<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, Verdana">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by cbreeze:
I currently live in a condominium and the people downstairs says there is a slow leak from my condo. It has been mentioned that their plumber may have to come into my condo, tear down a wall to check the pipes. The problem is that I have acute asthma and am highly susceptible to any airbourne particles. No doubt constuction work done in my condo would aggrevate my condition if not cause further damages to me. I am not satisfied that tearing down my wall is the only thing they can do since the origin of the leak has not been identified yet (could possibly from my upstairs neighbor's condo). Also that the check/repair must be done from my condo. What can I do to protect myself? How shall I document that I have informed them of my medical condition and that construction can cause me physical injury? If they proceed anyway and I sustain additional medical problems, are they liable? If the check/repair must be done from my condo, are they responsible to relocate me to an equivalent residence until the construction has been completed? Please help.
Thank you!
P.S. I live in California<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Send a certified letter jointly to the owner of the unit downstairs and the President of the homeowners Association putting them both on notice of your medical condition. The way that most condo docs are written protects the Association. If it is determined that the cause of the leak is in a common element say inside the wall, the Association must repair the problem. You can not deny access and the Association has no duty to pay for your relocation. If there will be work done in your unit you can demand that they treat the project jobsite specifically the plaster and the gypsum wallboard ( also known as drywall and sheetrock), as if the wall building material is asbestos containing or lead based. This would entail special construction and cleanup procedures to mitigate gypsum dust and other airborne particulates using a HEPA vacuum cleaner and perhaps an air quality monitor. Further information can be obtained from
www.epa.gov at the Indoor Air Quality link.
First item on the agenda is to identify the cause of the problem. It is in your best interest to help resolve the leak because the longer the condition remains, the greater chances of other unwanted health conditions growing ie. mold, mildew etc. There have even been reports of toxic mold caused by moisture found in air conditioning ducts, interior walls etc. The mold is an organism that grows and releases tiny spores into the air.
[This message has been edited by HomeGuru (edited July 02, 2000).]
