Problem With Plumbing - Advice needed!

[Pride_In_Battle]

If it's only 8 years old then surely it is under guarantee or something with whoever built it ?

Going to get on to Barratt Homes first thing Monday, see what they have to say about things.

 

[Citizen of Legoland]

Even if the smell is mainly coming from the drain in the bath on the other side of the room? If you think it'd help, I'll happily do it, but the boxing runs the entire length of the bathroom and also holds the sink, a cupboard, and I'd probably have to remove tiles to get it off. Just want to check before I start dismantling my entire bathroom :(

Start as close as you can to where the smell is strongest. It might appear to be coming through the plug hole, but the boxing in might be channelling it into another part of the room. I'd be trying to look at the seals most likely where the horizontal soil pipe meets the soil stack, or where pipes go round corners. Also check under the bath and the overflow waste connection.

Check for water damage on the floor - I used the video function on my phone to check hard to see areas.

 

[Pride_In_Battle]

Start as close as you can to where the smell is strongest. It might appear to be coming through the plug hole, but the boxing in might be channelling it into another part of the room. I'd be trying to look at the seals most likely where the horizontal soil pipe meets the soil stack, or where pipes go round corners. Also check under the bath and the overflow waste connection.

Just taken the pictures above mate. All the piping goes into/ behind the walls. Doesn't seem to be a way to get a look at the join between the pipes and the stack without knocking through the plasterboard to follow it. As the smell isn't coming from the sink, which seems to connect with the toilet and flows independently from the bath into the stack, would I be right in thinking that the problem is likely to be isolated to this branch of the plumbing?

 

[Pride_In_Battle]

I'm a building services engineer at a loss adjusters; this would not be covered by your insurance.

How obvious is the problem? was it apparent when you moved in? What is the exact nature of the fault - how have you arrived at four grand? The only sign that there was any problem was a musty smell. We put this down to the bathroom not being used very much. There is an en suite in the master bedroom on the floor above, which will have been the primary bathroom. Nothing was disclosed by the previous owners, and nothing came up on the surveyors report (which was a basic survey, as recommended due to the age of the property)



Correct, although if he believed he had rectified it, he would not have to say anything.

PIB - what action did the plumber take previously. Looks like they've fitted another pipe, and taped up the hole into the walls to cut out the smell. I get the feeling that the last owners didn't want to fork out for the work to be done properly. We have found a note made inside some of the documentation for the NHBC guarantee that they enquired about it in 2011 (they put the date on there) but that they were told it wasn't covered. Under that they've written "Covered by insurance?", but the solicitors declarations state that they've never made a claim against their insurance on the property.



It depends. The ten year guarantee applies to houses built by members of the NHBC, but membership isn't compulsory. The warranty doesn't cover everything for the full ten years. Major structural issues would be, but other items have a shorter warranty period. Do you know if Barratt Homes are members of the NHBC? Would it be worth following this avenue again despite apparent previous enquiries?

 

[Pride_In_Battle]

Check for water damage on the floor - I used the video function on my phone to check hard to see areas.

No damage or water marks of any kind on the floor under the bath. Also no water damage or sagging to the ceiling of the kitchen directly below the bath.

 

[Citizen of Legoland]

Just taken the pictures above mate. All the piping goes into/ behind the walls. Doesn't seem to be a way to get a look at the join between the pipes and the stack without knocking through the plasterboard to follow it. As the smell isn't coming from the sink, which seems to connect with the toilet and flows independently from the bath into the stack, would I be right in thinking that the problem is likely to be isolated to this branch of the plumbing?

Just looking at your first pic, I think it's the wrong type. Bluincy put a schematic up earlier showing how the water sits in the trap. In yours the water will always sit on a seal, the second one from the plug needs to be higher up (and vertical not horizontal) . Not saying this is the cause though. Try taking it off and smell it. Water will leak out and have something to wedge under the loose pipe. You could put a bigger one on but might need to cut a hole in the floor so it fits.

 

[quiet_riot]

Hope you get sorted mate, I've only just, after 5 years, sorted a water ingress problem that I felt the previous owners should've declared/been accountable for. Solicitors and co all useless.

 

[Pride_In_Battle]

Just looking at your first pic, I think it's the wrong type. Bluincy put a schematic up earlier showing how the water sits in the trap. In yours the water will always sit on a seal, the second one from the plug needs to be higher up (and vertical not horizontal) . Not saying this is the cause though. Try taking it off and smell it. Water will leak out and have something to wedge under the loose pipe. You could put a bigger one on but might need to cut a hole in the floor so it fits.

What are the odds on this working? I filled the bath and smelled the overflow as it drained as recommended by @blueincy but it smelled normal, no foul smell at all. Would a too-shallow s-bend do this?

 

[Pride_In_Battle]

Hope you get sorted mate, I've only just, after 5 years, sorted a water ingress problem that I felt the previous owners should've declared/been accountable for. Solicitors and co all useless.

Cheers mate. Got a little un on the way in a few months, her nursery is supposed to be in the room next to this. Don't want to risk leaving it as-is if there's any risk from this.

 

[dennistueartismyhero]

Could it be a missing or faulty air admittance valve on the stack?