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Thanks for your thoughts @Nickfromwales . I asked contractor about sanding beforehand as you suggested, but he said he's never removed paint before. On previous jobs he's used pva and plaster to cover painted walls and so far no issues, as a pva creates a barrier. With our problematic wall though, and this is in the shower room, will not sanding the wall down cause an issue later?

Hi again, would this solution work -- pva coat, replaster and then repaint. Would there be any problems adding more layers on top of this wall that is currently bubbling after showers?

Ah right. I didn't know they were supposed to soap and scrub the old painted part clean first. This definitely didn't happen because they applied primer straightaway on their first visit. To remedy bubbles appearing after showers, is the "u/s coat" you mention this current layer of paint? As in they'd have to scrap this layer (and the bottom old layer?) off? Then scrub it, wait a day to dry, and apply primer. Wait, and then new coat of paint? Painter suggests coming to have a look at the bubbling wall later (which means we turn on the shower to steam up the room for bubbles to appear), he'll take a look, then he'll prime and paint it, all later today. Presumably, with no waiting time in between, this issue won't actually be resolved? Thanks in advance.

Thanks all for your replies. The painter that did our walls just gotten back to me -- he said it was probably the new paint reacting with the old paint on that particular part of the wall. It looks like we might have to pay extra to get this sorted. The walls were not scrubbed with soap, nor was the shower room used for at least a week before painter came previously, so trapped moisture shouldn't be an issue. Our contractor claims he has never encountered this problem before. Can I check -- was he supposed to have sanded down the old paint prior to painting as a preventive measure against blistering? Or do anything else to the part that was painted previously? Any advice gratefully received, thanks in advance.

Hi @Nickfromwales, thanks for the reply. The plaster was given the full weekend to dry (Sat and Sun). I don't know what paint was used, but thinking back, I wonder if the plasterer didn't plaster over that section of the wall because that one happened to already have paint on it. So then when the painter came, he just painted over that old paint plus the other newly plastered walls. There is a slight different in colour between that section and the rest, so either that was the case, or a different paint was used. Do newly plastered walls and old painted walls require different primers?

Hi all, We got our bathroom redone a couple of months ago, and the walls were replastered and repainted. Just recently, bubbles have started appearing just on one section of the walls. They only appear after showers, and when the bathroom has cooled down the bubbles disappear. Our contractor is insisting that he's never seen this problem before, and that he had paid for quality bathroom paint for the painter. Can anyone advise what could have caused it? Wrong paint / primer / waiting times not sufficient? I attach a photo below, I hope it's clear enough. Many thanks in advance.

Hi all, Needing a little advice: We've just gotten a new bath fitted today, and new tiles put in at two (narrow) ends of the bath. The bathroom fitter is returning tomorrow to apply grout and seal the bath. I get the feeling he's wanting to finish the job in the shortest amount of time (somewhat understandable), but I thought some time had to be given in between putting the grout and the sealant? Can anyone advise how long should the waiting time be? Many thanks.

Finally, some good news came my way: @NickfromwalesVictoria Plum is giving a refund for the bath And, my contractor has offered to take out this current bath and install a new one at no extra cost. I'm so relieved we didn't have to argue about that. He said one full day is required for this. Does it not take longer? For the double seal to dry etc... I definitely do not want any faulty installation this time. @JSHarris Sounds like you made the best of what you got from Victoria Plum! How do you feel about stuff from Victoria Plumbing? Is this website a dupe of Victoria Plum(?!)

Thanks very very much for the helpful input. @Nickfromwales Thanks for your advice. I've emailed Victoria Plum, informing them of the dipping and distorting of bath. I had a look for Trojan baths on their website, but they don't stock any so I've requested for a refund. If that doesn't work then I'll have to settle for credit but buy the bath elsewhere! About bath installation: 1. Our bath is about 3-4mm thick acrylic. The contractor assured us it's secure because it's attached to wall by brackets. (I note you say you usually reinforce with a wall mounted batten). The fitter (different guy from contractor) confirmed that it's not even secured with brackets, but just with legs, and double seal at the wall. Is this normal? Surely the sealant at wall is not a strong and durable enough reinforcement? 2. When these issues finally gets sorted and we get a new bath, I can only request strongly it be fitted with a wall mounted batten. But the fitter can insist that's not necessary -- legs and sealant will hold it up, then I'll be back at square one. Do they have to comply with the customer's request? Currently fitter is adamant all the problems are due to quality of the materials we ordered, and there's nothing he will do to further reinforce the bath (aside from the piece of CLS timber). @JSHarris Ack, sounds like you've had quite some issues with your bath items too. So many contractors that came to our place to quote for redoing our bathroom suggested Victoria Plum, so I just went ahead and ordered from there... should have done more research beforehand.

