Leak from recently fitted BSM

My bro had a Mira Excel bath/shower mixer fitted a few months back by a - cough - well known plumbing co. in London.

The guy took over 2 hours to fit the BSM, and my bro told me at the time that much of this was spent reading the installation instructions, scratching his head and struggling to work out how the parts went together.

(I've since sussed out from conversations with my bro that he didn't even remove all the flow restrictors he should have to compensate for my bro's low pressure system, so the flow is not as good as it should have been.)

Anyhoo, the flat below is being refurb'ed at the mo' and the workers noticed signs of damp on the ceiling below my bro's bathroom.

Bro called out the plumbing co. - insisting they send someone different to the original guy - and the new plumber (who did seemed more clued up) traced the drip travelling down the copper supply pipe under the bath all the way up to actually inside the BSM unit which he removed and dismantled.

Here's the rub; the guy showed my bro a couple of damaged O rings inside and claimed they must have been supplied like that... My bro pointed out to this guy that the first guy was clearly out of his depth with the job and was struggling to understand and assemble the unit (which needs disassembling for installation).

But, my bro ain't clued up enough about plumbing so he's basically at the mercy of these guys.

From what my bro tells me, my opinion is that (a) the chances of the unit being supplied by Mira with damaged O rings is nigh-on zero, and (b) even if they were faulty, the plumber should have noticed this when he assembled it.

I feel the plumbing co. is trying to distance themselves from the responsibility.

It seems most likely to me that the first clot damaged the O rings himself as he struggled to work out how to put it together - he was not an experienced plumber.

Thoughts, please?

 

Thanks all.

Phil, yes, that's part of the argument - if they were obviously damaged, the original guy should really have noticed. And, yes, the first guy hadn't come across one of these before and was struggling, whereas the second guy was familiar with them and took it apart quickly.

Longs, it was from a discount bathroom store on eBay at a very good price, but was a new and sealed unit. The co 'only' charged for 2 hours even tho' it took longer... The guy didn't even have to install the showerhead rail as my bro agreed that the existing rail could be used so's not to have extra holes in his tiles. Don't know how much it cost - how much do PP charge for two hours?!

No idea if my bro registered the unit or not - knowing him, not.

I've asked him to tell me the O rings involved.

(I think the original plumber did remove the 'main' flow constrictors, but for really low pressure systems (like my bro's) you can also leave out a non-return valve in the hose outlet. But I think that was one instruction too many for the guy...)

 

I didn't realise that one in the photos was actually yours, Jit. What went wrong with it?

I'll ask bro to check the card. But I don't consider it likely that they were damaged on arrival anyway.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if my bro's unit would also be out of warranty, or pretty close. It was a bathroom clearance store that sold it - they had around a dozen or so.

But I don't see this as a warranty claim anyway. I find it very unlikely that it would have been supplied with damaged O rings.

I have fitted numerous taps, showers, mixers and associated fittings. I cannot recall ever pulling a brand new unit out of a box and finding damaged O rings or similar. Breakages in transit, yes. But not built-in seals.

Anyhoo, we'll see what happens.



Longs, is that what they charge?! Jeepers... Sadly I'm too far away to do the job for him myself.

 

Jit, that last photo of yours shows the top of the 'Plastic Non-Return Valve Housing' on the LH side. Did you have to unscrew that on your mixer so's to remove the flow restrictor underneath?

I ask, 'cos that the part that was damaged - the very bottom edge has deep marks on it.

Page 24: http://www.mirashowers.co.uk/onlinecatalog/pdf/1056991_w2_h_mira_excel_bsm_iug.pdf

My bro tells me that he had to read out the instructions out loud to the 'plumber' as he attempted to tackle the unit...

 

Cool. Thanks.

 

Ok, folks, you ain't gonna believe this...

Brief recap:

1) Bro bought new Mira Excel BSM and got a well known London plumber to install it for him.
2) The 'plumber' struggled to dismantle the BSM - it was completely new to him - and bro had to read out the instructions while he tackled the unit bit by bit.
3) It took him over 2 hours, even tho' he didn't have to fit the shower handset rail - just the BSM itself.
4) A couple of months later, the flat below experienced a damp patch on their ceiling, directly below bro's bath.
5) Bro called out 'well known plumber' - insisting they send a different guy, not the original clown - and this guy did seem more switched on.
6) He found a drip running down the outside of the cold supply pipe, removed the BSM, took it apart and found some damage to the bottom of the 'Plastic Non-Return Valve Housing' which is a part that needs removing during initial installation to remove the flow restrictors.
7) Even tho' the original clown did remove these parts, the new plumber insisted that the unit must have come like this...
8) The situation was left like this - with BSM removed - until my bro got hold of a new 'Plastic Non-Return Valve Housing'.

That's the story so far, as relayed in the posts above. It now descends into the realms of complete farce...

9) Bro decided to call out Mira themselves to have a look at the BSM. Mira guy comes out, finds the BSM not fitted, states that he doesn't do 'fittings' but only takes them apart to fix when they are in situ, and goes away...
10) Bro calls out 'well known p' to refit the BSM.
11) Bro calls out Mira again to now repair it.
12) Mira guy takes unit apart, finds the damage referred to, acknowledges it shouldn't be like that - but adds "that ain't where your leak is - water cannot get from there to the outside of the BSM under your bath!"
13) Mira guy then fills a cup with water, pours it over the BSM and water goes under the BSM - between it and the bath top - and finds its way through the bath tap holes, on to the copper pipe and then on to the floor...
14) "There's your problem, mate - the BSM ain't been sealed against the bath proper. It's an installation issue, mate".
15) Bro says - "Can you seal it for me then?" "Nope - I only repair them - I don't fit or remove them..."

The situation is now that my bro's BSM is still leaking with the water coming down his walls when showering finding its way between the unsealed gap under the BSM - and the total labour bill for 'well-known-p' and Mira's visits is, guess what? Over £1,000!


I've told my bro that he has an easy case against the well-known-p since they didn't install the BSM properly from the off - it wasn't sealed against the bath top, so allowed water to seep down there. Also they didn't identify that fault when they came out, but instead blamed damage to a part that couldn't cause a leak like this. At the same time denying it was them wot dun the damage...

 

Hi Jit.

I doubt there's any unusual mouldings there - it's very much a 'standard' bath.

I imagine the foam gasket is in place ok, but whether it was damaged I dunno.

Why did the holes need enlarging to 32mm? Aren't the tap's tails the normal 3/4"?