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Convector Leak--who is responsible for damage?

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shmeep

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Maryland

This week, while I was at work, our management company refilled our heating and cooling system to prepare for the switch to heat. My convector, which is in good working order and hasn't leaked since we bought our condo 16 months ago (I check often) wasn't even on, but the pipe inside the convector connecting it to the rest of the system had a loose screw somewhere and spewed water all day and it leaked into six units beneath me. Most of the damage is superficial and shouldn't be too pricy to fix, but the management company had to make holes in a couple of ceilings to try and find the source of the leak. Once I was home and the leak was stopped, the guy from the management company told me I had to go to all the damaged units to survey the aftermath of the leak so I can start preparing to pay for the damage. I've been hesitant to do that because that will make it look like I'm admitting responsibility when I believe that this is the responsibility of the HOA, since it happened during their changeover and to a pipe shared by the building that just happened to come up in my convector. Am I right about this?

Also, the loose screw is very odd, since we've never touched it. Last Spring, after the last changeover, our AC wasn't working so the management company entered our unit and took apart our convector before figuring out that it was fine and that the entire building wasn't getting AC. I believe they loosened this screw themselves in the process but, since the water was already filled in the system, it didn't cause a leak at that time for whatever reason and it only started gushing during this changeover. Does anyone know if this is a possibility? I'm not sure how the convectors work, but I feel that I have two good reasons to maintain that the HOA is responsibile, but I'm afraid to go to them and bring it up because I don't trust them. What should my next step be?
 


HomeGuru

Senior Member
shmeep said:
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Maryland

This week, while I was at work, our management company refilled our heating and cooling system to prepare for the switch to heat. My convector, which is in good working order and hasn't leaked since we bought our condo 16 months ago (I check often) wasn't even on, but the pipe inside the convector connecting it to the rest of the system had a loose screw somewhere and spewed water all day and it leaked into six units beneath me. Most of the damage is superficial and shouldn't be too pricy to fix, but the management company had to make holes in a couple of ceilings to try and find the source of the leak. Once I was home and the leak was stopped, the guy from the management company told me I had to go to all the damaged units to survey the aftermath of the leak so I can start preparing to pay for the damage. I've been hesitant to do that because that will make it look like I'm admitting responsibility when I believe that this is the responsibility of the HOA, since it happened during their changeover and to a pipe shared by the building that just happened to come up in my convector. Am I right about this?

Also, the loose screw is very odd, since we've never touched it. Last Spring, after the last changeover, our AC wasn't working so the management company entered our unit and took apart our convector before figuring out that it was fine and that the entire building wasn't getting AC. I believe they loosened this screw themselves in the process but, since the water was already filled in the system, it didn't cause a leak at that time for whatever reason and it only started gushing during this changeover. Does anyone know if this is a possibility? I'm not sure how the convectors work, but I feel that I have two good reasons to maintain that the HOA is responsibile, but I'm afraid to go to them and bring it up because I don't trust them. What should my next step be?

**A: contact an HVAC contractor to conduct an inspection.
 

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