Browse Forums Bathrooms and Laundry 1 Dec 17, 2010 12:35 pm We have a new house and have mentioned to the builder on numerous occassions that the kids bathroom floor does not drain well when water is spilt onto the floor. They have come out and measured and said there is slope, that all they have to have is some slope as there is no standards. Yesterday we had their plumber out to replace some fittings that had already rusted (we have been in house since Sept 2010!) and he said that you ar enot meant to get too much water on the floor (Outside a bath tub) as they are just emergency drains and they do not flow well so you really should be careful about not getting lots of water from the bath (and no soapy water) draining down the pipes as it will start to smell. Now this is the first we have heard of any of this and am quite amazed. We have 3 boys aged 5, 3 and 1 so I have to ask how are we not meant to get water going on the floor tiles and wanting to go down the drain. here are some pics of the water (and if I do not mop it up it will be there 24 hours later) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Any advice on what we can do to fix or suggest to builder to fix? Re: Water not draining in bathroom well 2Dec 18, 2010 10:03 am Yes there is fall but is it to the drain. The lowest point on the floor must be the drain - and it obviously is not. The tile at the waste could have also been cut to help. But the main issue here is that the drain is not the lowest point. This is not acceptable and your builder needs to look at it. It is harder to get a fall with a bigger tile but even so the lowest point is the drain and if pooling is to occur due to a larger tile it should be at that point not agaisnt the wall like it looks like there. and yes there are standards for the fall to the waste. Re: Water not draining in bathroom well 3Dec 18, 2010 10:36 am Should have mentioned the tiles are the standard 200*200 size so we did not expect any problems (our ensuite ones were larger and we were told this can create problems). Our builder has been adamant that there is no standards just that a fall had to occur and that the tiles do have a fall - but as you say it does fall to the wall more then the drain Re: Water not draining in bathroom well 4Dec 18, 2010 2:00 pm I'm pretty sure there is a standard. Standards and Tolerances Guide says: Unless documented otherwise, tiling work and materials must comply with AS3958.1: Ceramic tiles - Guide to the installation of ceramic tiles ... If you can't find the AS3958.1 (or don't want to buy it), you can go to your local library and try accessing it online. BTW, I am also pretty sure that the standard is to have a fall of between 1:60 to 1:80 and this is obvioulsy above the drain point. Tiles are not sloped towards the drain in your case (basically, the drain should be like in a shallow hole, like Zedman already explained). BTW 2, Standards and Tolerances Guide further says: Faulty installation of tiles is defective if caused by the builder's workmanship. My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Water not draining in bathroom well 5Dec 19, 2010 12:17 pm there is a standard so tell your builder you want it fixed or you will be going to the building commision and putting in a claim under builders warranty ins. its time to play hard ball as you dont know the damage the water will cause to the sub floor under the tiles dont let the builder bully you they have to fix it they done it wrong be firm let them know you mean buisness good luck but get onto it asap stay safe happy building Re: Water not draining in bathroom well 6Dec 20, 2010 5:42 pm I would say the builder and the plumber are 100% right. What you have shown is the drain in the bathroom floor, not the drain in the shower. That drain is for heavy overflow, not for smallish amounts of water as shown in your pictures. I have never seen a bathroom floor that has enough slope to coerce water like that to flow to the drain. I mean to say look at how 'steep' the tiles in a shower are and then think what that would look like on the main floor. Re: Water not draining in bathroom well 7Dec 20, 2010 6:40 pm OK, let's cut the crap out. The standard, from the BCA (Building Code of Australia) is: 1) a fall of between 1:80 to 1:100 outside a shower 2) a fall of between 1:60 to 1:80 inside a shower. I'm very disappointed that the builder is trying to pull the wool over your eyes. Needs fixing, but it won't be easy! Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Water not draining in bathroom well 8Dec 20, 2010 7:38 pm Casa2 OK, let's cut the crap out. The standard, from the BCA (Building Code of Australia) is: 1) a fall of between 1:80 to 1:100 outside a shower 2) a fall of between 1:60 to 1:80 inside a shower. I'm very disappointed that the builder is trying to pull the wool over your eyes. Needs fixing, but it won't be easy! Your figures say it all really. The OP has stated the tiles are 200x200mm. So on that size tile you would expect a fall of between 2.5mm to 2mm per tile. If you look at the tile in the picture I would say the surface of the tile has about that much variation anyway hency why the water is tending to move towards the grout joint. Futher the drain is in the middle of a tile, meaning any water in the grout joint won't be able to go 'uphill' to the drain, which in turn is causing the pooling that can be seen. Bottom line is as the plumber and builder have stated. A drain in the middle of the bathroom floor is for excess water, not relativly minor amounts such as this. It's possible but a soak well is usually much larger. Your 'soak well' only holds 424 litres when full. What is your soil type? Soak wells need sandy soils. 10 8985 Finally got the Soakwell at my house sucked out. Now I’m looking for ideas on how to hide it as it’s a bit of an eye sore. 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