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Old 06-01-2013, 11:00 AM
 
Location: Louisville, KY
1,590 posts, read 4,613,926 times
Reputation: 1381

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First, I'm here seeking opinions and experiences, not legal advice. You can save the "call a lawyer" posts. I understand that's the proper channel and will do so when I have a little more information.


I'm renting a house in Arizona that's slab on grade. I can hear water flowing in the bathroom. After a few attempts the management company finally sent a handyman service to the house. The handyman said, and I quote, "that's a slab leak. no way am I touching that". He then went to shut off the water heater, looked at the valve and said "i'm not touching that piece of @#$% valve either, it'll break." He shut the main supply to the house off, the noise stopped. Turned the water back on and left.

So the next day the mgmt co. sent out a plumber. He stood in the bathroom and told me that they typically replumb the entire house when this happens, and that is going to be his recommendation to the management company. the other option is to jackhammer up the floor until they find the leak. Obviously I have no say being the tenant.

Either way, to repair this is going to require fairly substantial renovation. I'm not interested in paying rent to live through someone else's reno. What do you think my options may be? Am I being too fussy? Thanks in advance for your opinions.
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Old 06-01-2013, 11:05 AM
 
10,746 posts, read 25,944,054 times
Reputation: 16025
You only have two options, stay or leave. Take your pick. If you stay, you're going to have to pay rent ( might get a discount if the landlord so chooses, but you dont' deserve one) If you leave, you're still going to have to pay a penalty ( again, landlord might discount, but you don't deserve it)


Only you can make that decision and why would you need a lawyer to decide that? Talk to your landlord about your options.

Last edited by Kim in FL; 06-01-2013 at 11:23 AM.. Reason: missed a word
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Old 06-01-2013, 11:09 AM
 
Location: Kailua Kona, HI
3,199 posts, read 13,370,395 times
Reputation: 3421
That is a major repair however, I don't think it would fall under the category of constructive eviction or uninhabitable dwelling. The leak is in the slab - a royal pain, I know, but also none of your belongings are being damaged, correct? Who pays the water bill? You should not have to pay an inflated water bill caused by an un-repaired leak. We had this happen under a kitchen of a condo once, and the floor had to be jackhammered up It was a mess for the tenant but only 2 or 3 days, and we paid a cleaner to clean the whole place when it was finished due to the amount of dust everywhere.

I think if I were you I would talk to the LL right away and see how quickly they are going to send someone out to take care of all this. A high tech leak detection expert should be able to pinpoint the exact location of the leak, I'm not sure replumbing the entire house is even called for.
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Old 06-02-2013, 12:16 AM
 
2,845 posts, read 6,001,331 times
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Make sure they get someone good. At my friend's home she was renting, the first person said it was a slab leak, and it turned out the pipe to the dishwasher in the wall had broke. VERY different problem. The first guy wanted to tear up everything! LUCKILY the second person who came quickly discovered the real cause.

I would think if major construction were to be going on in your place, 1- either the landlord could let you out of your lease, or 2- they'd have to pay for you to move your stuff into storage (cuz construction IMO ruins your stuff!) and pay for a place for you to stay while they do these repairs, which probably isn't a 24 hour job...

That's super frustrating...
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Old 06-02-2013, 01:22 AM
 
Location: Kailua Kona, HI
3,199 posts, read 13,370,395 times
Reputation: 3421
Quote:
Originally Posted by beera View Post
Make sure they get someone good. At my friend's home she was renting, the first person said it was a slab leak, and it turned out the pipe to the dishwasher in the wall had broke. VERY different problem. The first guy wanted to tear up everything! LUCKILY the second person who came quickly discovered the real cause.

I would think if major construction were to be going on in your place, 1- either the landlord could let you out of your lease, or 2- they'd have to pay for you to move your stuff into storage (cuz construction IMO ruins your stuff!) and pay for a place for you to stay while they do these repairs, which probably isn't a 24 hour job...

That's super frustrating...
<hint> They do not have to chisel up the entire slab. They locate the leak, jackhammer out a space large enough to maneuver and repair the leak, and repair that spot. Maybe 3X3 feet or so depending.

If it's in the wall, be happy. Lots easier fix. It would be a supply line to a faucet or appliance. As I said before, a leak detection tech can locate the leak very accurately with moisture meters, infrared camera or other more sophisticated equipment.
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Old 06-02-2013, 01:27 AM
 
35,095 posts, read 51,103,864 times
Reputation: 62664
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vinny536 View Post
First, I'm here seeking opinions and experiences, not legal advice. You can save the "call a lawyer" posts. I understand that's the proper channel and will do so when I have a little more information.


I'm renting a house in Arizona that's slab on grade. I can hear water flowing in the bathroom. After a few attempts the management company finally sent a handyman service to the house. The handyman said, and I quote, "that's a slab leak. no way am I touching that". He then went to shut off the water heater, looked at the valve and said "i'm not touching that piece of @#$% valve either, it'll break." He shut the main supply to the house off, the noise stopped. Turned the water back on and left.

So the next day the mgmt co. sent out a plumber. He stood in the bathroom and told me that they typically replumb the entire house when this happens, and that is going to be his recommendation to the management company. the other option is to jackhammer up the floor until they find the leak. Obviously I have no say being the tenant.

Either way, to repair this is going to require fairly substantial renovation. I'm not interested in paying rent to live through someone else's reno. What do you think my options may be? Am I being too fussy? Thanks in advance for your opinions.

You have basically two options, stay as they repair or find a new place to live. The repairs could take a while depending on what exactly is found after the digging has started. You may want to consider the amount of dirt and dust that will be in your home but that depends on where the repairs are generally located and where they have to dig etc. A lot of dirt, concrete dust and other muck could end up in your home and duct work.