So it turns out the corner is dipping about 2mm. We currently have a wooden batten wedged underneath (pic below), and then fitter said he will change this for a piece of CLS timber. I asked for some plywood on the underside of that corner for the CLS timber to be wedged up against as you @Nickfromwales suggested, but the fitter is confident that the acrylic will not crack. In regards to your earlier question, there is no timber both in the width and lengthwise of the bath. The fitter said because the bath is so flimsy (he reckons it's about 3-4mm thick), the corner where it is dipping is probably due to the weight of the bath screen. That outer corner also has a bulge (pic below) which is rather unsettling. We asked whether the other corners of the bath will move over time if we wedge up the offending corner. The other corners are not actually held to the wall by brackets, but just by a double seal. Again, he assured us they wouldn't. I seem to be getting contradictory answers, like -- the bath is so thin and flimsy, that it is dipping and bulging. On the other hand, it is not so flimsy that it will crack or move over time, nor does it need further support at the corners..... I am not convinced just one piece of CLS timber will solve this issue. Some questions: 1. To prop up with CLS timber, the fitter only needs to remove the 1 and 1/2 tiles above that side of the bath (pic below) and not the whole bottom row of tiles on all sides? 2. The other corners of the bath are held to the wall by a double seal. Are they really not going to move? 3. Should we change to a 6mm thick acrylic bath? Regarding #3 the bath: the fitter is convinced that the problem is the quality of bath -- either because it is so thin, or it has a manufacturing defect (which he said would be a hassle to get VP to exchange). We bought this bath on the advice of the contractor, we asked him about the quality and durability of the bath, and he repeatedly assured us that this bath wouldn't give any problems. Had he advised us to pay slightly more for a thicker acrylic bath, we would gladly have done so! Can we tell the contractor and insist -- the bath is unsuitable, and we will pay the difference for a sturdier bath? It will definitely be difficult to get him to agree, as who then would be responsible to pay for the workmanship? And if we strip off the whole bottom row of tiles to change the bath, there's no telling how the plasterboard behind will hold up. But we certainly don't want the headache of having more problems with the bath in the near future! Advice is much, much needed. Thanks in advance.

Will post picture when fitter eventually comes around..

There was no timber that came with the bath, but I'm not sure whether the fitter built one. He's coming within the hour, so I'll take pictures when he removes the bath panel.

There is a frame higher up for the shower (bulkhead?), but not below to support the bath where the bath taps are. I've been told on the other sides where the bath meets the wall, the bath is secured to the wall with brackets. There isn't a frame supporting the bath on the outside, behind the bath panel. Should I ask for one there, to prevent further flexing of the bath?

Thanks @Triassicand @AliG, the contractor brought a different bottom seal for our screen, and with a U shape channel too, which really helps stop the leak. @Nickfromwales A wooden batten is currently used under the offending corner of the acrylic bath, haha. I'll check with the bathroom fitter that this is only a temporary measure in use till he makes the time to come back to complete the work, and perhaps to use plywood as you suggested. The old bath in this place had a wooden frame propping it up under the outer side (length wise), i wonder whether are frames used for steel baths and not acrylic ones because of how much heavier steel baths are? Our acrylic bath has brackets holding it in place at the walls, and no frames on the outer side. many thanks for all your advice.

Pools and stays there in the corner.

Ack, it didn't occur to me to ask. When the contractor used the spirit level to measure, the bubble moved to the left, so the edge of the bubble still touched the left black line. Sorry that's not a very precise answer...

Thanks @Nickfromwales, I've just checked out the link, didn't know there were shower screen/ curtain combos! Regarding the dip in the bath, what would be the best solution though? If a wedge might cause unnatural stress on the bath over time, then would just sealing the bath to the wall work? Such a small problem, but so much hassle, lol. Thanks very much to all for the input and insight.

