Sigh, I'm getting really tired of our developer. So many things happened where she shortcut problems. So we're going to have to discuss with our lawyer more issues which have cropped up. And no you cannot find this out with a home inspection unless you are prying tiles away from a shower. Also you cannot predict that when someone says they will pay for things to be repaired in a written contract that they will try to not pay. Most people do not practice those types of business skills.
Our master bathroom the tiles are coming off the walls in the shower stall. This is because it was probably improperly constructed. Having been a new renovation in a former attic which was dormed, the bathroom is brandnew. The shower stall is made of marble tiles, which unfortunately were glued to sheetrock. Yikes. The developer/contractor should have used concrete or baseboard. Second mastik glue was used to attach the tiles instead of thin-set cement. However neither of these can be told from an home inspection unless you pry the tiles off the wall which is unlikely when they are in good condition. But after a few years the glue wears away and the sheetrock disintergrates, leaving a non-waterproof shower.
So basically the developer built a shower which disintergrates with water. Of course we called contractors and building inspector and was told it was improperly built and now we have to go and ask the developer for more money. If I weren't already asking for our money from the retaining wall I think I'd not do it, but at this rate, what does it matter? We're already having to get money out of her for our parking pad retaining wall (also in our sale contract), but she refuses to pay until all reciepts are tallied and she sees the final reciept.
The developer is infamous where we live for going to court and losing because she doesn't like to pay contractors. More than one contractor has filed suit against her. And yes she's very, very rich.
The cost of repairing this shower is probably around $2500-3000. One part which varies the price and is a bone of contention between DH and I is whether to replace the marble tiles with marble or with porcelain. DH wants porcelain because it's easier to clean. I want marble because of resale value. I don't want to care for the marble and would prefer porcelain but I'm not sure it's a good financial decision. I suppose we'll be tossing it to a RE agent.
Right now as it stands with our fireplace, I won the argument about keeping our original mantle when over 5 contractors and fireplace installers said to keep the original mantle. DH hates it wanted to tear it out, I said no. I don't think it's lovely or anything but it's value is in the resale. Sometimes home maintenance is not worth the hassle.
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The information you provided is incorrect. A licensed engineer (NOT an unlicensed home inspector) has 2 ways of knowing if the tiles in the bathroom were installed correctly. The first way would be visual: just by looking at the thickness of the tiles over the wall he would know if plasterboard vs backerboard was used. Also, just by tapping the tiles and listening to the sound of the tap he would know what kind of backing was used. A hollow sound or a solid sound would indicate which type of board was used.
Obviously you didn't do due diligence when you purchased your property. This would indicate you probably have other serious flaws in the construction and design.
Too bad.
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