What to do if my builder drills through a utility pipe?

teepoo

Hello,

I am about to employ a builder to install a parking post into my parking space.  This involves drilling 4 bolts down about 20cm/8 inches into tarmac.

What to do if the contractor drills into a gas/water/electric/waste pipe?

Background:
1. The building management company do not know if there are any pipes running under my parking space.  They said my contractor should "take care" when drilling!
2. He has £2,000,000 in liability insurance and his mybuilder profile has received good reviews
3. I have no reason to suspect that there are pipes running under my space

Is there anything that I or the builder can do to reduce the likelihood of drilling into pipes?  Or reduce my liability in the worst case?

Thanks.

andyhop

Services should be much lower , circa 600mm down 

Carrot007

Kill him and dispose of the body ;-)

tacpot12

I agree with andyhop, the services should be much lower. So all the builder has to do is set a depth stop on the drill, and be careful not to drill past it. 

elsien

Carrot007 said:

Kill him and dispose of the body ;-)

Being careful not to damage any other utilities while digging a builder sized hole. 

naf123

Stop worrying so much . 

If he drills into the electric wire , I don't think he will be alive to collect his payment . 

If he drills into the water , no big deal , stop the water supply from the stopcock at the pavement  and he will repair it .  

MalMonroe

Carrot007 and elsien made me laugh . . . 

But in all seriousness, any builder worth his/her salt should -

(a)  know what they are doing when they take on jobs like yours - and
 
(b)  have appropriate insurance for every job they do. If they haven't, don't employ them.

I agree with naf123 - stop worrying so much. 

TELLIT01

If the builder causes damage to utilities it will be his responsibility and liability, not yours.

jefaz07

andyhop said:

Services should be much lower , circa 600mm down 

The recommended depth of a gas service is 375mm and even then it’s only recommended. 

I have seen them a lot closer to the surface. 

 

They're not on any maps either unless bigger than 2inch. 

Look at position of meters in the property which may give a better indication of lines of service. 

Section62

naf123 said:

Stop worrying so much . 

MalMonroe said:

I agree with naf123 - stop worrying so much. 

The OP is completely right to be concerned about this.  Only an idiot would drill into a wall without first checking what's under the surface - why should drilling into a road/paved area be any different?

Damaging pipes or cables can be extremely expensive, added to which is the risk of being seriously injured or killed.

Responsibility in a situation like the one the OP is dealing with is extremely complicated, and since the 'worst case' referred to could be a charge of manslaughter it is sensible to ask questions about what and whose liability there is.

TELLIT01 said:

If the builder causes damage to utilities it will be his responsibility and liability, not yours.

Not necessarily.  Liability could fall to the landowner, the 'client' or the contractor. Or any combination of those.  It depends partly what damage is done, who owns the damaged plant, and what steps were taken to try to locate any plant before starting work.

andyhop said:

Services should be much lower , circa 600mm down 

"Should", but that isn't always the case.  Sometimes quite significant services can be found just under the surface in unexpected places - as The_Real_Cheddar_Bob discovered....

 https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6265018/live-water-main-found-in-garden-new-build-property-developer-was-aware/p1


OP - what is your ownership status of the parking space - is it leased to you, freehold, or are you just allowed to park there?

If it was necessary to get their consent, how did the management company give you permission to put in the post?

Another_Level

As above re ownership of the parking space. Been there before 

The post retailer may have an installation service or chose a retailer that does installation as well. 

Keep the installers phone number on speed dial. Some one will accidently reverse into it, pulling the fixings out of the ground. Oh and they may have damaged their car which they wont be happy with.

Good luck