Thanks @Nickfromwales I should have been clearer sorry -- I meant I never had to look into all the different options of baths / screen / curtain etc when I was in a rented property. But this flat is mine, just gotten it! And wanting the bathroom to be done right as I plan to stay here long term

Thanks all. Just checked, it is a shower bath that we ordered: https://victoriaplum.com/product/richmond-1600-x-700-shower-bath-with-curved-single-screen-and-rail-ricsb167001 The contractor is reluctant to email Victoria Plum that it's faulty, as he says they would send people out to test it, and it would be time consuming, but I note what Nick said about the bath already been installed. @Nickfromwales I searched on Victoria plum and could only see straight / P-shaped / L-shaped baths. Is a D-shaped similar to one of those? (Sorry, never had to consider all these in rented properties before!) Our bathroom is tiny though, and we won't have the space for anything wider than a straight bath. If wedging the edge up might cause the bath to crack over time or cause other ends to lift up, should we change the bath to a steel one (does material make a difference?). If that's really the best option that we'll fork out the cash for another bath, but I imagine it'll be tricky to re-tile and change baths at no extra cost (except for bath itself). Should it be so?

An update: The contractor came and redid the sealant, but water still leaked. Then, using a spirit level, he found that a corner of the bath was dipping (towards the wall). It was in fact just part of the bath corner that wasn't level (where the blue arrow is in the pic below), and not the whole corner . This was enough to cause water to pool in that corner of the bath tub though, and then spill out. He will be back with the guy who fitted our bathroom. It seems we have two options: 1. Remove the row of tiles that are directly above the bath tub and prop that corner up with a wooden piece below the bath, then redo the tiles. 2. Don't remove the tiles, but just push that corner of the tub up. My concern though: if we are propping this corner up - forcing it up effectively - so that the whole bath is level, after a few years would the other end of the bath sink down as a result? Our bath is an acrylic one, not the sturdiest of baths, but I gather acrylic is quite common. Should we add a third option: change tub to a steel one? I'm sure the bathroom fitter would suggest the quickest solution, understandably. But I would prefer a long term solution, instead of having problems crop up again in a couple of years from having a quick fix now. Any advice?

Just heard back from the contractor who's coming to take a look tomorrow. He was a plumber by trade, so -- thanks for all your input -- I'll start questioning if no sealant is removed but even more added again Here's to hoping he's able to resolve this once and for all.

Thanks very much for your help, @Nickfromwales I'll email the contractor to ask for a bathroom fitter (-- does a bathroom fitter have a wider expertise than say a plumber or a joiner who might be more specialised?) The bath was sealed along its edges after tiling was done, but I'm not sure whether a layer was applied prior to tiling too. Is this usually done twice?

Thanks so much for all your input. Ah I see what was discussed about water not being able to flow freely downwards and therefore flowing through gaps instead. When the plumber installed the bath screen, there was initially a hole at the bottom (blue square in 1st pic), it seems from the MI that there would be one in the bottom rubber seal. (Strange?) The joiner came a few days later to sort out the skirting, and was asked by the contractor to seal this hole. He cut the top of the rubber seal to push the whole bottom seal towards the metal hinge, hoping to close the gap, (it has since contracted back in the pic). The plumber was sub-contracted by the main contractor to do our bathroom, the main person now fixing our screen is the joiner, but maybe as you say, no matter who, I should just show him the instructions. So the solution would be to ask for all the sealant to be removed and the screen refitted? I wonder whether we would need to buy a new bottom seal or can the current one be refitted? Regarding payment, the final invoice has been sent out to us, with payment due mid May. I'm not sure whether someone will be sent to sort out this problem before then. Can we hold off paying the whole bill in the meantime or will we get into trouble? We made the mistake of paying our floor guy after the floor was laid in the rest of the flat and he never came back to hang a door as agreed! I don't want to make the same mistake here and give part payment -- can I do that?

A couple more pictures if it helps. (Excuse the shower curtain pole, we've resorted to a curtain for a temporary measure)

Thanks Nick. Here's a slightly zoomed out pic, and a pic on the inside. On the inside, the sealant is at the bottom horizontally and vertically. Are the pictures clear? Bath screen is a hinged panel.