Broken water pipe

SouthSoundTree

SouthSoundTree

Treehouser
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Messages
5,958
Location
Olympia, WA
Got an email from a customer. Evidently, we broke the water feed (a leak) to the house, two months ago. $1000 between the repair and the water bill. Sucks.

We build a pad on the far side of the pipe for dropping the log onto, but not enough, evidently.

I'd put up some pics of it, a dead topped white fir. I felled the log perpendicular to the pipe, parallel to the hill top (flat lawn that dropped 45 degrees to the street). Thought that between the pipe depth, and the pad to put the pressure of impact beyond the pipe, it would be enough. I think that the slope of the hill likely contributed to it.

Asked the customer to send me the plumber's bill, and see if the water company would adjust the bill, since it was due to a leak (I had a leaky toilet at a rental in the past, and the water company did this for me. Amazing how much water can go down the drain in 3 days. 10x's the normal monthly usage.).

I'll see what happens. First pay out for damages for me (I've replaced a couple of fence boards before).
 
That sucks that it wasn't under the ground some more. Its also amazing to me that they waited two months to let you know about the damage. What a bumber, but Its all a part of the beast.
 
Yah I'd be wanting a copy of the repair bill and might be doing a little site inspection, just saying, to make certain it was you that did it.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6
Dan, they probably got a water bill, then realized their use was up. Maybe the leak came during part of their cycle, which might not have looked too big, especially since it was watering the garden season. Another cycle would have passed, where it might have become more apparent.

I don't think its a scam, unfortunately.
 
I think you would know if people were trying to scam you. What I think sucks is you found out about the damage two whole months after the fact. I have repaired water mains before working with my POPS, and the hardest part of that is 1:finding the leak. 2:digging the line up. The repair is not hard at all. He did charge a good price for the repair, beings we had to chase the leak to find it. That was a lot of digging. I have a good goto guy to fix stuff like that if and when it happens.
 
Water came to the surface rather quickly on every water leak I have had. On a slope I suppose it could come up somewhere other than right over the leak. Mine have always been easy to find. Right under the water hole. Makes the digging easier. I could see driving something heavy over the line causing a leak, dropping a tree on a pad seems less likely. Possible, I guess. I think I would take a look at the problem site before I paid the bill. Should be easy to identify the leak site.
 
Always go inspect. I have a waiver on mine but if there was an easy way to have avoided falling the log across the line my waiver wouldn't do much. Good luck Sean, surely sucketh to get that call
 
Dang, sorry to hear. The water's always been evident pretty quick on any damage I've ever done.

Build a mo betta pad in the future. Tires, plywood, FOAM...
 
Dave is right, there are building codes in order to provide a certain amount of protection but all too often the lines are not buried deep enough. If I screwed up then I'll pay for the damages I caused but if I did my job correctly and the line broke because it wasn't installed properly then it's not my deal. I'll help but I'm not eating a $1000 repair bill for fixing an improperly installed line.
 
In Ct the frost depth is 42 inches and water pipes must be at least that deep. In Washington I would think it would be at least that deep. That is incredibly bad luck if you damaged a pipe that shouyld have been almost 4 feet down. I think I would investigate further before I ate a 1000.00 dollar bill.
 
Just a tip for finding an underground water line leak... If you are going to fix it yourself.
Water will follow the very ditch it is placed in on a leak.. Since the bottom of the ditch will still be basically undisturbed, it will leach slower acting like a table.
When I would seek leaks in a water line... I would air up the line with about 65 PSI. You can hear it pretty clear and it will sometimes more seek the surface.
Also, air in a pipe does not fill the very hole you have to work in with water. Makes the repair process a little faster. Copper easier to solder, PVC easier to cement/weld.
If you know how to witch, witch the ditch.... A coat hanger works fine and if you walk back and forth over the WL and ditch and mark it; It will be easier for a back hoe to dig (if you need it to) next to (beside) the line. Finish the dig with a shovel.

Sorry you are going through this at this time of year mang :(
 
SouthSoundTree said:
Dan, they probably got a water bill, then realized their use was up. Maybe the leak came during part of their cycle, which might not have looked too big, especially since it was watering the garden season. Another cycle would have passed, where it might have become more apparent.

I don't think its a scam, unfortunately.
Click to expand...

I's be looking at the site for sure, but I think you're logic is accurate, and I agree with your thinking.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #21
Regard the frost line, we are very temperate here, coastally. This is about 2-3 miles from Puget Sound at no more than a couple hundred feet. I'll check into building codes for the line. I was trying to get to the site today, but it didn't happen. Tomorrow.

Thanks for the helpful advice.
 
Heh sh-t happens sometimes. If it's your break and you have to pay up I'd try and look at it as a investment in customer relations that will pay back dividends to your company over the long run by having done the right thing.
 
I once damaged a brand new chain link fence(about one 8 foot section). I paid for the repair. Needless to say I have done several jobs for the same customer since, not to mention I have recieved several referals from same customer. Just goes to say if you screw up and take responsiblity for it and stay professional It will pay off in the long run. Funny part of the fence is a couple months later a different company took down their neighbors tree and was grinding the stump. Grinder caught the chainlink and ripped the whole fenceline down like a zipper.
 
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