The previous owner of our house had done a full bathroom reno. It was horrible and the tub kept leaking resulting in a major hole in our kitchen ceiling. Although I have lots of skills as a handyman, I didn't have the time to do a complete reno. We had several estimates and decided on Wait's due to his collaborative approach.
Initially, things went well. The sub-contractor was great as was the painter. Problems began with the electrician who installed the bathroom vent fan. I was on site when he installed it. I commented that he needed to go into the attic to ensure that the wires were properly secured and that the venting pipe was installed correctly. He assured me that he had done hundreds of these projects and that he knew what he was doing. When I spoke with Mr. Wait about this, he reassured me that the electrician knew what he was doing.
The next problem was soon after the completion of the project when the paint on the ceiling began to peel. It took over two weeks to connect with Mr. Wait and have the painter return to correct the problem. The painter noted that there was too much condensation and that the fan was not venting it properly. After another month of continuous phone calls to Mr. Wait, he finally came back to the house. He did the "toilet paper test" on the fan. The sheet of toilet paper did not "stick" to the vent cover because the fan was not pulling enough air. He recommended a more powerful fan. I note that this was the fan he recommended and that at 110 CFM it should be more than adequate (especially since the 50 CFM that I had previously installed and vented directly outside cleared the condensation perfectly - remember, the leaking tub was the problem not the build up of condensation. Everyone who came to look at the project said that a full tear out was necessary).
Weeks go by then a couple of months. By the time I finally get through to Mr. Wait again, I informed him that the paint on the wall is now peeling. Two weeks later, the painter came back and . . . painted the ceiling again!
About 6 months after the project completion, my step-son was taking a shower when the hand-held shower head burst. I had to temporarily replace it with a cheap head while I tried contacting Wait's again. Finally after several weeks, I stopped into the store on my way home from work. Mr. Wait said he would give me another showerhead once the order came in and gave me a cheaper display model in the meantime. That was November 2010 and it is now June 2011.
Since about September 2010, there has been an increase in repertory difficulties and allergy symptoms. There have been frequent trips to the doctor and he was at a loss to explain why this sudden onset of chronic illnesses. Then it occurred to us: perhaps there is mould.
I hired a mould technician who took several samples from the attic area and sent them to a lab for analysis. We have mould throughout the area of the attic above the bathroom. Fortunately, it is not toxic but it is a common mould that has an adverse impact on people with allergies (which 3/5 of my family does).
My next step is to take this mould report to Wait's and insist that they PROPERLY remediate the mould and PROPERLY install bathroom venting. Hopefully, this can be done without legal recourse.
Stay tuned for "Wait's Bathroom Plus - Part Deux"