CARING FOR YOUR BATHROOM / WARRANTY ISSUES

Frequently asked Questions - Warranty Issues.

If you are calling out of hours and you have a running water leak that cannot be isolated with isolation valves or stop tap and is covered by our six-year labour warranty against faulty workmanship, please call: 07974 147 904

Please take five minutes to read through the following points to help ensure your new bathroom stays trouble free for many years to come. We are more than happy to assist you with any issues you have regarding your bathroom, but quite often minor issues can be resolved without the need to contact us, so we have listed below points that may help. This may resolve your issue far quicker than waiting to speak to us. We are quite happy to come out and assist you but would hate to charge you for something that may not require our services and isn’t covered by our 6-year labour warranty against faulty workmanship. If after you have read the points below you are still not sure, please give us a call.

Cracked or lifted Silicone or Grout. We always recommend you periodically inspect your silicone sealant and grout as you can find with general wear and tear and cleaning that it can lift or crack. Although unlikely to happen it is always better to resolve the issue before it has any chance of causing any long-lasting damage. Although we use what is considered to be one of the best silicones and grouts on the market, we are unable to cover this with our 6-year labour warranty against faulty workmanship, if we’re not informed straight away and it is rectified immediately.
Poor waste flow. All basin, bath and shower tray wastes should be kept clean and free from debris. Almost all calls we get for poor flowing wastes are as a result of debris in wastes and corresponding waste pipes. Most basin and bath wastes can be screwed out to enable you to clean. Most shower tray wastes simply lift out for you to be able to clean. (We can provide a video on the shower tray waste cleaning if needed). It is also recommended that drain cleaners are periodically poured down your waste pipes by following the manufacturer’s instructions and taking care to not get it on the chrome of your bathroom fitting. A small funnel always makes the job a lot easier.
Blocked pipes are not covered by our warranty. With the types of liquid soaps, shampoos and conditioners that are now available they are prone to leaving behind foamy residues which can stick to your pipes even with steep falls. Combine this with long hair and it can cause a problem. Poorly run pipework would show up an issue either straight away or very quickly after installation. You would need to contact a drainage company to unblock drains. It has also been known for manholes to be blocked causing a backup of waste.
Smells in bathrooms. If your bath, shower or basin is not used regularly the water can evaporate from the traps. This allows the smells from your waste system to enter into the room. Running the taps or shower will replenish the water with in the trap and once the current waste smell dissipates you will no longer have smells entering the room.
Toilet seats coming loose. It has been known for seats to come loose after a number of years of opening, closing and moving about on the seat. There are adjustments to tighten the seats up. We can advise on how this is done to save on a call out charge to tighten them for you.
Not getting a full flush when flushing the wc. Almost all wc’s we supply and install are dual flush cisterns and the operation for most is very similar. Some will have single buttons and some will have two buttons within the same circular button. A short push of the button will result in a small flush. To get a full flush you need to push and hold the button for a few seconds. If you push and release the button it will not give you a full flush.
Poor flow of showers. The two most common causes of this are as a result of lime scale build on shower heads or blocked filters in the shower valve. As limescale builds up on the showerheads it restricts the flow of water coming out of the nozzles. Descaling your shower head can restore the showers performance. You are not likely to notice this on a day-to-day basis as the drop in performance is very gradual. Part of our installation requires us to flush out pipework newly installed so you don’t get blocked filters. It has been known for road works locally to induce grit into water systems and block up filters. We can arrange a visit to clean out your filters but this isn’t covered by our faulty workmanship guarantee.
Limescale / cleaning of your bathroom. More or less all manufacturers will recommend using warm soapy water and then rinse off with cold water and dried with a soft cloth. (see manufacturers details for more accurate information). Some will say that non-abrasive cleaners need to be used. A regularly cleaned bathroom will be easier to maintain than giving it a really good clean once a month. Limescale is very stubborn and will require more than warm soapy water to remove. Harsh chemicals which are bleach or chlorine based are not recommended as they can damage components of your bathroom. It is common for bleach to be put into toilets and with the seat left down the fumes can attack the hinges of the seat. Any cleaners put down the toilet should have the toilet seat left up to vent the toilet bowl. Always read the instructions of the cleaners before using. All manufacturers will not recommend bleach be used.
Pull cord failures. We don’t recommend weighted handle’s on pull cords. Pull cords have been known to fail with the additional weight. We have also known tiles to be cracked in the area where the weighted pull cord hits the wall.
Extractor fans simply suck air from your room and deposits it outside. In the winter when the temperature of your room is a lot warmer than the outside temperature you will find that your outside walls are very cold. When you shower or run a bath the steam that is created when it comes into contact with the outside walls condenses. This results in build-up of condensation forming on the walls. When you switch your fan on the moisture laden air is sucked outside and then air from outside of the room i.e. from under the door or (open window in the summer) or air vent with in a room gets sucked into the room which has less moisture content. This then dilutes the air already with in the bathroom which reduces the amount of moisture in the air. The water droplets on the walls then evaporates. This process does take some time to work. The regulation for an extractor fan in a bathroom is it needs to be large enough for the air to be changed a minimum of 3 times in an hour. All of the fans we install will be quite a lot larger than the minimum requirement specified by the regulations. In the summer time when the outside temperature is closer to the temperature with in your home you will find you have less steam produced and less condensation. This is because the temperature difference is a lot less between inside and outside of the room. You could also find that during the winter after you have showered, which results in the temperature of the bathroom being greater than it was before showering, you could open the bathroom window for 30 seconds. This will also allow some of the steam to escape and speed up the process.
