Help! Shower leakage causing wall damage...repair options

Hi all,

I just bought an investment property interstate and it appears that the two showers have been leaking for a while, causing damage visible on the wall adjoining both bathrooms.

I've gotten two companies to provide quotes, and their recommendations have been quite different. I don't know who to listen to!!

There is a hole in the wall and wet wood inside (see attached photos).

- Company 1: retile the bottoms of the shower walls and shower floors, re-grout and re-seal. According to him, the sealant won't stick to the existing tiles as they are in bad condition. Replace woodwork for wall and floors, repair wall. Cost: $6000 x 2 bathrooms - $12000 plus handyman costs to repair wall.

This was quoted by the sales guy so I suspect he may be quoting more than the minimum in order to generate more jobs. But also it does make sense to do the repairs properly to avoid issues (e.g. termites) down the track.

- Company 2: tiles look fine, simply re-grout and re-seal. Cut a hole in the hallway wall and install a vent to let the wet wood inside dry out.

I asked him if while drying out, the wet wood might attract termites, so he recommended I get a pest company in to apply termite treatment to prevent termites.

Cost: $800 x 2 bathrooms = $1600, plus handyman work for vent and termite treatment costs.

This was quoted by a guy from a shower leak company who does the actual work, not a sales person.

These are old-ish bathrooms from a house built in the 1990s, whole place hasn't been renovated. I don't want to drop too much money into it, but also want to prevent big issues down the track.

Which one should I go with? Are there any other investigations I should be doing before deciding?

 

Strip the hallway wall to reveal to extent of the damage. If it's that wet, you'll end up replacing the bottom plate & studs in that wall - new bathroom.

Get another 2 quotes for the same thing not different scopes of work or solutions.

Mould may also become an issue.

 

I'm with @Scott No Mates

I've been doing major reno to my IP (about to finish in couple of weeks) and part of it was bathroom.

Upon inspection, everything looked cool, but I opt for opening the whole thing to create a bigger bathroom.
As soon as we removed everything, it was quite amazing to see that the whole thing had major water damage from years.
The whole area was re-framed, new plumbing, re-plasteed, water proofing, new floor and walls tiles and new bathroom accessories.
I estimate the total cost at about $25K.

If you intend to hold the property for long enough, I'd open up and see what the real damage is.
Vents and re-seal will only it from keep on getting wet, but nothing fixes the damage already done.

Putting band aid will be cheaper in the short term, but may prove to be much more expensive in the long run.

 

Thanks guys. What kind of company should I use to strip the wall to inspect and quote for the damage?

Any tips on how to determine what really needs to be fixed? Sometimes I find trades will over-exaggerate the quote to make more money. What kinds of question should I ask and look for?

 

I'm using a builder.
If you have someone you trust, a builder will be the best, not an handyman.

Builder can do everything and have access to all the trades needed (plasters, plumbers, tilers etc)

 

Depending on how long you want to hold the property and what budget you can spend you might want to take a few more quotes. If the $$ are tight check what is the absolute minimum you can spend to keep the damage under control and when the time is right you might want to undertake a long term solution.

A major Reno in the bathroom may set you back by a few thousands. In the current boom conditions getting competitive quotes maybe a challenge.

 

Ended up getting a property maintenance guy to open up the wall and have a look inside. There was...a lot of mould! These pictures are gross but it's oddly satisfying to see what's inside.

Getting the bottom plate & studs in that wall replaced and doing mould treatment. I'm glad I took you guys' advice and opened it up. Baffles me that the second tradie in my original post suggested installing a vent in the wall and that's it...glad I didn't go with that option.

 

Sounds like you'll be rebuilding the bathrooms & the wall. The bathroom floor will also need inspection if the bottom plate was in that good a condition.

 

@Scott No Mates Rebuilding the bathrooms? To what extent?

Bathroom floor - do you mean remove the tiles to have a look under?

Sorry I'm very new to renovations and general house related stuff!

 

Yep, strip out the entire room or as a minimum rip out the shower recess & rebuild the wall.

If you have subfloor access, then get under the floor. If not, you'll be pulling out the tiles.

Really? Never would've guessed.

 

Omg! The job is getting bigger and bigger...

Do you think it's ok for me to just repair the hallway wall and seal the showers for now, and save the rest for when I do a full bathroom reno in a few years?

If I'm going to strip the bathroom walls and floors, might as well do a full reno and replace the sink, tub, showers while I'm at it. But just wondering what the risk might be with waiting a few more years...

 

I'm not sure anyone can answer, but I guess the risk is bits and pieces popping out in the worse possible times (think Xmas eve) that will require another patch job, making the patches quite expensive.

You will only delay the inevitable...

My view is the same as @Scott No Mates - do it now, do it once and do it right.
I'm sure it's not something you've planned for, but that's part of the game of owning properties.

 

Sounds EXACTLY like the IP I've bought and about to finish reno for.
A 1960's build, had probably 2 extensions during it's lifetime.

We bought it from people who held it clearly to just park their money. Couldn't care less about it's state nor how the tenants are keeping it.
On the surface, it looked alright. Nothing to write home about, but as a rental it was ok.

As soon as I managed to get the tenants out, I bought my builder in and from 20k-30k new kitchen and referb job, we're currently at 100k and I know it won't finish before we hit north of 120k.

Some might say it's crazy to spend that kind of money on rental, but I'm intending to hold it until I'm warms food. The reno covered everything that can go wrong is now at standard.
I know now that for the next 15-20 years there's nothing major that I'll need to deal with.

 

You probably want a termite inspection too and find the extremities of water impacts. That water damage will have travelled out and down. The old carpet needs to come up to do that. Termites LOVE damp timber and the floor timbers may also be partially gone or what they are laid on. (floor boards AND bearers & joists) If its found when they start... it cant be skipped. You cant lay new timber on mush. Ding this now may help identify the full area involved for quotes since tradies will charge a lot more if they find it but if you know its then it can be included. The property location inst mentioned. But its common work. The only fix is a major demo of the bathroom back to frames and then full reline, waterproof, tile and finish. It cant be delayed. But get a few quotes but $12K doesnt sound unrealistic. If the finish is kept to budget. Of course you can go 5 star and pay much more.

Want to save some coin ? Fly down and rip it out yourself. A few days and a skip. (Have power off and know where plumbing is. Both sparkie and plumber may need to come in and cap it off before you go gang busters). Carefully strip walls and bin it all. Remove nails and screws from frames. If bracing is needed screw that down. (Tip take care with ceilings and care when taking cornices out...Better to leave them for plasterer to remove and allow them to replace it as fixing costs more then new). To remove flooring identify which way the bearers and joists are laid then circular saw ALONG each side. Prise up and off. This will leave some flooring which can be jemmied/chipped off. For walls a recipro saw is best avoided as you can cut studs etc. . Then photo's and spec it out on Hi pages. Tradies will see a stripped ready job and think its a "ready to go" job and possibly be on the ball with pricing. Know what specs you want for materials - ie budget tiles, vanities etc. Screen kits etc.

When the work is complete you will quickly have TWO fully waterproofed showers and bathrooms and it really will enhance the property. Its a big cost and none of its deductible. Before you jump in rethink the layout and how to keep it cheap but also add functionality and appeal. spending a fraction extra on feature tiles rather than plain white square may be a wiser choice. A white / pattern flor and plain walls looks better than all basic white. And dont go floor to ceiling in whole room. But forget fancy rounds etc.