Chipped enamel bath
 

We recently had 1 and a half bathrooms up-dated (I am getting too long
in the tooth for this sort of work) and when my wife came to clean the
bath a week after it had been installed, she called me up there to look
at 2 tiny chips in it. It s a pressed steel bath, by the way.

I took photos of the chips. They did not come out too good, but I can
see a coloured ring around the chip, that to my eyes suggests that the
enamel has been blown off. Could I be right here?

When I cleaned it, just after installation, there was no evidence of any
chips. The chips are tiny and are about 7 or 8 mm apart on the side
where the bath is just starting to curve towards the bottom, about one
third from the end.

My wife tells me that she has used a supermarket trigger spray bath
cleaner and a cloth to wipe it. I have no reason not to believe her, but
I have doubt about what may happen next.

Plumber who did the job handed my wife a letter from the bath
manufacturer (Roca) that was forwarded by Travis Perkins, who I assume
provided the bath. It states that their sales manager will come to
inspect the chips and an £80-00 charge will be levied if the chips prove
not have been caused by faulty manufacture.

Now, how can I tell that I am not being ripped off by false information
from the sales manager?
Is there anything that I can throw into this to convince him that we
have not even begun to do the 'make good' due to both of us having
temporary bad heath, let alone dropped anything into it other than a bar
of soap or a plastic container of shampoo.

TIA

Dave

Chipped enamel bath
 

On Sun, 02 Apr 2006 20:55:15 +0100, Dave
wrote:

We recently had 1 and a half bathrooms up-dated (I am getting too long
in the tooth for this sort of work) and when my wife came to clean the
bath a week after it had been installed, she called me up there to look
at 2 tiny chips in it. It s a pressed steel bath, by the way.

I took photos of the chips. They did not come out too good, but I can
see a coloured ring around the chip, that to my eyes suggests that the
enamel has been blown off. Could I be right here?

When I cleaned it, just after installation, there was no evidence of any
chips. The chips are tiny and are about 7 or 8 mm apart on the side
where the bath is just starting to curve towards the bottom, about one
third from the end.

My wife tells me that she has used a supermarket trigger spray bath
cleaner and a cloth to wipe it. I have no reason not to believe her, but
I have doubt about what may happen next.

Plumber who did the job handed my wife a letter from the bath
manufacturer (Roca) that was forwarded by Travis Perkins, who I assume
provided the bath. It states that their sales manager will come to
inspect the chips and an £80-00 charge will be levied if the chips prove
not have been caused by faulty manufacture.

Now, how can I tell that I am not being ripped off by false information
from the sales manager?
Is there anything that I can throw into this to convince him that we
have not even begun to do the 'make good' due to both of us having
temporary bad heath, let alone dropped anything into it other than a bar
of soap or a plastic container of shampoo.

TIA

Dave

Do you have accidental damage on your buildings insurance as an
alternative ..??




Stuart

Chipped enamel bath
 

Stuart wrote:



Do you have accidental damage on your buildings insurance as an
alternative ..??

Yes, we have all the cover we need, but I don't want to be ripped off if
it is not our fault.

Speaking in my local at lunchtime, the same subject of being ripped of
came up.

First person, who must be worth at least a million said much the same as
me.

I don't mind paying, if I get what I am paying for, but I will not be
ripped off.

His son said much the same.

I said the same as the other two, but I am not in the same financial
world, by any means.

We all share the same love of real ale though :-)

Dave

Chipped enamel bath
 

On Sun, 02 Apr 2006 21:57:55 +0100, Dave
wrote:

Stuart wrote:



Do you have accidental damage on your buildings insurance as an
alternative ..??

Yes, we have all the cover we need, but I don't want to be ripped off if
it is not our fault.

Speaking in my local at lunchtime, the same subject of being ripped of
came up.

First person, who must be worth at least a million said much the same as
me.

I don't mind paying, if I get what I am paying for, but I will not be
ripped off.

His son said much the same.

I said the same as the other two, but I am not in the same financial
world, by any means.

We all share the same love of real ale though :-)

Dave



So how are you going to explain how the chips came to be there ..
consdiering what you say ......

When I cleaned it, just after installation, there was no evidence of
any
chips. The chips are tiny and are about 7 or 8 mm apart on the side
where the bath is just starting to curve towards the bottom, about one
third from the end.

