Two weeks ago,water started seeping up through the floor in our hallway of our rented house. (Private rent been here two and a half years).
Phoned landlord who asked me to phone water board as the plumber he uses couldn't make it for a few days.
Water board came out the next day and did some tests and said the private supply pipe was leaking.The pipe runs from our garden,under kitchen floor,hallway and utility room.
Water board issued a legal notice on landlord to repair the leak within 30 days.
My landlord said a builder was coming that evening to look at it and then he'd start work the next day,to try and locate the pipe.
And the plumber would visit the day after.
Builder came that evening to have a look and said he'd be digging up our hallway floor the next morning.
I know him,this builder.He isn't a builder he's on the sick and does odd jobs for cash in hand.
He's also a real cowboy.
So I'm dreading it before it even starts.
Cowboy actually turned up at 7.30 pm that evening with a jack hammer.
He's in a panic,says he's on meds and fell asleep the night before and only just woke up.
My dh told him no way is he doing the work now as kids are going to bed in a bit.
Cowboy really panicking now saying what am I going to do,it's got to be done by the morning for the plumber.
Dh tells him that's not our problem.
So next morning plumber turns up,can't do much and says he'll come back when floor is up.
I know the plumber too and can say thank god he is a professional.
Cowboy eventually shows up at 11am.
I take my dog upstairs as hes terrified of noises and leave him to it.
Basically that day he jackhammered all the hallway up leaving a massive crater in what was slate floor.There's a pool of water in this crater but no pipe.
As the utility is next to the hallway he took up the tiles,jackhammered through the concrete and finds another pool of water,no pipe.
He also cut holes in the walls in utility room to see if the pipe was behind the wall but it wasn't.
Plumber returns,phones landlord to suggest the kitchen floor has to come up.
Landlord says no as it's too expensive to replace.
He say' s to find the pipe in the garden and the T off and cap that and put a new supply pipe in.Im not exactly certain of the plumbing terms but basically the leaking pipe will stay under the kitchen floor and the plumber will stop any water going through that pipe permanently.A new pipe will go in from the main and be 're routed upstairs.
Cowboy returns for four days never arriving until 11am,takes a two hour lunch at 12 and leaves by 4pm.
One day I ask him if he's drunk as he was swaying,He tells me it's his meds.
So over the time he works,He digs up a hole in the patio and finds the pipe,the first hole he digs,sheer luck.
Plumber calls in and tells him to dig up the area next to it to follow the pipe.
Plumber leaves,dh comes home from work and says the same as plumber.dh even points out what slab he thinks it's under.
Cowboy replies'I'm the builder's. (Not realising dh is foreman of a building firm).
Cowboy goes home and returns the next day.
I leave him to it,take my dog out for the day.
Come home about 3pm and most of my garden has gone.We live in a cottage with a tiny courtyard garden,it's just a small patio,room for my rotary line and a bench.
The garden is now one massive crater with rubble from one end to the other at least knee deep on me.
I could barely get in through the back door.As can't use from entrance due to the flooded crater.
He's actually dug up one half of the garden nowhere near the pipe!
He looked at me and said 'I still can't find the rest of the pipe
I asked him why he didn't follow it as told by dh and plumber.
His actual words were 'In my minds eye I could visualise the pipe and it was over there's.
I literally fan in the house and burst into tears.
I knew how much mess Id be coping with and I was still raging after taking 3 hours to clean all the dust the day he took hallway up.
He'd left before dh came home.
Dh comes home,can't believe it and is fuming.
Cowboy returns next day and says I think I'd better follow the pipe.Digs up the slab dh suggested and finds the pipe and the bit they needed to T off.
So he obliterated the garden for nothing.
Landlord not returning my calls.
Plumber then returns he's just as shocked by the mess.Tells me landlord spoke to him and that cowboy needs to now dig a trench in garden for the new pipe and put a hole through kitchen wall to connect the pipes.
Then landlord leaves me a message simply to say he's going through insurance and someone will be calling me to view the damage.
Landlord leaves a message on mobile that night,typically I'm in bath when he calls.Tells me insurance visiting next day but tells me what to say to them (He told me to lie to the insurance people).
I'm seething as I know if I don't lie,He'll probably evict us and we have bad credit and a dog and it took us 8 years to find a house that didn't do a credit check and would accept a dog.
On message he said he's told cowboy to come back the next afternoon and spend a few days refilling all the garden and tidying it up before digging the trench and putting the hole in the wall.
Plumber phones me to let me know when he can come to re route the plumbing but can we empty one bedroom as all floorboards need to come up.
Marvellous,the room has 3 of our children in so need to magic somewhere to put bunkbeds (which need to come apart to get them out) a single bed,wardrobe and 2 chests of draws as well as toys etc
We can only put this piled in our living room which will mean we won't have room to even use that.
Two days work the plumber says.
Dh actually books 2 days annual leave for the days plumber is here.
I forgot to mention the bathroom floor is coming up as well.
I am going to stay with my mother in law for the two days as I have Ibd and can't be without a bathroom. (We only have the one loo).
Plumber is coming Thursday and Friday to do the work.
So we plan on moving all the furniture tomorrow night.
The only thing is cowboy hasn't turned up for 10 days.
He can't put the trench in as the whole garden is a mountain of rubble which needs to be removed.
Dh filled all the holes in except where the pipes are as it was dangerous.
Now if we move the furniture tomorrow night and plumber arrives thursday,it will all be for nothing as plumber can't do the work if there's no trench or hole put through the wall.
Dh could do this but why should he pay for rubble bags,the cost of disposal and also time and work.
Landlord hasn't even said sorry for the mess or offered a rent discount.
We are paying £900 a month and now have no garden and flooded craters all downstairs.
If plumber can't do the job can we then refuse to be here for the next time it's planned.
Dh can't use any more annual leave to be here for plumber.I can't be here as I need access to a bathroom.I can't give the plumber a key as the two main doors (front and back) the landlord put a keycode lock on.And there's no way I'm giving our keycode to anyone as it's a basic lock and we can't see how to change the code.What I mean is there's no option to change the code.
Also can we refuse to move all the bedroom furniture again.
I don't see why we should have the hours of work,it's bad enough the mud that comes in from the crater that was our garden.
I need to tread carefully not to be evicted.
The inspectors from the water board are coming the week after next and if it's not fixed,they will dig up our kitchen floor to repair the pipe and Bill landlord and also a £5000 fine for him for failing to comply.