This can happen when testing the plumbing in new construction - here the master bath shower.
Builders never like to see this happen. I have even been blamed in the past for making it happen! But this is why we do the inspection!
You would think that this shower had been tested, and examined, more than once by now by the installing plumber and the supervisor building this house.
In new construction I like to turn the shower on when there is a glass surround to see if the surround will leak.
I just spray around the edges for a while and look on the other side.
So often it leaks!
In this case when the shower was turned on there was very little water coming out of the shower head.
That usually means a problem inside the wall.
Sometimes it makes a sound when there is a blockage like that. But in this case we heard nothing.
There is an installation problem, and it's been there from the beginning!
Letting it run for only a couple of gallons. Turning it off we went immediately downstairs.
What I thought might happen was happening!
Water was dripping from the light fixture right below the shower.
And water was also making its way inside the wall, to exit from the kitchen receptacle and draining onto the counter top.
Even though the water was not on for long, this is the result. And the only thing we can do is call the supervisor.
By the time he arrived the water had made its way to the floor.
Fortunately I had a towel and we could dry it right away. But still.
Asking the supervisor why this had not been tested before and this caught he did not have an answer.
My question, "Don't your plumbers test installations before now?"
"Well, they are supposed to. Maybe this one got skipped."
Telling him I did not feel comfortable testing the other showers and possibly causing more damage he agreed. That is not why we are there. If the problem is here in the master bathroom, it might also be elsewhere. The same plumbing shower assemblies are installed in every bathroom, and if this plumber does not know how to install them the same mistake found in the master will be made elsewhere.
My recommendation: the assumption that things will be entirely ready for a final walk through on new construction is just that - an assumption. Home inspections test things, and if they are not ready to be tested the results often manifest themselves. NEVER SKIP THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A HOME INSPECTION ON NEW CONSTRUCTION! If there is a problem, and there very often is, you want to find it BEFORE you move in!
Comments(19)