You may be able to work out a temporary housing situation for yourself with the property management company but I would not count on that and IF they would be willing to do something like that I would get it all in writing, signed, notarized, stamped in someone's blood, and copied in triplicate.
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Old 06-02-2013, 03:15 AM
 
10,746 posts, read 25,944,054 times
Reputation: 16025
Quote:
Originally Posted by beera View Post
Make sure they get someone good. At my friend's home she was renting, the first person said it was a slab leak, and it turned out the pipe to the dishwasher in the wall had broke. VERY different problem. The first guy wanted to tear up everything! LUCKILY the second person who came quickly discovered the real cause.

I would think if major construction were to be going on in your place, 1- either the landlord could let you out of your lease, or 2- they'd have to pay for you to move your stuff into storage (cuz construction IMO ruins your stuff!) and pay for a place for you to stay while they do these repairs, which probably isn't a 24 hour job...

That's super frustrating...
He has no say in who they hire for the job..in fact, I doubt the workmen will even talk to him other than to say 'Move your crap'.

Cuz? What's 'cuz'? Is the Op your cousin?? Anyway....construction doesn't ruin your stuff
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Old 06-02-2013, 09:24 AM
 
2,845 posts, read 6,001,331 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KonaKat View Post
<hint> They do not have to chisel up the entire slab. They locate the leak, jackhammer out a space large enough to maneuver and repair the leak, and repair that spot. Maybe 3X3 feet or so depending.

If it's in the wall, be happy. Lots easier fix. It would be a supply line to a faucet or appliance. As I said before, a leak detection tech can locate the leak very accurately with moisture meters, infrared camera or other more sophisticated equipment.
I KNOW that, and yes my friend was happy it was just the dishwasher, but if you hire some random person rather than a professional, they won't do that right? LIKE I said in my example above, the first guy my friend hired was saying they had to tear everything up and we thought that was crazy. The second guy (and mind you the first was supposed to be a professional) came in, said that wasn't necessary if you had the proper tools, and was able to discover it was not a slab leak.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kim in FL View Post
He has no say in who they hire for the job..in fact, I doubt the workmen will even talk to him other than to say 'Move your crap'.

Cuz? What's 'cuz'? Is the Op your cousin?? Anyway....construction doesn't ruin your stuff
CUZ = BECAUSE, excuse me for not wanting to type the whole thing out... I didn't realize this was the "spell everything out for people who don't understand the apocopation of words ..." board. Even IF I had called the OP cuz as in cousin- what's it to you?

And yes, it can, it's called DUST and DIRT. Maybe that doesn't bother you, but most people find that part of construction more than just a nuisance. Have done construction work on my home twice in my life, IMO it's a nightmare... It's not going to break the bank to rent a $30 storage unit for a few weeks to protect your items in at least the immediate area from dust and anything else such as a construction worker knocking something down!

AND we don't know the OP's relationship with the landlord, if the first guy comes and wants to tear the whole thing up, he or she might be able to say "I have heard that you don't need to do this, that there is equipment to detect the leak without tearing up everything, maybe you should look into someone else? It'll probably save time and money." Of course the OP can't demand they hire someone who costs thousands above the others, but as the OP is renting, they might be able to help the landlord get someone more qualified.

Last edited by beera; 06-02-2013 at 09:43 AM..
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Old 06-02-2013, 10:09 AM
 
16,376 posts, read 22,427,722 times
Reputation: 14397
They likely will add all new water lines and run them in the attic, rather than break through the slab(he said the OTHER option is to cut the slab). Then they swap out the toilet and faucets that are using the current water lines that are in the slab with the new water supply lines coming from the attic.

Since water is in the kitchens, bathrooms and laundy room, they're likely going to be dropping new water pipes in those areas, coming from the ceiling, through the walls. Some drywall will be busted through and repaired in those areas...and attic access will be needed.

To be honest, I would much rather be the renter vs the landlord in this situation. I bet it takes a few days or maybe a week. You should be ok in your bedroom and living rooms...where there won't be workers in those areas.

You can ask if landlord will pay for you to stay in a hotel during this time so you can shower and use the bathroom. In reality, they will leave the old water as-is and probably the last day or two will they do the final cutover to the faucets/toilet/shower. So probably a day or two in a hotel.
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Old 06-02-2013, 11:39 AM
 
10,746 posts, read 25,944,054 times
Reputation: 16025
Quote:
Originally Posted by beera View Post
I KNOW that, and yes my friend was happy it was just the dishwasher, but if you hire some random person rather than a professional, they won't do that right? LIKE I said in my example above, the first guy my friend hired was saying they had to tear everything up and we thought that was crazy. The second guy (and mind you the first was supposed to be a professional) came in, said that wasn't necessary if you had the proper tools, and was able to discover it was not a slab leak.



CUZ = BECAUSE, excuse me for not wanting to type the whole thing out... I didn't realize this was the "spell everything out for people who don't understand the apocopation of words ..." board. Even IF I had called the OP cuz as in cousin- what's it to you?

And yes, it can, it's called DUST and DIRT. Maybe that doesn't bother you, but most people find that part of construction more than just a nuisance. Have done construction work on my home twice in my life, IMO it's a nightmare... It's not going to break the bank to rent a $30 storage unit for a few weeks to protect your items in at least the immediate area from dust and anything else such as a construction worker knocking something down!

AND we don't know the OP's relationship with the landlord, if the first guy comes and wants to tear the whole thing up, he or she might be able to say "I have heard that you don't need to do this, that there is equipment to detect the leak without tearing up everything, maybe you should look into someone else? It'll probably save time and money." Of course the OP can't demand they hire someone who costs thousands above the others, but as the OP is renting, they might be able to help the landlord get someone more qualified.

It's nothing to me; I was just asking a question, no need to get so snarky.
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