 or 2 tiles.

1 at top, maybe 1 at bottom.

Push in a flexible replacement hose.

[giddyup]

You seemed to have jumped to several conclusions; when actually you don't know where or what the problem is....do you?

Let me tell you plumbing leaks are just as common in Blighty, I know because I have had many years as a local authority surveyor.

Water appearing at point x could have come from a point 5m away very easily. until you calm down and evaluate the situation stop assuming there are incompetents at work.

pipes come apart..(if thats your problem) for several reasons; rapid increase in pressure; someone pouring sodium sulphate drain cleaner, house settlement, and even earth tremors; stretching it i know!

can you isolate your cold water supply to each of your water points to confirm which water outlet is the problem?

As for Thai incompetence, have some humility, granted the majority are not professionals as you and I would recognise but remember they dont go to college and learn city and guilds trades, they learn by experience in the months they are not in the paddy fields or the longan orchards.

Accept it, find your problem and enjoy your retirement.

I know the problem is a leaking pipe from the shower that adjoins the bedroom, that's the only possibility, so I don't know what conclusion I'm jumping to.Are you trying to compare the standard of plumbing (or anything in the build of a house) in Thailand to the West? In Australia you have to be a licenced tradesman to perform plumbing, electrics etc, not just arrived from Myanmar and set to work on a house build, with very little, or no supervision or training. To answer your question, no I can't isolate the water supply, because that isn't catered for here, but it's obvious where the leak is coming from.

Edited August 25, 2015 by giddyup

[wabbitcnx]

Same happened to me. Go in from bedroom is best if you can

[JAS21]

Actually we had a leak (no glue in pipe) under the tiles in the cupboards below the wash basin ... somehow the builders men '4 came'! ... 3 sat around while one worked and he managed to get a few tiles up without breaking them and do the repair... doesn't say much for how much adhesive the original tilers used.

Thailand Plumbers ... gee ... the plug hole on our bath didn't line up with the outlet pipe correctly. I only filled the bath once to test it, never used it after that ... it drained okay on that occasion. Anyway years later I found that the 'pop up' waste had fallen apart.

I ended up going in through a wall in the sink cupboard and then turning 90Deg and going through another wall to get to the waste area... not a lot of room. That was the better option than attempting to take off tiles at the side of the bath.

Mr eyecatcher ... it's not that they can't do it's that they don't care and neither does their supervisor. You appear to have been here long enough to have learnt that ... but you appear not to have done or your have been unbelievably lucky in your dealings. .

Edited August 25, 2015 by JAS21