bryan45419
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? OH
We have recently contracted with a local plumbing company to replace 26 feet of sanitary sewer line between our home and the street where the main line links into the city sewer system.
The proposal includes two estimates. First, it provides a fee for the replacement of the sewer line. Second, it provides a "NOTE" which reads as follows:
"NOTE: Your water service line may be in the same area as your sewer, we believe this line is brass and may be easily broken. If the water line is replaced from the curb stop to the building, the added cost will be $1,900."
We never really signed the proposal to provide a formal acceptance, but in the spirit of good faith negotiations, we accepted these terms and gave verbal approval to proceed.
Yesterday, the plumbing company began work on the job, digging up our front yard. They did bump into the water service line as they were digging, but claimed to have repaired it without a need to replace.
Last night, we had a very short, hard summer rain for about an hour. After the rain was over, water begain flooding into our basement from the water service line, which had broken. The general opinion from the city sewer dept, who came out immediately and shut the water off, was that the hole had somehow collapsed under the rain, or there was some kind of pressure from the storm which caused the line to break. The plumbing company agrees that the storm did in some way incite the break in the line.
The plumbing company has agreed to pay for the cleanup of our basement, which was filled with water and mud. However, they are telling us that the water service line now needs to be replaced, and they want to charge the $1,900 for the work.
We have overheard the plumbers mention that they did not "pin the water service line back" as they normally would have. And we know that certain employees have been reprimanded about this incident.
My question is are we obligated to pay for the water service line replacement. While the proposal raises the prospect that the line may need to be replaced, I am wondering if this holds if the plumber was negligent in shoring up the hole and/or protecting the line (which they said was fine yesterday) from the weather.
I understand that in the normal course of the work the line could have been damaged and required replacement at my expense. But if the plumber was negligent (and I'm not expert enough to know if for sure if he was, but there seems to be some evidence that he might have been), does the proposal still give him carte blanche and the authority to demand payment?
Thanks for any insight you can provide! Sorry for the long post.
We have recently contracted with a local plumbing company to replace 26 feet of sanitary sewer line between our home and the street where the main line links into the city sewer system.
The proposal includes two estimates. First, it provides a fee for the replacement of the sewer line. Second, it provides a "NOTE" which reads as follows:
"NOTE: Your water service line may be in the same area as your sewer, we believe this line is brass and may be easily broken. If the water line is replaced from the curb stop to the building, the added cost will be $1,900."
We never really signed the proposal to provide a formal acceptance, but in the spirit of good faith negotiations, we accepted these terms and gave verbal approval to proceed.
Yesterday, the plumbing company began work on the job, digging up our front yard. They did bump into the water service line as they were digging, but claimed to have repaired it without a need to replace.
Last night, we had a very short, hard summer rain for about an hour. After the rain was over, water begain flooding into our basement from the water service line, which had broken. The general opinion from the city sewer dept, who came out immediately and shut the water off, was that the hole had somehow collapsed under the rain, or there was some kind of pressure from the storm which caused the line to break. The plumbing company agrees that the storm did in some way incite the break in the line.
The plumbing company has agreed to pay for the cleanup of our basement, which was filled with water and mud. However, they are telling us that the water service line now needs to be replaced, and they want to charge the $1,900 for the work.
We have overheard the plumbers mention that they did not "pin the water service line back" as they normally would have. And we know that certain employees have been reprimanded about this incident.
My question is are we obligated to pay for the water service line replacement. While the proposal raises the prospect that the line may need to be replaced, I am wondering if this holds if the plumber was negligent in shoring up the hole and/or protecting the line (which they said was fine yesterday) from the weather.
I understand that in the normal course of the work the line could have been damaged and required replacement at my expense. But if the plumber was negligent (and I'm not expert enough to know if for sure if he was, but there seems to be some evidence that he might have been), does the proposal still give him carte blanche and the authority to demand payment?
Thanks for any insight you can provide! Sorry for the long post.
