Bathroom renovation disputes — tanking, leaks, and the hidden failures
The short answer: bathrooms hide their failures until they fail expensively: tanking (waterproofing) skipped or botched, waste connections weeping under the floor, failed slope-to-drain on wet rooms. The damage is discovered by the ceiling below — which makes early written notification and dated photos the core of your claim.
REVIEWED BY: Sean McNamara on 2026-09-03
The five classic failure points
1. Tanking/waterproofing — wet rooms and shower areas need a tanking system (membrane or liquid) before tiling. Skipped tanking is invisible on day one and catastrophic by month six. 2. Slope and falls — wet-room floors must fall to the drain; "flat" wet rooms pond and track under partitions. 3. Waste and soil connections — hand-tightened fittings, un-supported pipework, missing traps: slow leaks into joists and the ceiling below. 4. Sealing — silicone is a finish, not waterproofing; cracks and mould lines along the bath/shower screen within months. 5. Electrics in zones — bathroom electrics have zone rules (IP ratings, distance from bath/shower); notifiable work needs certification — see checking the trades.
Evidence that wins a bathroom dispute
- Stage photos (if you have them): tanking before tiling, waste before floor goes down. If you didn't take them, an opening-up inspection (surveyor or trusted tiler) can prove what's behind the tiles — get a quote for making good afterwards too; it's recoverable if the claim succeeds.
- Dated leak photographs — the ceiling below, over days (the stain grows). Video of active dripping beats stills.
- Moisture readings — a surveyor or damp specialist's meter readings turn "it feels damp" into numbers.
- The product sheet for the tanking system (if any was used) — its own install instructions, breached, are evidence.
- Remedial quotes — tiler/bathroom fitter to strip and redo properly; plumber for waste; plasterer/decorator for the ceiling below. All into the schedule of loss.
The "it was fine for a month" problem
Defects appearing after final payment are still claims — the Consumer Rights Act 2015 duty is to the standard of work, not a 30-day warranty. When you find it:
1. Notify in writing immediately (text/email to the builder — dated paper trail, not a call). 2. Mitigate sensibly — stop active leaks, catch water, keep receipts. 3. Don't rip tiles out before evidence — photograph first; open up only when you can preserve proof (or have a surveyor supervise the opening-up).
The pattern to expect
Bathroom disputes often go: denial ("not our problem — sealant shrinks"), silence, then letter before action → sudden willingness to "send someone round". Hold the line on paper: the defects list, the evidence, the remedy, the deadline.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Verified 2026-09-03.
Reviewed by Sean McNamara · 2026-09-03 · Independent information directory — not legal advice.