Browse Forums Building A New House 1 May 19, 2009 7:10 pm We moved in to our Meletis built house a week ago and tonight, to our horror, the bath won't drain and the accompanying toilet won't drain either (luckily, under "test flush" conditions! I know there's the 3 month fixing issue but surely this is something that they should fix straight away or do we organise to get fixed pronto tomorrow morning and then bill them for it? (Just as we've had to get the hot water service "commissioned" as they didn't and we got billed $400 which we now have to claim back from Meletis.) Any suggestions as to why this might be happening and any on what we should do to handle it would be most welcome this evening as we rack our brains on what else these guys could do to stuff up this house build... Re: URGENT -moved in a week ago and now bath/toilet won't empty 2May 19, 2009 8:59 pm Hi levelheaded, If you're other sinks, toilets and a like are draining/flushing as they should you can rule out any issue with the mains. If it's just the bath and one toilet then most likely there is a blockage in the waste pipe servicing them. Often during construction debris will fall into un-capped floor wastes and this might have caused a block as it is pushed further down as you have started to use water. It's probably an easy enough job to fix, but I would certainly ask your builder to rectify it before forking out your own cash. It is also something that can be avoided by ensuring the pipes are capped during construction. Re: URGENT -moved in a week ago and now bath/toilet won't empty 3May 19, 2009 8:59 pm Did they give you any contact numbers to call if you had any urgent problems?? If not give them a call first thing in the morning as I am sure most builders would have a maintenance division, if not their own at least companies that they use. Would save you having to pay out money and then get reimbursed. Re: URGENT -moved in a week ago and now bath/toilet won't empty 4May 19, 2009 9:09 pm Thanks for this - in my blind panicI rang a plumbing/drains guy who told me pretty much the same thing. He said these things are supposed to be checked by the plumber who provides the plumbing certificate but often aren't. So yes, will crack onto builder first thing and get them to fix it. How's this for a horror story, he said he went to one job where the concreting guy poured liquid concrete into the sewage inspection pipe just to get rid of it... I'm very suspect about these plumbing inspection certificates though - ours said he checked the hot water service but we still had to get Rheem out 3 days after we moved in, only to get told the service hadn't been commissioned as per installation instructions and that it should have been done when indicated "checked" on the plumbing certificate. Honestly, plumbers sound *** as... (apols to all the *** plumbers out there...) Re: URGENT -moved in a week ago and now bath/toilet won't empty 5May 19, 2009 11:58 pm Hmmm *** Plumbers... out of 27 new pans installed 11 had to be re-set and a futher 8 were leaking flush water several others were not level or bent(at an angle from the wall) and the guy had the gall to try and charge $6300.(28hrs) ... and then met the plumbing GOD he re-set, re-fitted, cleaned up and only charged $700... Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: URGENT -moved in a week ago and now bath/toilet won't empty 6May 20, 2009 11:57 am Looks like you didn't test all your toilets/bath tubs during your handover inspection... This might be a good time to test for leakings in your bathroom/kitchen/laundry basins as well: pour some water around the tap, outside the basin and see if it leaks down... How about filling up all your bath tubs and get an adult to stand in there, to see if there's any cracks around the bath tub? Also, as happened to us (see post below), make sure you check the floor drains for anything unusual... http://building-our-first-house.blogspo ... prise.html Re: URGENT -moved in a week ago and now bath/toilet won't empty 7May 20, 2009 12:47 pm We had this happen soon after we moved in. Turned out the main drains were blocked due to soil and other builders rubbish ending up in there during the build. The builders sent a plumber out immediately and it was fixed in about 10 mins, we have never had a problem again, apparently it is quite common. Re: URGENT -moved in a week ago and now bath/toilet won't empty 8May 20, 2009 12:59 pm Call the builder and get them to send someone out straight away so you don't need to pay and they can't also argue about the charges Re: URGENT -moved in a week ago and now bath/toilet won't empty 9May 20, 2009 1:12 pm Have you rang your builder yet? I would be ringing them first, house is brand new, their problem to fix. Happy at Home Re: URGENT -moved in a week ago and now bath/toilet won't empty 10May 20, 2009 3:52 pm Update - builder came out and tried to fix himself and then yes, a drains plumber guy came out this afternoon - spent about an hour with various tools/snakes trying to clear the brick, polystyrene, drink bottles, rocks, dirt and other garbage that was stuck down there, and we're all good now. seems the sewer inspection point was just used as a garbage dumping point! At least we didn't have to jack hammer up the bathroom to get to it, another horror story this guy told us about - 4 in 4 days last Christmas... Yes, tested everything like that at handover, so surprised it happened a week later. Phew. fingers crossed no more little surprises. Thanks for all the advice though folks - very much appreciated! Re: URGENT -moved in a week ago and now bath/toilet won't empty 11May 20, 2009 4:13 pm Thanks levelheaded, this story confirms one of my little paranoid worries. Every time we visited our site (before the bathrooms were finished) I always put the covers back on the drains whenever I found one uncovered. I even went around and replaced missing covers on the outside storm water pipes using discarded aircon duct tape ends and roof sarking offcuts. Debris going into the "charged system" could end up blocking the rain water flow into the tank. Built the C£arend0n Cambridge: Moved in. Happy campers. Here's our story on HomeOne I might be old, but I have no trouble finishing my... er... Re: URGENT -moved in a week ago and now bath/toilet won't empty 12May 20, 2009 4:42 pm levelheaded Update - builder came out and tried to fix himself and then yes, a drains plumber guy came out this afternoon - spent about an hour with various tools/snakes trying to clear the brick, polystyrene, drink bottles, rocks, dirt and other garbage that was stuck down there, and we're all good now. seems the sewer inspection point was just used as a garbage dumping point! I'm glad it's all fixed for you Levelheaded. You hear about the shortage of tradesmen, so it's appalling to think that some are having to find time to attend to problems which were preventable. It's rather a pet peeve of mine, the time taken to fix up things that should have been done right in the first place. It usually benefits no-one at all. Re: URGENT -moved in a week ago and now bath/toilet won't empty 13May 20, 2009 6:38 pm HellDad Thanks levelheaded, this story confirms one of my little paranoid worries. Every time we visited our site (before the bathrooms were finished) I always put the covers back on the drains whenever I found one uncovered. I even went around and replaced missing covers on the outside storm water pipes using discarded aircon duct tape ends and roof sarking offcuts. Debris going into the "charged system" could end up blocking the rain water flow into the tank. I was curious if they are coverable, even if it's an elastic band and some kind of material! 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: URGENT -moved in a week ago and now bath/toilet won't empty 15May 20, 2009 7:33 pm lisanne I was curious if they are coverable Built the C£arend0n Cambridge: Moved in. Happy campers. Here's our story on HomeOne I might be old, but I have no trouble finishing my... er... Joe, it depends on your certifier but we are noticing the ones we deal with are really cracking down. So i would recommend you follow your approved landscaping plans to… 4 10979 Hi Everyone I learned something this week that I thought would be worth sharing. In NSW a lot of developers of subdivisions put covenants on the land which normally… 0 6578 Bathroom renovation will likely include a back-to-corner bath and we’re considering a freestanding tap with hand-held shower such as the picture included. My hesitation… 0 24696 |