Save me please from the house that bodger built.

Short:
This house has the bath running 'along' the joists, a crack has
developed in the back wall that the bath runs against.
Could the weight of the bath have caused this crack?
Should the bath be running 'across' the joists?

Long:
This house was purchased from Wayne and Waynetta slob, they purchased it
from Waynes DIY bodger father.
This house needs rewiring.
This house needs new ceilings.
This house needs a new boiler.
This house needs some new radiators.
This house needs new windows.

You get the idea, this house needs a lot of work and had a masterful
spot of cosmetic cover up done to it before it was put on the market for
a mug like me to buy. My own fault, should have paid out for a full survey.

It does mean that I can't trust anything in this house to have been done
properly.
When I first saw the crack appear on the back wall of the kitchen, after
pondering a little, I thought that when they had moved the back door
across the wall a little they simply hadn't put in the proper supporting
blocks.
Now that I can see the crack runs all the way up to bathroom I'm
wondering if it could be caused instead by the weight of the bath being
only on one or two joists.

Could this be the case?

Any help would be extremely appreciated as whenever I look around this
house now days I simply see £ signs instead of anything else.

Thanks for any help.

Seri

--
--------------
Seri Al-Najjar

to reply just remove the spam and eggs from my email address

"Seri" wrote in message
.. .
Save me please from the house that bodger built.

Short:
This house has the bath running 'along' the joists, a crack has
developed in the back wall that the bath runs against.
Could the weight of the bath have caused this crack?
Should the bath be running 'across' the joists?

Long:
This house was purchased from Wayne and Waynetta slob, they purchased it
from Waynes DIY bodger father.
This house needs rewiring.
This house needs new ceilings.
This house needs a new boiler.
This house needs some new radiators.
This house needs new windows.

You get the idea, this house needs a lot of work and had a masterful
spot of cosmetic cover up done to it before it was put on the market for
a mug like me to buy. My own fault, should have paid out for a full
survey.

It does mean that I can't trust anything in this house to have been done
properly.
When I first saw the crack appear on the back wall of the kitchen, after
pondering a little, I thought that when they had moved the back door
across the wall a little they simply hadn't put in the proper supporting
blocks.
Now that I can see the crack runs all the way up to bathroom I'm
wondering if it could be caused instead by the weight of the bath being
only on one or two joists.

Could this be the case?

Any help would be extremely appreciated as whenever I look around this
house now days I simply see £ signs instead of anything else.

Thanks for any help.

Seri


It may be worth your while contacting a solicitor to discuss any possible
claim on the vendor under the defective premises act which covers new build
and may cover renovations or alterations. Try asking in uk.legal

"John" wrote in message


It may be worth your while contacting a solicitor to discuss any possible
claim on the vendor under the defective premises act which covers new build
and may cover renovations or alterations. Try asking in uk.legal

In the meantime go around to their new hovel with a gang of mates and
put biggish holes in all their windows, just to get thm in the right
frame of mind, as it were.

I never heard of a bath doing that. It is not that heavy even when in
use -which is not usually 24/7 is it? If the crack is running diagonal
from one of the corners of the frame to the bathroom it is a major
catastrophe.

Glad to be able to help.


--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

"Seri" wrote in message
.. .
Save me please from the house that bodger built.

Short:
This house has the bath running 'along' the joists, a crack has
developed in the back wall that the bath runs against.
Could the weight of the bath have caused this crack?
Should the bath be running 'across' the joists?

snipped

When I first saw the crack appear on the back wall of the kitchen, after
pondering a little, I thought that when they had moved the back door
across the wall a little they simply hadn't put in the proper supporting
blocks.
Now that I can see the crack runs all the way up to bathroom I'm
wondering if it could be caused instead by the weight of the bath being
only on one or two joists.

Could this be the case?

Any help would be extremely appreciated as whenever I look around this
house now days I simply see £ signs instead of anything else.

Thanks for any help.

Seri
==================
If the bath is resting on joists parallel to the back wall then it's
unlikely that this has caused the damage because the weight of the bath will
be on the other two walls - those at right angles to the back wall. The
joists are supported by walls at their ends not by the wall running parallel
with them.

If you're in doubt about the original position of the bath look for signs on
the floor under the bath such as unused holes in the floor for pipework,
battens for the feet of the bath etc. A bodger will always leave traces of
their bodging! If you're still in doubt get a surveyor to look at it.

Cic.

On Sat, 06 Mar 2004 12:18:49 GMT, a particular chimpanzee named Seri
randomly hit the keyboard and produced:

This house has the bath running 'along' the joists, a crack has
developed in the back wall that the bath runs against.
Could the weight of the bath have caused this crack?
Should the bath be running 'across' the joists?

Strictly speaking, floor joists under baths should be doubled. In
practice however, unless the joists are at their maximum span and the
bath is a cast-iron affair, it's probably not necessary. If the
joists were overloaded the floor would sag in the centre before
anything else. It would have to be seriously overloaded for it to
affect the bearings, and even then it would crush the timber before
the masonry.
--
Hugo Nebula
"The fact that no-one on the internet wants a piece of this
shows you just how far you've strayed from the pack".

"Hugo Nebula" wrote in message


Strictly speaking, floor joists under baths should be doubled. In
practice however, unless the joists are at their maximum span and the
bath is a cast-iron affair, it's probably not necessary. If the
joists were overloaded the floor would sag in the centre before
anything else. It would have to be seriously overloaded for it to
affect the bearings, and even then it would crush the timber before
the masonry.

Most baths are fitted up against the wall thus the maximum strength of
the joist is in play. Howver it might be worth checking if the floor
joists have been messed with. And are they fitting into their housings
in the wall or in their hangers?

To find all this out, and to check you have the required joist sizes and
spacings you must take up a portion of the floor. It may sound daunting
but it will only require a cheap electric saw costing about £20, a
handful of screws to replace the board and a very patient wife C/W
dustpan & brush.


--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

I tell you what we haven't got on he is a thread about how to conduct
a survey. Anyone got the know-how?

I know what the reps from Rentokil were told to do on their first call
was
to walk in the front door and go around the whole house and out the back
door. It gaves them an idea what to expect. Experienced reps would
"know"
exactly what and where to look for, for the in depth survey.


--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

Seri wrote:

Hello Seri

S| This house has the bath running 'along' the joists, a crack
S| has developed in the back wall that the bath runs
S| against. Could the weight of the bath have caused this
S| crack? Should the bath be running 'across' the joists?

Not neccessarily. Unless the floor is especially weak, then you can
plonk the bath any old way round. Crack might be due to many things, a
bath that is empty and virtually weightless for 99% of its time isn't
going to be the most likely culprit.

S| This house was purchased from Wayne and Waynetta slob, they
S| purchased it from Waynes DIY bodger father.
S| This house needs rewiring.
S| This house needs new ceilings.
S| This house needs a new boiler.
S| This house needs some new radiators.
S| This house needs new windows.

Learn, and learn to enjoy, DIY and take solace that you're not the
first and won't be the last to get caught like this.

--
Simon Avery, Dartmoor, UK
uk.d-i-y FAQ: http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/