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

Clive_Woody

Reminds me of when I worked at a pharma company. We were having a new building put up on site when the contractors dug through the main power cable to site and we all got to go home early.

The following week they dug through the water mains and we got to go home early again.

They never found the gas mains…can’t remember who was doing the work, but it was a pretty large build. Kept us amused.

teepoo

Thanks for all the responses.  Regarding @Section62's questions:

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?

I am a part freehold owner of the parking area - each flat has an assigned space.  We employ a management company to maintain all the common areas which includes the parking area.

The management company gave me permission to put in a post via email.

As to the minimum service depths - I am concerned that there is no way to prove at service depth recommendations were followed on this private land.
Also, if the builder does drill into a service pipe, they might turn around and say that it wasn't their fault because the pipes shouldn't be there.

Should I expect the builder to survey the area and confirm that there obvious gas/water/electric "run" is crossing my space?
Are there any other obvious checks that can be performed? 
Short of using a ground penetrating radar, I am not sure what else could be done to reduce the risk.

Section62

teepoo said:

I am a part freehold owner of the parking area - each flat has an assigned space.  We employ a management company to maintain all the common areas which includes the parking area.

The management company gave me permission to put in a post via email.

Ok, I thought the situation would be something like that, which is why I asked the question and why I think some of the replies you got earlier in the thread were inappropriate.

You are in something of a grey legal area in that the work is not purely domestic in nature and the involvement of commercial organisation(s) in the ownership/management of the site creates complexities that most householders don't face.

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM) places various duties and responsibilities on people and organisations involved in construction projects.  One of those client duties is to make sure relevant information is prepared and provided to other dutyholders.
https://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/cdm/2015/summary.htm

The management company should know about and understand CDM, and should know that just saying the "contractor should 'take care'" is a wholly inadequate approach to discharging the duty.

It would appear that they haven't got as far as establishing roles, and whether they, you, or the contractor would be responsible for the client role.  I'm no expert on this, so this is a guess, I think it is most likely that because the residents have appointed a management company to maintain all the common areas that the management co have become the client for work done on those common areas - either as being a commercial operator, or as the principal contractor.

Therefore IMV the legal duty - the responsibility for 'worrying' about the safety of the contractor and the public - should rest with the management company, rather than you as an individual resident.

You might want to read up on the CDM regulations and then have a conversation with the other freeholders about this situation.

teepoo said:

As to the minimum service depths - I am concerned that there is no way to prove at service depth recommendations were followed on this private land.
Also, if the builder does drill into a service pipe, they might turn around and say that it wasn't their fault because the pipes shouldn't be there.

I think that is quite likely.

teepoo said:

Should I expect the builder to survey the area and confirm that there obvious gas/water/electric "run" is crossing my space?
Are there any other obvious checks that can be performed? 
Short of using a ground penetrating radar, I am not sure what else could be done to reduce the risk.

The most basic check would be using a 'CAT' (+'GENNY') to do a survey of the surrounding area - this will typically pick up electric cables, but not necessarily plastic services.

The utility companies also offer a 'dial before you dig' advice service (should be free) and may do a site visit if there are concerns.

In my view, rather than drilling blind to that depth, it would be safer for the contractor to install the post by digging a hole (by hand) and filling it with concrete with ragbolts positioned correctly for the post base.  Hand-dig is the method usually recommended where the presence of utilities can't be ruled out.  This approach involves more work, and therefore would be more costly, but it avoids the risk of injury (or death), or liability for expensive repairs to utility equipment.

I'd also suggest that bolting the post to a solid block of concrete will give a more durable result than drilling through tarmac and fixing into an unknown material below.

(identifying risks and - if necessary - using an alternative method of working is part of what CDM is all about)

teepoo

Thanks for the detailed response @Section62 - I didn't even know of the existence of CDM regulations!

I think the next steps will be to put the job on hold and speak to the management company & builder as I am not comfortable with the lack of responsibility.

Digging by hand seems to be a far safer way than drilling into the unknown, so this will be suggested as well.

I appreciate everyone's replies!