Nightmare Project

[Bringatowel]

Hi all,

Im just after some advice on a project were currently on that has been wrought with problems from the start
Specifics:-
-Project is a refurb in a business class lounge - 5x bathrooms demo & reinstall
-Fibreglass base, single slope no nib
-Sheet membrane Ardex WPM750, used with all recommended primers/adhesives/seam tape etc
-Heavy stainless steel shower head on hose, has broken tiles beneath it in every bathroom from being dropped
-Many many other problems, mainly issues with time frames/working conditions/aesthetics.. but key issue is the waterproofing

A leak was detected in the store below, when it started dripping water on one of their customers
We have used a sheet membrane over the acrylic liner, floor, 150mm up perimeter and 2m up shower walls.
Waterproofing had been inspected by Ardex, all passed, but no flood test done due to time constaints (rush job just before xmas - peak busy season)
The nib to the shower glazing channel is around 10mm high at top of slope
In the flood test, we first isolated the waste and ran water through for 5mins - no leak
-Then flooded upto the broken tile - adhesive soaked up some water, but no leak detected below
-Then flooded entire shower floor - leak started almost immediately, leaking through the ceiling of the store below
Also, the water started pushing up through the grout joints, indicating a leak between the tiles and the shower glazing channel

So far, weve completed 4 bathrooms - this is the only one we know is leaking. However, in other bathrooms, the floor grout has discoloured, which may indicate water is escaping and stagnating within the adhesive, but not managing to get past the membrane (Or could be leaking, but has so far gone unnoticed)

Would like to hear peoples thoughts on how to remedy this going forward?
Is it likely a problem with the installation? Perhaps poor design? Both?

Shower Tray - (note damage by others)

Waterproofing

Water pushing up through joints (Outside of shower)

Flood test

Broken tile

 

[Dumbo]

If the tanking is damaged it's a rip out and redo ,
If you have water getting under the tiles it's instalion error as well .
How long between drain test and full flood test. What I'm getting at is it coincidental , ie you may of tested your drain and the leak may of taken some time to percolate through to the shop below and time wise coincided with the full flood test .

 

[Bringatowel]

If the tanking is damaged it's a rip out and redo ,
If you have water getting under the tiles it's instalion error as well .
How long between drain test and full flood test. What I'm getting at is it coincidental , ie you may of tested your drain and the leak may of taken some time to percolate through to the shop below and time wise coincided with the full flood test .

Hey JCR,

Thanks for the reply

There was 20mins in between each stage of the flood tests, so I dont think it is coincidental
There must be a leak somewhere in the membrane - we'll need to uplift all the floor tiles and atleast bottom course of wall tiles to fix it

However, im not sure how to remedy the issue of standing water - (other than redesigning it with a proper nib)
The glazing channel, which is essentially acting as a replacement for a nib, isnt tanked due to the order of installation - i.e. glazing channel is installed after tiling/waterproofing. The only barrier preventing water from escaping past the glazing channel is Silicon, which isnt a substitute for waterproofing - If water does find a path past the Silicon it will drain to the floor tiles.

In hindsight we should have rejected their design - but the design is identical to the original which didnt have these issues - so I didnt see an issue with it at the time.

Looking at it in section view - it might be possible to have the glazing channel installed before the shower floor tiles are installed - which would allow us to put a self-adhesive bandage 10mm or so up the side - not an ideal height for an upstand but suppose its better than nothing

Unless anyone has other ideas?