When bad things happen !

I had a plumber take a look at my wet, wet room last night and have found to my horror that I have been the victim of a cowboy builder.
It seems that when the wet room was made it was not properly waterproofed. By looking through the vent on the outside of the house, with a torch, where the water came from yesterday the plumber could see that the waste pipe from the sink is not connected to anything, that blue plastic had been laid on the floor and then a wooden frame put on it. This is the base of the wet room. Up a step of 7 inches.
It seems that the floor was not waterproofed before the tiles were fitted and when the shower is on, water is seeping down in droplets onto the plastic sheeting and will be rotting the wooden frame.
There is a pool of water sitting on the plastic and the musty smell has been this stale water.
When the sink tap is turned on the water runs out of the house across the garden.
One solution would be to have it all removed and replaced. You can imagine how much this would cost!!
Another is to not use the sink and use the shower sparingly. This way I may have 5 to 10 years before the base is totally rotten.
When we moved into this house on the 1st of June 2012. I had a few quotes for a toilet and wet room. Joanne had been talking to one of the other mothers and mentioned that we needed work done. She was told that the woman’s father was a retired builder who still did work.
He quoted for the removal of fireplace in the living room and the building of a wet room and toilet in the hall. We were to supply fixtures and fittings and he knew someone who was an electrition and would wire in the lighting and shower, plus put in extra sockets where needed in 2 rooms. He would then make good on the plastering. It was all a verbal agreement and he was paid in cash as the job proceeded, ( Big Mistake!! )
I ordered a vanity sink on line, also an electric shower and went one day to B & Q where we got tiles and fittings, plus a toilet.
I went to stay with friends on the 1st of June, on the 17th of June I fell down a step and ended up in hospital ( The Royal Glamorgan in Llantrisant ) with a fractured ankle.
As I was non weight bearing I was in this hospital for several days on 3 different wards before being transferred to a rehabilitation hospital. (West wing, Glossop Terrace )
My leg was plastered and I was in a room with an elderly lady, I was in fact the youngest patient on the ward!
During the time I was away from the new home I did get progress reports, the work seemed to be going slow!!
I finally went home to the new house on the 2nd of August. Using a walking frame.
As the shower was not finished I had to have NHS carers come and help me sit in the kitchen and wash with a bowl at the table. Joanne as my carer was cooking , cleaning and washing my clothes and changing my bed.
The social worker arranged for hand rails to be put in the wet room, the toilet was working but I had a commode in my room as I was having difficulty walking. They arranged for an extended step at the front door and rails on either side. I also had a step and rails put at my sliding door into the garden. They also arranged a wheelchair for me.
Finally I was able to shower ! That was at the end of September.
All I know about the builder is that his name is Steve, I don’t know where he lives, I only met him a few times as he dealt with Joanne. His Grandchild goes to Birchgrove school. I have his phone number, it goes to an answer machine and he does not return my calls.
29-July-2013

Update

My friend Sian suggested that I get my wet room done by my house insurance. When I was looking through my papers I came across a policy I have with the AA for Emergency work.

I called out the AA home emergency response people yesterday and they sent a plumber. He believes that the pipes that were put in the wet room were the wrong type and click together instead of soldered ones and have come apart. Under my contract with them he could do the repair but any work that needed to be done after could be done on my house insurance.

It looks like the floor tiles and structure would be taken apart and have to be replaced also the pipes. I rang SAGA insurance claims and was told they cannot access my account on a Sunday!! I asked why they were there then and was told for emergencies and new claims, I said this was a new claim and I had an emergency man here waiting to do the work. I was told to ring back on Monday.

The AA man suggested that I put in a claim on my insurance and get them to do the work and he went.

I decided to contact SAGA in the morning.

Later in the day I had a phone call from Steve the builder. He said he had been away for a few days and just got my messages and would come tomorrow and have a look at the wet room!! He is coming at 5pm today, I will wait to see what he says today.