Florida - slab leak in townhouse possibly related to road construction

[EdFLA]

Thank you in advance for your advice about my Slab leak in Florida.

I have a slab leak on the main pipe coming into the house. The water pours out of the slab where the pipes come into the closet with the water heater in the stairwell towards the center of the unit. The leak had damaged the hardwood floors in the dining room/living room and also one of the kitchen cabinets. There was mold between the drywall and baseboard in the closet so they were removed. The leak is yet to be repaired. If the water at the main is turned on water and sand come in from the slab where the pipe comes up through the slab.

This leak started after some pile driving work for bridge widening of I-95 so the HOA suggested that we first contact the DOT. They in turn referred us to their contractors. They finally sent and engineer to inspect, but their report says they are not liable and they claim that the vibrations would not have been the cause of the leak. I have a PDF copy of that report.

The unit is a two-story townhouse. The building has four units in it each with a courtyard. We have an HOA and our HOA fees also cover insurance for the building.

What should I do now that the DOT contractors claim no responsibility? Should the HOA cover it? They say the insurance only covers exterior walls and the roof.

 

[justalayman]

What should I do now that the DOT contractors claim no responsibility?

Unless you can prove otherwise, get your waterline fixed and move on with life.

Should the HOA cover it?

first, whether their insurance would cover it or not is irrelevant unless your rules limit the HOA liability to what their insurance covers.

I'm not 100% clear on the layout of the property. Are these individual units or something such as a quadplex. The only difference that would make that I can see is whether they might have some liability as the water system being a common element, limited common element, or an individual element.

If this is an individual service to your unit, you are likely liable for the repairs. If it is a limited common or common element, depending where the damage is, it might fall onto the HOA.

I suspect what happened is the vibrations caused by the bridgework cause an already weakened water pipe to finally break. That would not cause liability for the bridge builders though.

 

[EdFLA]

The unit is a quadplex.

Each unit has a shut off valve outside of the unit. The leak occurred in the middle of the overall structure (at the back of my particular unit). The units share walls in the area of the stars where the leak occurred.

 

[justalayman]

If it is to the point where it involves only your unit, I think you are on your own. If it is a limited common element, I believe the HOA is liable. It sounds like it is likely limited to your water supply but, depending on how the system is built, there is a possibility the damage is in the area of common use and simply tracks into your unit.

Florida statute:

718.108 Common elements.--
(1) "Common elements" includes within its meaning the following:
(a) The condominium property which is not included within the units.
(b) Easements through units for conduits, ducts, plumbing, wiring, and other facilities for the furnishing of utility services to units and the common elements.
(c) An easement of support in every portion of a unit which contributes to the support of a building.
(d) The property and installations required for the furnishing of utilities and other services to more than one unit or to the common elements.
(2) The declaration may designate other parts of the condominium property as common elements.

based on that, I would believe that once your supply becomes limited to a point it is supplying only you, it is no longer a common element and as such, your liability.

 

[private_person3]

Is the break before or after your units shut off valve?

 

[justalayman]

Is the break before or after your units shut off valve?

let's review a bit:

If the water at the main is turned on water and sand come in from the slab where the pipe comes up through the slab.

since turning on the valve causes there to be an influx of water, I suggest it is safe to say the break is between the valve and the residence.

 

[private_person3]

let's review a bit:



since turning on the valve causes there to be an influx of water, I suggest it is safe to say the break is between the valve and the residence.

Normally I would agree with you, but having gone through something similar to what the OP is going through I aware that there may be more than one shut-off valve. There is the shut-off valve for the specific unit and possibly one for the entire building. For example, the water main has a valve where it splits into however many pipes are needed for each unit. Then those pipes have a valve so that each until has control over their own line. This is found right before the meter.

We don't call the shut-off valve for the unit a "main". We call it the "unit shut-off valve". The "main" shut-off valve is the one located at the water main.

That is why I asked for clarification.