What is the fair solution?

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spokane

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I will try to be brief. I gutted my master to the studs last winter. I did all the demo, design, purchasing of faucets and valve and labor. After I cut the subfloor open, I hired a professional plumber to move the shower and tub drains ( removed jetted tub and replaced with old clawfoot) along with moving the shower water lines. After I finished drywall, tile, paint, I again hired the same plumber to return to install the clawfoot tub faucet and water lines and shower.

I replaced the toilet myself.

Three months after completion, the ceiling below the tub is dripping. I call plumber he comes and notices ceiling is also wet below toilet. I rip entire sheetrock damage below the single joist that held both leaks, ( runs the length of the room) to see there have been two leaks. ( 8 feet from each other) One leak is because the plastic flange I used to raise the toilet didn't seal. My fault.

The second leak below the tub is traced to an almost invisible leak coming from the hot water line where it attaches to the back of the clawfoot tub. It has been leaking but because of the corner angle, I never noticed.

The plumber says he is not responsible for any repair under the tub because I supplied a faucet and water lines that he installed. Is this how it works?

I realize I have to replace the ceiling, hire a plumber to install the toilet, but shouldn't the plumber have some liability here?
 

Ian Gills

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Actually, I think a decent plumber would assume responsibility for the tub leak.

If you had done any of the plumbing work, I would beg to differ but as long as you left him with doing all of it (except the toilet, which most agree a homeowner can do himself)) I think he should fix the leak under the tub.

I often supply the parts when I ask a plumbing firm to do the work since they request these from me, particularly if it is for a bathroom remodeling task where style is important. And they will often guarantee their work for one year.

If he does not budge, don't hire him again. But he should fix the leak on the tub. The ceiling is your problem because of the bad toilet install.
 
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Thatguy

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I again hired the same plumber to return to install the clawfoot tub faucet and water lines and shower.
The second leak below the tub is traced to an almost invisible leak coming from the hot water line where it attaches to the back of the clawfoot tub. It has been leaking but because of the corner angle, I never noticed.

The plumber says he is not responsible for any repair under the tub because I supplied a faucet and water lines that he installed. Is this how it works?

File a complaint with his licensing agency; they [being paid by your tax dollars] might be embarrassed into actually doing their job and he might be embarrassed into fixing this.

I had an obnoxious realtor send me stuff after I told her not to. Her calling card said she was a member of several orgs so I wrote to them complaining about this [insert common term for female dog].
The mailings stopped.
 
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Kordts

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Was it an installation leak, like a bad solder joint? Or was it defective material? If you supplied all the material, the plumber got no markup to pay for any callbacks. You lose.
 

Leejosepho

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The second leak below the tub is traced to an almost invisible leak coming from the hot water line where it attaches to the back of the clawfoot tub ...

The plumber says he is not responsible for any repair under the tub because I supplied a faucet and water lines that he installed.

Like Ted said, did something you supplied fail or did the plumber fail ... or did the plumber maybe somehow damage something you had supplied?

In any case, and unless that leak was something I could not easily fix, I would just be grateful my leaking toilet had led to its discovery and let the plumber be on his way.
 

spokane

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The clawfoot tub's faucet attaches through the actual rim of the cast iron tub. The Clawfoot Tub's Double Offset Supply Lines attach using a nut and washer on the back of the tub. The nut and rubber washer did not smoothly seal at this faucet/tub/nut point of contact. It was tight as tight but somehow did not seal. Plumber said the cast iron tub was too thick??? Cold water line is fine just the hot water point failed. The plumber is now installing flex hose instead of the double offset supply lines. Ugly as hell, but I'd rather have function over form. I await his bill. And will be hiring a drywaller to repair the 3 by 15 foot hole in my ceiling.
 
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