Advise Neeed on a New Home Leakage Problem


  #1  
Old 11-03-07, 11:29 PM
U
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Advise Neeed on a New Home Leakage Problem

Hi All,
I just moved into my brand new hom 2 weeks ago. When my washer was connected this friday, after the guys did the test wash, an hour later I went to basement and I have seen water coming out of the ventilation panel in the room next to gagage. I called the developer and today they sent a plumber. They cut the walls to find out whats going on and after running water through the drainage of washer, they could not find anything and finally found a leak in the kitchen sink directly above the ventilation panel downstair. Seemed like water running from the poorly sealed sink was leaking. They conncluded that that was it. I was tld washer is safe. Later tonight I ran the washer again and this time water came through kichen wall (1st floor, washer on second floor), garage wall on the basement, and 2 other connected walls.
Water leaked (dripping not flooding) from 5 different places.

They will come and check it but I'm so worried since several dry walls are fxxxed up now.
I'm trying to understand what are my rights here. Having paid lots of money for a brand new home and going through all this in the second week (could have been the first day if I had a washer when I moved in), I'm trying to figure out what are my rights. Can I ask them to demolish and redo all the walls ? I'm so scared that there will be mold and it will impact the resale value significantly. Can I even ask for a new home in the same community ? (This is a new community and they are building several new units. They will probably try to find the cause and after fixing it be done with it.
 

Last edited by stickshift; 11-04-07 at 05:48 AM. Reason: Removed email address
  #2  
Old 11-04-07, 05:26 AM
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Welcome to the world of new home ownership, ain't it fun??

If there was water between the walls, that should be allowed to dry before beinging resealed with drywall. But mold usually needs a long soaking to get bad enough for real growth problems. And spraying the dampened area with a 10:1 bleach solution will take care of that.

You problem can probably be corrected and that should be the end of it, if the builder has good technicians. If he keeps sending grunts and flunkies, you could be in for a long haul. Give them another chance, then give your lawyer a call. A strong letter usually gets results.
 
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Old 11-04-07, 05:48 AM
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The builder should take care of this. Not a bad idea to have an attorney on your side making sure.
 
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Old 11-04-07, 08:34 AM
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Angry Wash machine leak

1: It sounds like a drain leak, how is the drain hooked up to the washer?, if you have an unusual hook-up that may be a problem.

2: Disconnect the washer from the system, run all fixtures near the washer and see if you have a leak, if so the washer has nothing to do with it.

3: A good plumber will have trace dye, that will show where the leak is comming from in a drainage system, luck
 
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Old 11-04-07, 02:57 PM
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Check the plumbing

Luckily there was a new home under construction in the same community. I checked the washer drain connection and it seems to trace the water that was leaking from several walls. I guess by cutting some more walls, they can identify the root cause.
What I'm worried is the mold. What should I do ? Several walls got soaked really bad. Should I ask them to redo the walls ? How can I be sure that there will not be any problems in the future with the mold ? Thanks for the advices so far guys. I really appreciate.
 
 

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