Bath Seal failed - now what?

[owl10]

Good morning BCF.

Looking for advice-

Late last night i found the landing carpet was a bit damp. Pulling it up, the floorboard (Chipboard type stuff) was soaked.

No pipes nearby, but the otherside of the wall is the bathroom.

Unfortunately we've a tiled bath panel which i havent yet moved, but decided to break one of the smaller tiles and use a hole saw.

Under the bath reveals this:

https://i.imgur.com/sBCgwrZ.jpg


Dammit. (Not supposed to be black mold everywhere...).

Culprit looks like a leaky bath seal.

On the back wall is the bedroom, on the narrow end of the bath wall is the landing, so im guessing the bedroom floorboards will also be wet (not taken up carpet yet)

So.... Usual drill, remove panel, get some heat under there, replace seal etc etc.

But due to the length of time its obviously been leaking unchecked im a bit concerned about the following and would appreciate some advice:

- Problems

Those walls are plasterboard. Unlike normal internal walls, they are simply 3 bit of plasterboard bolted together with no cavity. As yet, its not gone through to the other side.

Bathroom tiles above bath seal are 22kg per square meter. and large tiles..directly on the plasterboard. Will the leak have likely damaged the wall structural integrity? How can i check ?

Same question about floorboards and more importantly, the joists?

Or, even better, which kind of trade is best placed to come and check? Plumber (its not pipe related, I already know the cause)?

Thanks!
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[doggone]

Wood is funny stuff and won't necessarily come to any harm from being wet so long as it's in a place it can dry again.
Letting it dry slowly is probably the best plan to avoid problems such as floorboards warping.
Heavier timbers will almost certainly be OK.
A common reason for waste pipes to come loose is too long an unsupported length (common under baths).
Wind vibration or just expanding and contracting can make it happen.
Existing pipes and seals are probably still OK but replacements are dirt cheap - but being 100% certain what you buy will fit is tricky if it's a few years old.

[Nb]

Had a similar issue in my house, and being as i am tight bastard i just fixed the leak and left a panel off with a dehumidifier next to it for a week. Seems fine now.
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[Ribenapigeon]

I had a similar thing happen. I just repealed the bath and left the bath panel off for a month with a dehumidifier thing which was basically a box of silica.

[mudcow007]

I have the same issue, tiler fitted new bath in our bathroom then used adhesive to attach it to the tiled wall

He didn't fit the bath properly, so when you fill the bath it sags which has caused the adhesive to pull the tiles off the wall, which in turn has allowed water to run down the side of the bath onto the floor underneath

I really need to rip it all out to assess the damage but cba

[Wonko The Sane]

bath panel off, de-humidifier (You can get one that's salt / silica based so silent and no power required that should fit under the edge of the bath)

If you don't want to do it yourself then it's a bathroom fitter that you need to do the work (we had ours done not long ago)

The seal he put on is about twice as thick (but nice and neat) than the one I did.

If you do it yourself, fill the bath with water before sealing it, leave water in overnight while the sealant goes off and then drain.

this way the sealant is compressed when not in use and returns to it's natural state when the bath is run.
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[MCN]

1st thing.

Do not think just allowing it to dry out will solve the problem.

The moisture 'can' permit fungi and or moulds to grow. Dry Rot being one common beasty.

These organisms lack something that the wood can provide so they devour the wood.

You could dry it and hope for the best with the Caveat that there will always be a 'smell of damp' in the bathroom.

The moulds and fungi spores are in the air around us. If they take or have enough time and correct conditions it can be a problem. If you have 'caught it' in time you may be fortunate to be able to dry out and possibly sanitize the area with a disinfectant.


Hopefully it's only a mild wetting.

There are issue with getting an 'expert' in to have a shoofti.

They are notorious Shysters and will think nothing of fleecing you for a grand to do a job that would easily be completed for less than half the money.
Be careful and use someone a friend can recommend.

The worst cunts for this thieving practice are the arseholes sent around by insurance companies. Everyone of the bastarts who came around our's have been hunted and we got someone to do the job for half.

The insurance companies don't care as it is not their money. And if the costs go up they make more off the commission.
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[chris-red]

Cat litter tied up in old socks is a good cheap dehumidifier. I have one in my car to stop it misting up, one under my fish tank to absorb anything spilt and one near a radiator I discovered was leaking. (it's fixed I just want to make sure it's dry)
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