Tub overflow seal "....not designed for constant exposure to water" ?????

I'm posting this on behalf of a friend who discovered water pouring into her kitchen from above where her son was taking a bath last weekend. They'd had a toilet leak in that bath before that caused drywall damage in the kitchen. The plumber at the time (2010) had to access that area through the kitchen ceiling as well to check the tub area for leaks. At that time, they replaced the tub fixtures, including the drain and overflow.

So she's had the same plumbing company come out today to look at the new leak. He said it was coming from the top of the overflow. When she told them they had done the work to replace the overflow, he decided he needed to call his manager. The work on the invoice, mind you, was only warrantied for 2 years. :-\

The manager told her they were willing to give her 50% off their work today, and that "...those seals are not designed for constant exposure to water." So she believes her 3 kids are to blame for filling the tub too high and causing that seal to fail. I obviously have a very different opinion.

I've got two kids in a 14 year old home with entry level contractor pack plumbing fixtures and my overflow hasn't failed once, in spite of their best efforts! Am I right to be suspect of this plumbing company and their statement that work they did 4 years ago could fail that easily.

They'd already put thousands into repairing the bath and kitchen from the last problem. Now there's concern about how long it's been leaking, If there's mold, not to mention the costs of again fixing the kitchen ceiling where water came through the cabinets this time. :-(

Would appreciate honest feedback and advice. Thanks in advance.

A properly installed overflow gasket should not fail.

That's what I thought as well.

They charged her $82 today to redo their own work which caused this problem. But she's still left with a hole in her kitchen ceiling, additional drywall damage in the ceiling and kitchen wall, as well as damaged cabinetry and who else knows what behind the ceiling.

What would you do?

Not much you can do if the invoice says there was a two year warrantee. Be nice and talk to him and tell him your not happy. Mainly because of the cost involved repairing the ceiling. He may cut you some slack.

I agree with John and it too new to be dry rotted (gasket). I notice you said TOP OF THE OVERFLOW. Did he verify the overflow leaking or could it be something above the overflow.

They said it was the top of the overflow, and that constant exposure would cause it to fail.

Nothing she can do? I'd be on every social media outlet naming the company, telling how work they did 4 years ago failed, causing an additional $X damage, and that their response when given the opportunity to make it right was to give me some BS story, hoping I'd be the typical ignorant consumer, and then charge me half price to redo their own shoddy work.

The BBB would be next.

One other thing I would like to mention. If it was just the overflow gasket that was leaking he should have been able to make the repair from inside the tub without cutting the ceiling open.

The ceiling is going to have to come down anyway. But he had to cut an access hole to figure out where the leak was coming from. They had no clue.

I usually don't go this route but something don't quite sound right. If that much damage has occurred there should have been signs of leakage. If there was signs of leakage ( ceiling, cabinet,trim boards staining/discolored warp) the owner should have called earlier. If there where signs and the owner put it off ,they should be partillay at fault for secondary damage.

The owner noticed a stain starting to form on the ceiling a couple of weeks again and called the same plumber. At that time, there were no drips, just signs of moisture. They couldn't get to her right away unfortunately. Then it was spring break weak and they were out of town. This "flood" then happens suddenly last weekend. The strain hadn't changed and there were no other visible signs of water.

In fact, the original repairs to the plumbing were done in 2010, and they waited until 2012 before finally repairing ceiling in the kitchen. So obviously, it's not been leaking for 4 years.

I still go back to the technician telling her that the seal failed due to exposure to water. That to me says, "I'm trying to hide something, and I'm not trust-worthy."