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trouble now the shower is torn out
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Posted by loves2read (My Page) on Wed, Sep 23, 09 at 12:27
our contractor tore out the old shower this weekend and found that the original builders did not know how to build a shower...
the drain pipe was about 3 inches higher than the slab so water collected there over the years and rotten out the bottom framing 2x4s...
there were termites attracted to the water and they ate the sheetrock or wall board around the shower--the builder probably did not use plywood between the framing and the brick exterior--once the fiberglass batting was taken out you can see the exterior brick on the two sides...
it is just a mess
and will cost more to redo because of repairing the damage
we knew we had termites in the past and were treated by Orkin and kept the policy in force--they come out each year to check and have retreated a couple of times but never found any damage
can we claim now for the damage done in the past but not discovered until now?
there is no live infestation==just old trails... |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: trouble now the shower is torn out
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| sounds like at some point there was infestation and then you joined Orkin...I'd think damage to that point would NOT be covered. I wonder if they cover damamge anyway or just guaranty irradication.... |
RE: trouble now the shower is torn out
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| Unless you can prove that the damage occurred after they first treated, I'd guess that they'd say that the damage occurred before they were there, and that they are not responsible for it in the least. They probably would then also claim that had it not been for them treating it then, and ever since the damage would likely have been far more severe. So unless you can come up with pretty incontrovertible proof, such as the portion of the house that is damaged wasn't added to the building until after they started treating it, or active infestation, I'd say don't bother wasting any time trying to make a claim. |
RE: trouble now the shower is torn out
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| And people wonder why contracts get written so carefully for renovation work on older houses. Unless I know the owner VERY well, and am convinced they understand the possibility for hidden problem, I carefully detail what the cost specified will cover. It still gets touchy when you open something up to find significant problems and the owner does not have the money to fix things.
A few times the only 'fix' has been to close things back up till money is available. Old houses can require deep pockets to repair, renovate, and upgrade. |
RE: trouble now the shower is torn out
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| Amen, brickeyee, the truth is many people are woefully unaware what's going on in their own house, especially with regard to that bane of all buildings, moisture. It's all covered up, so only when they see a supposedly small issue is the rest of the iceberg exposed! What impressed me about loves2read's story is that the termites were all dead! I guess that speaks to the effectiveness of those chemicals that orkin uses that will kill termites that far into the house in an ideal (i.e. wet wood) environment for them. I know they feel boxed in by the unknown damage, but collecting from orkin seems unfair since it was probably water damage that caused most of the problem. Wet wood is going to rot no matter what you spray in there. Unfortunately, even the orkin inspector can't see everything. |
RE: trouble now the shower is torn out
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actually when my contractor tore out the old cultured marble tub running along the same exterior wall he found good and bad...
the termites had not done any damage to the exterior wall behind the tub like they had to the shower wall
(which I was really afraid of--that the entire wall would need to be replaced including some of the attic support) but he found that the original builders had left open dirt where the tub drain was---he said that normally roofing tar or mortar is usually poured around that to seal it off..no concrete because it would be too difficult to take out if they had to work on the drain...but those guys just seated the drain and left it on original dirt... so the combination of the water in bottom of shower stall that could not drain out and the open dirt right next to it was lure termites could not refuse...especially in this part of TX
what killed the termites was probably fire ants--there was old and large fire ant dirt pile right next to the roman tub drain area--abutting the shower
he figures that the termites came in and started feeding...
that drew the attention of the fire ants who love to feed on them...
then the fireants were probably killed when the Orkin extermination happened... I know that city inspectors are usually pretty worthless but I thought even they would have seen there was no plywood between the brick siding and the interior walls of the shower (just some type of insulation board--but not plywood)...
contractor built a shower stall that is strong enough now to be a safe room--except for having that shower door... |
RE: trouble now the shower is torn out
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Been away from new work for some time now, but it was common practice back in the day to leave the area around the tub drain "dirt". The slab was formed and poured around it. Here in the mojave, we have termites, (believe it or not), and that practice lead to many problems down the road.
Hollowed tub surrounds made a nice home for burrowing mojave ground squirrels as well. You can imagine the ordeal when one died in there! There was only one plumber in those days that I know of that took the time to mortar the "box". |
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