Bathroom Problems

When paul yesterday bashed an inspection hole under the sink, we both noticed that there was some rubble behind the previously tiled/plasterboarded wall. It was a bit damp too. We put that down to condensation from the cistern unit, which also lives behind the same facia. 

Today when I flushed the loo, I noticed that there was more than just condensation, there was in fact a leak when the toilet was flushed. More than a drip, but not a big nasty stream. Therefore, I suspect that the damp has been caused over a period of time from the leaky loo.

After removing a bunch of tiles, I decided to tackle the rubble and check the extent of the damp. Upon moving the rubble, it was obvious that the damp was worse than previously thought, and the plyboard that was directly behind the tiled facia was softer than plyboard should be, and worse still, when pressure was applied, it bowed downwards. I wondered how far along the floor the damp had spread, so I removed a couple of tiles, and the top layer of plyboard disintegrated. With more tiles removed, it was clear that the damp was to a greater or lesser extent, across most of the floor. Part way through writing this entry, I had another question. Just how damp was the part the bowed? And surroundings?

So I pushed in the board, and my fingers went thru. Shit! Moving in front of the wooden batten, I dug in again, and yet again my fingers went through. This floor was a timebomb that would in time have resulted in collapse through to the apartment downstairs. Thank god I decided to rip out the bathroom! The yellow you can see (click picture to enlarge), is insulation, showing that it's not just the top plyboard that's rotted, it's the whole floor in that area. 

As I put my hand around towards the bath, and it became clear that this was not any kind of old damp, it was very much in the making. My suspicion is that the bath drainage pipe is leaking. Having exposed the damp, the bathroom now has a fusty & damp smell. Not the best!

This really has messed up the plans, but in the end it will be sorted for the better, with new flooring, in addition to the new bathroom suite that was already going in. I'll need to get Andrew the plumber back here pronto to stop the pipes so that the bath can be ripped out and full extent of the water damage understood.