Wasps nest

[heebs]

Hello

I have a family living in one of my properties...they have been generally good tenants. They emailed me today to ask who is responsible for paying for removal of a wasps nest in their garden. I told them i didnt know who was responsible but offered to pay for it regardless.

I am just asking out of interest...who is responsible.

Also..by the way...i have a flat which had the wall outside the bathroom damaged with damp due to the bathtub sealant being worn out. I had everything remedies..re sealed and the wall fixed and repainted and asked the tenants to please keep an eye on the wall and reseal the tub if needed to avoid the wall getting damaged again..and to let me know if it starts leaking again

they have been in the place 2 years..i went round yesterday as they are moving out soon and found the wall bulging and soggy with paint ruined. They didnt inform me and neither did they reseal the bathroom

I will have to get this sorted...can anyone advice if the tenants are responsible for payment towards this at all as they have let the problem get out of hand.

many thanks for all your help and comments

[Gee]

Tenants eh, what are they like!

With regard to the wasps, I can't see that it was the tenants fault, I doubt there is anything about this sort of thing in the lease, they are good tenants, so I think you are correct to do this out of goodwill. You could try tackling the wasps yourself! LOL

With regard to to the damp wall, I think you are on a hiding to nothing. You repaired the seal previously but presumably had some doubts as to the effectiveness of your repair so as to leave the sealant with them or ask them to contact you if it happens again. A not unreasonable course of action in the circumstances.

The tenants did neither and the wall is now a soggy mess. Are they responsible? I doubt it. If you think logically the wall would have to become damp and paint peeled etc before the tenants would have been aware the problem had returned. So by failing to repair or tell you, they are only responsible for the extra damage caused from the moment they should have reported it to yesterday. You would have had to repaint anyway, so really it is down to the cost of plaster repairs. Bearing in mind this this is the second time it has leaked, it is likely the plaster would have had to have been repaired anyway. I don't think it is worth the hassle.

I would be more concerned as to why the bath seal is still leaking, there may be a more fundamental problem that needs sorting such as faulty tiles, over zealous use of the shower head or a leak elsewhere that is tracking along the underside of the bath rim.

I can guess what you will be doing this weekend!

Cheers

Gee

[Mortitia]

Hi Heebs,

I'm with Gee on this one. But, sounds like you need to re-evaluate your bathroom seals. Should this be a tiled area maybe rather than just paint?

I am a big user of white UPVC mouldings in bathrooms or anywhere else for that matter - it is tenant proof, waterproof, stays white and is cheap. I comes in various profiles and lengths. I find quadrant and D shaped useful for bath trim. Have look in a directory for UPVC trim suppliers. I have a local place that sells offcuts of 2m for 50p.

Apply it with sealant (they even do one called 'wet grab' if you can't get the area dried out) then re-seal with sealant. The UPVC suppliers usually sell sealant much cheaper than B &Q but you will need the 'sanitory sealant' for the final finsh.

Best of luck with that,

Mortitia

[Chestnut]

Regarding damp and bath sealant etc. I take the view that anything affecting structure, or likely to, should be remedied by landlord and then monitored by frequent inspection until satisfied that the problem is cured. If not it only gets more expensive.

I once had a problem after a shower was fitted over bath. Water was slowly gathering on the floor underneath and eventually through the ceiling below. I had thought it was water entering at the bath seal but it turned out to be entering at the top edge of the tiles, which were only half way up the wall (just below shower level), and going down behind. The problem was eventually cured by retiling right up to ceiling. Initially I checked about once a fortnight (including removal of the bath panel), a routine which attracted the assistance of the tenant who became very helpful about it.

[heebs]

Hello

Many thanks to geewiz, Mortitia and chestnut for their helpful replies...

I had a feeling i did the right thing in paying for the wasps nest..the tenants have small children and i wouldnt want them getting stung.

I organised a plumber yesterday to go round...lets see what he says re damage and how best to remedy it...the walls are fully tiled but having the shower over the bath i think the water is seeping through somehow...i did have a 'professional' plumber sort out the problem initially but told the tenants to still keep an eye out for any further leaks incase the tiles became loose again or seal deteriote.

Thanks again everyone...its nice to bounce ideas off...will look in upvc mouldings...

heebs

[Melboy]

I have come across this problem quite a few times with water seepage past the bath seal.

I bet you have stud partition walls which will flex when the bath is full of water or someone is standing in the bath.

The additional weight causes the sealant to expand away for the wall thus allowing water penetration and then closes up when weight distribution is returned to normal.

Mel.

[Chestnut]

Good point Mel !

I forgot to add that my problem involved a plastic bath. Before I discovered the tile problem I blocked under the bath at the standing point for the shower to reduce any flexing at the more concentrated load.

After the new tiling was done the tiler asked that the bath be kept full of water for 24 hours before he resealed the bath to the new tiles.

[russ295]

do a search for teleseal, screwfix sell them. they cost about £30 but i would'nt fit a bath/shower without one. they are designed to allow movement between the wall and bath. they are a bit of a fiddle to fit but they are worth every penny!

russ

[stevie-b]

Good point Mel !

I forgot to add that my problem involved a plastic bath. Before I discovered the tile problem I blocked under the bath at the standing point for the shower to reduce any flexing at the more concentrated load.

After the new tiling was done the tiler asked that the bath be kept full of water for 24 hours before he resealed the bath to the new tiles.

A good idea for blocking a plastic bath is to use expanding foam. You place a couple of plastic bags under the bath and fill them with foam. The bag makes sure the foam doesn't stick to the floor, walls and bath while the bag and foam can be removed relatively easily when the need arrises.