Chipped enamel bath
 

Dave wrote:
We recently had 1 and a half bathrooms up-dated (I am getting too long
in the tooth for this sort of work) and when my wife came to clean the
bath a week after it had been installed, she called me up there to look
at 2 tiny chips in it. It s a pressed steel bath, by the way.

I took photos of the chips. They did not come out too good, but I can
see a coloured ring around the chip, that to my eyes suggests that the
enamel has been blown off. Could I be right here?

When I cleaned it, just after installation, there was no evidence of any
chips. The chips are tiny and are about 7 or 8 mm apart on the side
where the bath is just starting to curve towards the bottom, about one
third from the end.

My wife tells me that she has used a supermarket trigger spray bath
cleaner and a cloth to wipe it. I have no reason not to believe her, but
I have doubt about what may happen next.

Plumber who did the job handed my wife a letter from the bath
manufacturer (Roca) that was forwarded by Travis Perkins, who I assume
provided the bath. It states that their sales manager will come to
inspect the chips and an £80-00 charge will be levied if the chips prove
not have been caused by faulty manufacture.

Now, how can I tell that I am not being ripped off by false information
from the sales manager?
Is there anything that I can throw into this to convince him that we
have not even begun to do the 'make good' due to both of us having
temporary bad heath, let alone dropped anything into it other than a bar
of soap or a plastic container of shampoo.

TIA

Dave
have you got a claw hammer?
if so measure the claw hammer up against the chips, if the claw end
matches then you have your argument! i did a job on saturday where the
fibreglass bath was cracked from overtightening the taps' fittings, when
i removed the bath to turn it round the customer noticed the hairline
crack and said i had caused it! yes possibly by disturbing the already
tired bath and resituating it but i had no doubt that it was there
before but had just waited for me to tamper before rearing it's ugly
head! good job this bath move is only a temporary move or i could have
worked for nothing all day!

Chipped enamel bath
 

When I cleaned it, just after installation, there was no evidence of any
chips. The chips are tiny and are about 7 or 8 mm apart on the side
where the bath is just starting to curve towards the bottom, about one
third from the end.


This location sounds like it may corresponds with the position of the
fittings for the legs under the bath.

On the Roca steel bath, I believe the legs are mounted over lugs and a bolt
is tightened to hold the legs in place. Tightening the legs on installation
may have resulted in the steel deforming slightly causing the enamel to fail
on the inside of the bath.

If this is the case its then down to your plumber and the supplier to argue
whose fault it is. The supplier agues that the plumber has overtightened the
legs. The plumber argues that it must be possible to thighten the legs
securely without expecting to damage the bath so its a manufacturing/design
fault.

Of course this might not be the cause of your particular problem anyway.

Good Luck Bill

Chipped enamel bath
 

Stuart wrote:

So how are you going to explain how the chips came to be there ..
consdiering what you say ......

When I cleaned it, just after installation, there was no evidence of
any
chips. The chips are tiny and are about 7 or 8 mm apart on the side
where the bath is just starting to curve towards the bottom, about one
third from the end.

I had hoped for a better input to this problem.

The bath can chip for three reasons, to my mind.

1. Enamel badly coated and blows. (This is the one I want information
on. How is it recognized?)

2. An object dropped onto the surface. (This should be easily
recognizable, to the expert.)

3. The bath might have been stressed during manufacture or fitting.
(This is the one factor that I can not imagine what the results would
look like.

I also said...
I took photos of the chips. They did not come out too good, but I can
see a coloured ring around the chip, that to my eyes suggests that the
enamel has been blown off. Could I be right here?

No one has answered that question yet.

Dave

Chipped enamel bath
 

Gav wrote:


have you got a claw hammer?

I am trying to find out how to tell accidental damage from built in
faults. Thanks.

Dave

Chipped enamel bath
 

BillP wrote:

When I cleaned it, just after installation, there was no evidence of any
chips. The chips are tiny and are about 7 or 8 mm apart on the side
where the bath is just starting to curve towards the bottom, about one
third from the end.



This location sounds like it may corresponds with the position of the
fittings for the legs under the bath.

It's not close enough to convince me though. Thanks for the input.
Dave

Chipped enamel bath
 

Dave wrote:
Gav wrote:


have you got a claw hammer?

I am trying to find out how to tell accidental damage from built in
faults. Thanks.

Guy drops a hammer on it in the factory.
You drop a hammer on it at home.

Essentially impossible to prove which happened unfortunately.