Who knows…
But the prevalence of fake EU license plates tells me that they think Europe = better even if it means crap Eastern European quality.
Much of the time it also has nothing to do with quality as well, but it’s about face. Like people will spend tons of money on some guitar made by some European builder even though a Taiwanese builder can make something better for less money. European name = bragging rights about how he’s so rich he can afford overpriced stuff.
Agree with that. Personally, I prefer Japanese cars over European or American cars.
Never presume! A leak test sounds like they’ll turn on the water and check if any of the pipes leak. A pressure test involves filling the pipes with high pressure air and then waiting before checking the pressure again, any drop indicates a leak.
Properly tested? Thats cute 
at least everything is burried in concrete and hopefully thick enough that you wont notice a bad joint/seal in the near future. I wouldnt expect a whole lot of checking and diligence. To ve fair, for that kind of plumbing its not high up anyones priority list. I am.always more worried about the electircal in bathrooms as it can kill you.
Our bathroom was renewed here in a gong yu 2 years ago. The shower/bath fittings seem fine, where I would spend the money is on the external wall fitted gas hot water unit. The new Sakura one we have is just as shitty as every other old one I’ve experienced here, hypersensitive and either boiling or lukewarm, even with the thermostat down.
I had a laugh.
The workers are just gonna do stuff the way they always do it. If the pressure test is something they do at all jobs, sure. If not, they are not going to go out and buy a lot of kit just to keep you happy. Probably just lie to you and say, yeah sure we’ll do that buddy.
Pressure test just means they turn on the water and see if it leaks… no fancy equipment or anything. This isn’t America. It’s more important in America since the houses are made of match sticks and a leak could mean structural damage and mold. Here it just means an annoying water stain.
The water heater here is a balance of heating strength (which is not very adjustable, meaning it’s either lukewarm to cold water or boiling hot. The way you adjust the heat is to control the amount of water going through the unit, and the desired temperature is achieved by a balance of heat setting and water flow. It’s a delicate balance and low water pressure means cold water because the water heater has protections to turn off if the water is too hot, so you don’t have an exploding water heater.
I actually fitted an extra outlet on the hot water pipe so that there’s a way for me to adjust the water temperature, because when I try to keep the water from being boiling hot in the summer, it just gets to a point where the hot water side gets too constricted (read: it shuts off meaning cold water) so it was a fine line between cold or boiling water.
Or you can install a tanked water heater… no such issue to deal with, and they do exist in Taiwan because I’ve seen it in larger apartment units or military bases. Speaking of military bases… you will take cold shower unless it’s winter… they won’t turn on the boiler unless it’s cold. Seems someone has to spend all day on boiler detail when they are used because they must be monitored so they don’t blow up.
My theory around the heat exchanger design used in these things is it has been repurposed from some industrial application where the water needed to stay a consistent temperature, but was not often fiddled with. The minimum flow requirement is too high, need to have the shower basin on as well as the shower for any control…
I think all tankless heaters work like this. Thing is they just don’t have a good way to dial down on gas consumption/electrical power when the water pressure goes low.
Maybe invest in one of those good European ones with better control?
That’s where I’d be spending my money. The Taiwan made shower fittings I have are solid as a rock.
the one in my apartment is broken.
It has a dial from 1-5, 4 and 5 has the same temperature, boiling hot.
1, 3 has the same temperature, basically minimum setting, and 2 is slightly hotter.
The trouble is in times like this, where it’s not too hot, and not too cold, max setting is too hot, min setting is too cold, and if I try to use the faucet to get cooler water it constricts the hot water side so it shuts off leading to ice cold water.
So this is why I installed a new tap, so I can basically waste water to get the desired temperature.
The other option is to buy one with a digital controller, set the desired temperature and forget about it. When our old heater with dial temperature and flow controls failed our landlord replaced it with the cheapest Sakura digital unit. I was skeptical at first however it’s proven to be extremely good at controlling temperature in both winter and summer.
In your experience, does having the digital controller at the wall unit improve adjustability at the shower head, i.e not swinging from cold to hot in a slight tap of the mixer?
Seems that I have awoken a few bad memories by creating this thread.
Anyway, work goes on, today is getting walls and floor ready for tiles.
I hope you are buying something from the 7-11 each time.
Actually, the nearest 7-11 doesn’t have a dunny, but the Family Mart which is even closer does. Not yet used though, as the local park 100m further on has a very new modern block, which is well maintained by the local grandma’s…even has soap and a hose, so I can even have a cold shower when I get too whiffy. So the park is it for now…F-M will be for emergencies only.
Waterproofing the concrete with sealant in the plan?!
That sounds more like a mixer or unbalanced pressure issue.
Tile is waterproof, so the Taiwanese says.
My bathroom wall is basically one of those air filled concrete bricks (it weights nothing), and that is waterproofed with paint.