We are unable to guarantee existing pipe work in your home. All pipework with in your bathroom is likely to be updated or replaced whilst we renovate your room but the pipework and joints could run under the floors of other rooms that are not visible with-in the bathroom whilst we renovate your room. We always check pipework as much as is humanly possible, but we can’t see it all. If you point out before we start any issues you have with feed pipes or waste water pipes, we can advise on what can be done to alleviate any issues you currently have. By simply changing an item like a bath, shower tray, wc or basin it will not improve the flow of waste water unless we can improve the fall/run of the pipework.
No hot water in your bathroom. We would recommend you check that you have continuous hot water elsewhere, for example your kitchen tap. Run the hot tap for a number of minutes to see if you are getting hot water. Check your hot water cylinder is hot, pipework from the cylinder is hot or your combi boiler is switching on when calling for hot water. We would always recommend you have your boiler serviced annually.
Shower temperature fluctuates. If your combi boiler is not giving a constant temperature of hot water and is fluctuating, then the temperature of your shower will fluctuate. Run a basin or kitchen tap for several minutes and see if the temperature fluctuates. This can be difficult to tell without using a thermometer. You may be able to hear the noise of your boiler change if it is pulsing or fluctuating. If a shower thermostat is faulty it is most likely to not give you hot water at all or give a luck warm shower. Blocked filters can replicate a luke warm shower as well. If you have had road works nearby it can result in dirt circulating around your water pipes. This can block filters. We can arrange a visit to clean out your filters but this isn’t covered by our faulty workmanship guarantee.
Showers performance dropping in winter. The performance of electric showers or showers on a combi boiler will reduce in winter. This is because the difference in the incoming water temperature and the temperature you are showering at is greater than it is in the summer. Therefore, the combi boiler or electric shower has to slow down the speed at which the water travels through the heat exchanger which, in turn means the water is heated for longer to get it to the temperature you require for your shower. As we get into spring and summer the water comes into the house warmer (and people generally shower at a lower temperature in the summer) so the water spends less time being heated and results in the flow through your shower head is greater. This is why the flow of a shower is less in the winter than it is in the summer.
Dual head showers. Why is the water softer out of the large fixed overhead than the smaller shower head on the sliding rail? Large overhead showers are called ‘Rainfall’ heads so the water is to replicate rain fall and not be a powerful spray.
Manufacturer visits. If you have a fault with any products installed in your home, it will be easier if you have registered the product with the manufacturer. Any paper work that comes with the products we install will be left for you to fill in and send on to the manufacturers. In the unlikely event you have an issue, it will make it easier for them to assist you. We will happily check this with you and assist you in getting your issue resolved.
Lights, illuminated cabinets or extractor fans not working. We have been called out numerous times to find that the mcb or rcd in your consumer unit or the RCD just outside of your bathroom has tripped. This can be as simple as a lamp (bulb) blowing and needing replacing anywhere in your home. It could simply require the mcb or rcd switching back on to give you back your lights.
We are unable to cover damage caused by rodents. We have experienced rodents climbing up soil pipes from the manhole and eating through pipework causing leaks and at times gaining access into people’s homes. Should you experience this it is possible to get rodent flaps that you or a drainage company can install into the drains that stop rodents climbing up your soil pipe.
Running Water leaks. If you have a water leak with in your home we will need to establish if it is a main water leak or waste water. If it is a mains water leak can you switch off the isolator? (Isolation valves are fitted to most water outlets so you should be able to turn the water off to that item). Or have you just used an item i.e. had a shower, bath, basin, flushed the toilet and therefore the leak is waste water and only as a result of that item just being used? Or is it silicone / grout that has lifted or fallen out so leaks as a result of just being used? Or is your wc dribbling water into the wc bowl?
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In a lot of cases this isn’t an emergency so we can be contacted during our normal working hours.

We are more than happy to discuss any issues you have in an effort to give you the best possible service for you to have your issues resolved in the most effective manner, whether this is by us or the manufacturer. If it does require the manufacturer to visit you, it will be best for you to call them as we will not be able to confirm what days would be most suitable for you. We can give you all the information needed to make it as easy as possible to arrange with the manufacturer.

For more assistance, please call the showroom on: 02476 691469

We offer a 6-year labour warranty to the first purchaser against faulty workmanship (excluding wear and tear) on any installation we complete as detailed in our terms and conditions in your order form. This is on the installation, not the products installed. The manufacturers offer their own guarantees which can be anywhere between 12 months or lifetime guarantee. See the manufacturers websites for exact details of their guarantees. We will happily offer advice and support for any issues you may have after the warranty has expired including engineers to undertake any repair work required. Please ask for details.