My plumbing bill. Taken or not?

LateralConcepts · 01-19-2012, 11:32 AM

Quote:

he found the leak with a “leak detector.” What was leaking was a 4 inch drain line from house to septic (10 ft).

I tend to agree with most of the other comments. First of all, a "leak detector" can't determine a leak in a drain line. Leak detection equipment basically consists of; what would be similar to a stethoscope (like your dr. uses to listen to your heart and lungs). A microphone is placed on the ground, meanwhile a technician would be listening for the sound of gushing water. Which, in my opinion, isn't very accurate since traffic, mice, seismic activity, etc. can easily be mistaken. A proper inspection of a septic line from the house to the tank, would require a video inspection with a camera.

As far as whether you overpaid; that's difficult for anyone in a chatroom to judge since pricing varies all over the country. I'd say the pricing was average. You could have paid a lot more. Nevertheless, it sounds like you could have fixed it yourself for a couple hundred bucks or shopped around a bit more.

falbradawg · 01-19-2012, 12:09 PM

Ok, I got some more facts…..
They replaced the line from the septic to the house AND the waterline from the city (which explains the high water usage). They were right on top of each other. The leak was caused by roots from a nearby stump.
He mentioned they used (and now he is pissed at me), “scheduled line” and something about a “thin wall.”
Again, keep in mind that the hole was dug about 2 feet from the front of the house, about 2 or 3 feet in diameter and 3 feet deep AND the backhoe is owned by the company. (And they still charged 800.00 which he swears is fair).
He then said he is willing to make me “happy” then hung up. How much should I ask for back?

LateralConcepts · 01-19-2012, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by falbradawg

Ok, I got some more facts…..
They replaced the line from the septic to the house AND the waterline from the city (which explains the high water usage). They were right on top of each other. The leak was caused by roots from a nearby stump.
He mentioned they used (and now he is pissed at me), “scheduled line” and something about a “thin wall.”
Again, keep in mind that the hole was dug about 2 feet from the front of the house, about 2 or 3 feet in diameter and 3 feet deep AND the backhoe is owned by the company. (And they still charged 800.00 which he swears is fair).
He then said he is willing to make me “happy” then hung up. How much should I ask for back?

Did you (or your wife) agree to a price before they started the work, or did you (or your wife) just tell 'em whatever it takes? I'm just confused why we're having this conversation in the first place.

**TheEplumber** · 01-19-2012, 12:33 PM

Every contractor charges for equipment rental. Thats why he owns it. Question for you- did you have a quote prepared before he started? Or did you just let him have at it. Reach an agreement with him and walk. FYI- its 300 to pump a tank in my town. The other guy wanted 400 w/repair work- He's under priced.

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falbradawg · 01-19-2012, 02:05 PM

We were in panic mode. We JUST pruchased the house. We have a newborn. My wife was there. Our real estate agent gave us the name of the compnay to use. He came out and pretty much told us that it was going to be that much. The city had just told us that our water bill would be 900.00 so we had to act fast. Maybe it is our fault for not checking other prices, but you would think in our small community here (north of Memphis) that company survive by word of mouth and you would get the right price the first time. After talking to the owner today, it seemed to me that he lets the onsite plumber make the price.

NitroNate · 01-19-2012, 02:19 PM

let it be a learning experience. he agreed to drop the price, but it sounds like you are still not happy. everyone makes mistakes, but there is always a lesson to be learned. so, now you know for next time. fighting back and forth with a single plumbing company over a couple hundred bucks isn't worth it. consider the cost you paid the cost of learning how to make a better choice next time.

you can always learn how to do this stuff yourself as well. then, you have noone to blame but yourself when you f' it up.

falbradawg · 01-19-2012, 02:22 PM

Well, that is sort of my question....he has left it to me to ask for the price drop. How much should I ask.

Happen again? How many times in a owners times does something like this happen? I have owned a home since 1994 (been deployed 5 times since then) and never have we had something like this happen.

plummen · 01-19-2012, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by falbradawg

Ok, I got some more facts…..
They replaced the line from the septic to the house AND the waterline from the city (which explains the high water usage). They were right on top of each other. The leak was caused by roots from a nearby stump.
He mentioned they used (and now he is pissed at me), “scheduled line” and something about a “thin wall.”
Again, keep in mind that the hole was dug about 2 feet from the front of the house, about 2 or 3 feet in diameter and 3 feet deep AND the backhoe is owned by the company. (And they still charged 800.00 which he swears is fair).
He then said he is willing to make me “happy” then hung up. How much should I ask for back?

So which line did they hit with the backhoe and bill you for?

The sewer line and the water service were both taken out by a tree root?sounds like bs to me anyway

Were you having problems with the sewer backing up before this happened?

falbradawg · 01-19-2012, 02:32 PM

We had water standing in the yard. (We had a lot of rain recently) and the toliet had just started gurgleing every once in a while. I noticed it once.