What is the name of your state (Idaho)?
Hello:
I have a two story home that was built in 2004. About 3 years after we purchased the house we noticed a crack in the ceiling of the first floor front room. To make a long story short, early last year, after having some inspectors come out to take a look at the place, we found out that there was water leaking through the seals of a pipe on the roof that came through a false wall on the second floor down to the first floor right where the crack in the ceiling is. The leakage is due to a really lose rubber boot seal around the pipe in the roof. It seems like when it was installed by the roofing company it was not put on properly. This is where I am now:
- I have talked to to the builder and explained the situation as well as provided pictures of the damage and the obviously poor job to seal the pipes. He mentioned that the home is already out of it's one year warranty. I have explained several times that the problem showed up years after it started because the hole is small enough that it only caused problems during heavy rains/snow storms over the course of those first years. He has mentioned that the last folks that touched the seals when the home was built was the roofing company although the seals were provided by the plumbers. I have asked him to give me this in writing but he will not do this.
- I have spoken with the roofing company and their stance is that it is a plumbing problem since the plumbers provide them with the seals although I have explained that it was their (the roofing company) responsability to let someone know that the seals did not fit properly and not just leave them like that.
- I have spoken with the plumber and he said that the problem lies with the roofing company since they are the ones that installed it. I agree with this.
- I have spoken with the inspector that I originally had come out to the house before we bought it to ask him how in the hell he did not pick this up since it is so obvious by looking at it. He doesn't know what to do or say since it has been so long since the inspection occurred. I mentioned that it has been that long since the problem happen gradually over the course of years and that just last year in january we were able to verify that it in fact was a problem due to poor original construction only because we hired another inspector to find out what was going on. He just replied that maybe I should contact my insurance company.
- I have contacted the insurance company but they will only cover leaking roof damage due to storms and blow outs not because of faulty construction.
Why did I wat so long to do anything?
- because I didn't initially notice the crack in the ceiling until about 2007. At that time I had a builder friend of mine (big mistake) take a look at the crack and he mentioned that it was just the house settling. There were no visiable water marks on the crack at that time. Early last year my wife noticed water on the carpet right below the crack, that's when I had a plumber friend of mine take a look at the place and he found the bad seals. I had an inspector come out at that time and verify the problem which he did. I have since been in contact with either the plumber, roofing company, home builder, and inspector.
Last year in August a guy came out from the roofing company to look at it. He initially blamed it all on the plummer. We both got on the roof and I showed him the problem. In the process we found yet another pipe with a bigger hole between the pipe and the seal (I don't know where this moisture has been going). He at that time fixed the pipe seal that caused the damage in the front room and he said he would come back to fix the other one later on. I never heard from him again.
My concerns are:
- I have kids in the house and I don't know if there is mold build up in the walls because of this, if there is I would like this taken care of.
- I need to have the crack in the front room fixed, I don't know how extensive the damage is and I believe that the damage area may have to be removed to make sure that there are no hidden problems
- The other pipe seal that we found that was also bad is letting water through and I don't know where this has been sitting. The inspector we had come out last year got in the attic and found signs of moisture on the outside of both pipes in the house.
My questions are:
- What can I do?
- Who is responsible and how can I prove it?
- is there anything that I should watch out for when I file a civil suit?
Thank-you.
Hello:
I have a two story home that was built in 2004. About 3 years after we purchased the house we noticed a crack in the ceiling of the first floor front room. To make a long story short, early last year, after having some inspectors come out to take a look at the place, we found out that there was water leaking through the seals of a pipe on the roof that came through a false wall on the second floor down to the first floor right where the crack in the ceiling is. The leakage is due to a really lose rubber boot seal around the pipe in the roof. It seems like when it was installed by the roofing company it was not put on properly. This is where I am now:
- I have talked to to the builder and explained the situation as well as provided pictures of the damage and the obviously poor job to seal the pipes. He mentioned that the home is already out of it's one year warranty. I have explained several times that the problem showed up years after it started because the hole is small enough that it only caused problems during heavy rains/snow storms over the course of those first years. He has mentioned that the last folks that touched the seals when the home was built was the roofing company although the seals were provided by the plumbers. I have asked him to give me this in writing but he will not do this.
- I have spoken with the roofing company and their stance is that it is a plumbing problem since the plumbers provide them with the seals although I have explained that it was their (the roofing company) responsability to let someone know that the seals did not fit properly and not just leave them like that.
- I have spoken with the plumber and he said that the problem lies with the roofing company since they are the ones that installed it. I agree with this.
- I have spoken with the inspector that I originally had come out to the house before we bought it to ask him how in the hell he did not pick this up since it is so obvious by looking at it. He doesn't know what to do or say since it has been so long since the inspection occurred. I mentioned that it has been that long since the problem happen gradually over the course of years and that just last year in january we were able to verify that it in fact was a problem due to poor original construction only because we hired another inspector to find out what was going on. He just replied that maybe I should contact my insurance company.
- I have contacted the insurance company but they will only cover leaking roof damage due to storms and blow outs not because of faulty construction.
Why did I wat so long to do anything?
- because I didn't initially notice the crack in the ceiling until about 2007. At that time I had a builder friend of mine (big mistake) take a look at the crack and he mentioned that it was just the house settling. There were no visiable water marks on the crack at that time. Early last year my wife noticed water on the carpet right below the crack, that's when I had a plumber friend of mine take a look at the place and he found the bad seals. I had an inspector come out at that time and verify the problem which he did. I have since been in contact with either the plumber, roofing company, home builder, and inspector.
Last year in August a guy came out from the roofing company to look at it. He initially blamed it all on the plummer. We both got on the roof and I showed him the problem. In the process we found yet another pipe with a bigger hole between the pipe and the seal (I don't know where this moisture has been going). He at that time fixed the pipe seal that caused the damage in the front room and he said he would come back to fix the other one later on. I never heard from him again.
My concerns are:
- I have kids in the house and I don't know if there is mold build up in the walls because of this, if there is I would like this taken care of.
- I need to have the crack in the front room fixed, I don't know how extensive the damage is and I believe that the damage area may have to be removed to make sure that there are no hidden problems
- The other pipe seal that we found that was also bad is letting water through and I don't know where this has been sitting. The inspector we had come out last year got in the attic and found signs of moisture on the outside of both pipes in the house.
My questions are:
- What can I do?
- Who is responsible and how can I prove it?
- is there anything that I should watch out for when I file a civil suit?
Thank-you.