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From a plumber's perspective: if your shower or bath is slow to drain and other drains are OK (e.g. toilet or kitchen), it appears the block is local to the bathroom. The suspicion of a local block increases when you are in a unit that is on an upper floor.
Sometimes when we go to unblock a slow draining bathroom, we are able to open up the waste grill and pull out a nasty mess of hair/soap scum etc. Once this is removed, the bathroom drains runs freely. In this instance, it pretty much appears that the resident is at fault so perhaps the agent has a good argument.
As you say though, it's a bit hard to say if the hair is yours or not.
Another scenario is that we suspect the block is local to the bathroom but we can't pull it out. We can only push it down and away. Its a bit hard to say then definitively what blocked the pipes.
If these things are happening in a ground floor unit and other drains are affected (e.g. toilet slow to empty) then you more likely have a pipe or foreign object problem that is causing issues in one of the larger common pipes and backing up into ground level units.
I guess it is a bit frustrating for ECs and/or landlords to pay for unblocking bathrooms when they are blocked with hair so if it keeps happening in units you live in, grab a plug filter or strainer for the bath/shower. This should save you and your landlord the grief.
If a local block happens again, you may struggle to get out of paying a second time?
Disclaimer: I'm a plumber so clearly biased towards a plumber doing your plumbing inspection 🙂 rather than a pest inspector.
Mostly because, whilst on site, your plumber could do so much more than check for blockages: they could identify any upcoming issues to help the building plan for future expenses and even prevent an issue turning into an emergency repair by completing some routine maintenance.
This is particularly important in older buildings where water, waste and gas services are ageing. Just off the top of my head, annual plumbing inspections are an excellent idea because the following could be checked:
- a gully (rather than opening the caps – see post # 11) is designed to allow a backed up sewer to discharge into the garden (rather in people's apartments). If this is filled with dirt (they are usually in the garden somewhere) and a blcoakge occurs, sewer will back up inside the building. They should be cleaned and checked annually.
- Drain camera inspection of pipes (most relevant for older buildings with original sewer system), check the entire length of the pipes and key structures to see if they are emptying correctly, in good condition etc
- Visual check of condition of cast iron waste pipes (= “stacks”). Cast iron breaks down and becomes brittle over time.
- main water shut off valve tested: being able to shut water down in the case of any emergency is essential. The valve should be checked once per year. If its not in good working order, Sydney Water can be called out to service it free of charge.
- Stormwater pits: checked and cleaned annually (although you can usually get your gardener to do this). If debris has built up inside, they will overflow in heavy rains.
I could go on and on but better stop for fear of boring you to death. Suffice to say, plumbing inspections are a great way to proactively look after the building.Sometimes we find that even though a strata manager may appear not to care, the strata manager's manager does. You could try escalating to the next level up within the strata company?
If that leak was incident-related (i.e started then stopped with the tap replacement or defrosting of the fridge) maybe both the plumber and the resident flooded the floor both times and then it soaked through? If that's the case, the leak is over and the building should be OK.
If the leak occurs periodically or is now continuous, it could be a slow leak that drips through onto the plaster, takes time to build then pours through the ceiling when the volume of water overwhelms the soaking ability of the plaster (!) An undesirable situation for you, the owners and the building.
Either way, the cause must be determined asap so the owners know if the buildings structural integrity is at risk.
Good that you explored that with the plumber but I'm just not too sure about the conclusion. Because by crikey, 16 years old is a VERY old tap.
Taps are made of a number of moving internal brass parts and they all wear down over time. For a standard (not super expensive or super cheap), I'm never surprised when I see issues after 6 years. If a tap starts to leak then I would change o-rings, washer, put in new seats, grind back tap housing etc. I tend to find that once one part goes, they all do and its just best to invest it getting it done once and getting it done properly so the repair lasts the distance. If it were my house, after 16 years, I would just be replacing the taps or else I suspect, you're just going to get request after request to sort the taps out.
Obviously its your property and your decision but that's my experience anyway.
Give it a go, you never know your luck. But if you aren’t allowed to core to the outside, you could try this:
Forget the dry waste idea. Instead, you could create the floor waste by raising your floor level (if your ceiling height allows). You can run your waste pipe into the kitchen stack (this is an internal pipe).
If you can imagine, you’ll be stepping up into your new bathroom and the pipework will sit under that floor.
Your waste pipe from your kitchen sink will tell you where the stack is.
Can you clarify the age of the taps?
Not sure if this is what you are looking for in terms of advice but this might help: In most cases, there is always a 100mm stack (pipe riser) and then it branches into a smaller pipe, it is always good to try and work your layout around this pipe.
The only tricky bit is that by law you need a floor waste in the bathroom. This is difficult because it is the only pipe you need below floor level (and in a kitchen there is no such pipe). All the others are above ground so you can work around them.
If you cannot get a pipe below floor level , what can be done is that a dry floor waste be installed (not connected to sewer). Then this gets installed close to the outside wall ,which involves coring a hole from just below finished floor level. It goes out the wall to the outside.
The only time water will discharge through this is when there has been a flood in the bathroom. When doing it this way always need to remember to install a vermin proof flap.