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Water damage repair bill ... outrageous
vantrappe
Posts: 10 Forumite
Some advice here please.
My landlord has sent me an invoice for nearly £600 to fix a leaking pipe and subsequent water damage. The pipe was running vertically up the main wall of our downstairs loo. I managed to put a nail directly into the pipe when putting up a shelf. The leak was not discovered until several emails to the landlord complaining the boiler was making strange noises.
Now, admittedly, it was my fault for putting a nail into the pipe. In fact there is evidence that this has happened in the past. The repairman said it was very unusual to have a pipe running vertically up the wall anyway - for obvious reasons.
My landlord says I owe for 2 visits from plumber and 4 visits to repair the wall and finish it. The repairman was a nice chap who told me to expect a large bill = £65 per visit = an average of 30 minutes per.
Plumber: 2 visits = £195
Repairman: 4 visits = £230 (the repairman gave me a break on the last visit to finish)
Materials: £45
£470 Plus VAT
£564 total
What do you think??
My landlord has sent me an invoice for nearly £600 to fix a leaking pipe and subsequent water damage. The pipe was running vertically up the main wall of our downstairs loo. I managed to put a nail directly into the pipe when putting up a shelf. The leak was not discovered until several emails to the landlord complaining the boiler was making strange noises.
Now, admittedly, it was my fault for putting a nail into the pipe. In fact there is evidence that this has happened in the past. The repairman said it was very unusual to have a pipe running vertically up the wall anyway - for obvious reasons.
My landlord says I owe for 2 visits from plumber and 4 visits to repair the wall and finish it. The repairman was a nice chap who told me to expect a large bill = £65 per visit = an average of 30 minutes per.
Plumber: 2 visits = £195
Repairman: 4 visits = £230 (the repairman gave me a break on the last visit to finish)
Materials: £45
£470 Plus VAT
£564 total
What do you think??
0
Comments
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Looks eminently reasonable to me, as you'll find out if ever you become a home owner.
Remember, £65 for 30 minutes on site is not £130/hour in the tradesman's pocket. It covers all his costs of doing business - van, tools, stocks, insurance - along with travelling time, etc, etc.7 -
I think you should pay the bill because you caused the problem.
Why did it take 4 visits by the repairman to fix the wall though?3 -
I don't see what's "outrageous" about it.3
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Looks reasonable to me, sorry this is why it is best to ask permission to put things up so the landlord can point out hazards like this. A stud/electric/pipe locator would have been useful to own to locate these kind of problems, and you certainly should not be using a nail either which i guess tells us much about your level of DIY.When using the housing forum please use the sticky threads for valuable information.6
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It doesn't sound particularly outrageous to me. Tradesmen cost money and usually charge by the hour not part hour. I also don't know if pipes running vertically is particularly unusual - all my heating pipes (assume this is what you hit because you mention the boiler) downstairs come down from upstairs because I have concrete floors downstairs and they can't be run under the floor.
Make sure you get a wire, pipe and stud detector for your next DIY project!4 -
Three would be an absolute bare minimum.Jane_Cohen said:Why did it take 4 visits by the repairman to fix the wall though?
1. Plaster. (wait for it to dry)
2. Paint (wait for it to dry)
3. Second coat paint (wait for it to dry)3 -
Seems reasonable to me.2
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A stud/metal detector won't work if the pipes are plastic.tacticalbanjo said:Make sure you get a wire, pipe and stud detector for your next DIY project!
Any language construct that forces such insanity in this case should be abandoned without regrets. –
Erik Aronesty, 2014
Treasure the moments that you have. Savour them for as long as you can for they will never come back again.3 -
True! So what would one be advised to do in such a circumstance, Freebear? Hope for the best? Can't find my green, grin icon/anything else on here yet! Unhappy, purple icon.FreeBear said:
A stud/metal detector won't work if the pipes are plastic.tacticalbanjo said:Make sure you get a wire, pipe and stud detector for your next DIY project!2 -
OK, how do I edit? *icon. Pink, embarrassed icon. S0d this.5
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