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Apartment building pipe burst.

#21
OldDog52 said:
Did the landlord hire a professional disaster mitigation service like Servpro?

Water Damage, Fire Damage, Mold Restoration Services | Servpro Industries, Inc.

Invalid Link Removed

If in fact it’s sewage, I’d be looking for another place. In parallel with that I’d be talking to Saul Goodman. And keep documenting everything.
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Hey! I work for one of their competitors and we're better :-)

@FingerDub I can tell it's being done by a professional restoration company as they would have run the fans in that fashion but with a black water (sewage) issue there is a lot more that needs to be done.

I'm sure this is covered by the building's insurance (hence the professional restoration service) and there are protocols in place for this type of a loss.

While they are not obligated to pay for your personal losses unless stated in your lease, you are certainly entitled to live in a healthy environment. (This not only refers to sewage exposure but to mold, etc.) Ask your landlord and find out exactly what repairs he plans to effectuate and what the timeline is and press him to stick to it. It's rare that these things are not taken care of. Don't forget if they lose tenants they lose money.

Good luck...I know it's a terrible thing to have to go through especially during the holidays! :-(
 
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#22
ptg said:
Hey! I work for one of their competitors and we're better :)

@FingerDub I can tell it's being done by a professional restoration company as they would have run the fans in that fashion but with a black water (sewage) issue there is a lot more that needs to be done.

I'm sure this is covered by the building's insurance (hence the professional restoration service) and there are protocols in place for this type of a loss.

While they are not obligated to pay for your personal losses unless stated in your lease, you are certainly entitled to live in a healthy environment. (This not only refers to sewage exposure but to mold, etc.) Ask your landlord and find out exactly what repairs he plans to effectuate and what the timeline is and press him to stick to it. It's rare that these things are not taken care of. Don't forget if they lose tenants they lose money.

Good luck...I know it's a terrible thing to have to go through especially during the holidays! :-(
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The 2 fans, one in the bathroom feeding those pipes and the one in the living room under the carpet look like this and are fairly sizeable.

b-air-blower-fans-ba-vp-25-bl-64_1000.jpg
 
#23
ptg. Since you are in the business, can you tell if they are using the Injectidry system? (Which I only learned about after reading the original post, seeing the photo, and searching for a system that would be used for this work).

Why wouldn't they make openings at the very top, and bottom of each cavity to make the air flow through the entire space of every cavity? How do they know that everything is actually dry?

If it was my building, I would feel more confident about completely drying everything out by removing, (at least) the bottom four feet of drywall. Drywall replacement is not very costly.

Just curious to hear what someone who is in the business has to say about it. Especially since I have my own idea about how I would deal with something like this that is different than what looks like is being done.

I've been trying to read the manual for the machine I think they might be using here: http://www.jondon.com/media/pdf/manuals/OE-HPPWCP_manual.pdf but it's not easy because I'm on my phone, and will have better luck when I get home and can use a real computer.

Thanks
 
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#24
Hoochie Coochie Man said:
ptg. Since you are in the business, can you tell if they are using the Injectidry system? (Which I only learned about after reading the original post, seeing the photo, and searching for a system that would be used for this work).

Why wouldn't they make openings at the very top, and bottom of each cavity to make the air flow through the entire space of every cavity?

If it was my building, I would feel more confident about completely drying everything out by removing the drywall. Drywall replacement is not very costly.

Just curious to hear what someone who is in the business has to say about it. Especially since I have my own idea about how I would deal with something like this that is different than what looks like is being done.

I've been trying to read the manual for the machine I think they might be using here: http://www.jondon.com/media/pdf/manuals/OE-HPPWCP_manual.pdf but it's not easy because I'm on my phone, and will have better luck when I get home and can use a real computer.

Thanks
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Yes, there should be an exit point otherwise they are just building up negative pressure in the walls.

And, yes, the carpet and drywall should definitely be removed!

Edit: Removing the carpet and sheetrock is a must assuming your assumption that we are talking about a black water loss is true. If not, the carpets can be dried out (although they may be stained). The sheetrock can be dried as well but it would need to be inspected for mold if the water stood for any length of time.
 
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#25
The first thing I would do is verify if it is or isn't black water; it is unlikely from the info you shared but I have seen some sh#t..no pun intended. If that is black water do not stay there until they have removed and replaced everything affected and until an air quality test is performed.

(I have been in commercial property management for over 20 years and performed clean up on 3 multi floor floods this year alone)
 
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#26
Stumbo said:
I used to manage/own apartments. If it's sewage, call the health department. Call your city hall and ask for code enforcement. Get them to come out and assess the damage and air quality.

If there's a housing authority in your area, call them too.

The carpet and the drywall needs to be replaced. It won't dry out properly and/or it is contaminated.

Your power should not be used or you should be compensated.

I would have put you up in a motel until all is taken care of. You can't live in a place where the fans are going 24/7 with sewage fumes being exhausted.

This is one of the reasons that all renters should have renter's insurance.

Read your rental agreement to see if it says anything about these type of situations.

Start a journal and describe everything happening day by day. File a small claims case after all is repaired.

Possible Look for a new place to live. Keep taking pics.

Good luck.
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All of the above....very good advice.


FingerDub said:
No.
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No insurance.

Major, major, major, MISTAKE. Never, ever rent without taking out renter's insurance. It's cheap and necessary.
 
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#28
@FingerDub sorry about your hassles. You've had more than your fair share of late.


At least you got the new wheels with lots of carry space should you need to change... venues.

Hang in there, tough luck really does seem to come in streaks, as does good fortune.
Such is fate's "random stagger."
 
#31
This thread is reminding me to re up on the renters insh. Don't have a lot of material value aside from my bass setup and sizable record collection, but the littler items add up in the event of a fire or such.

Hopefully your situation gets 'aired out' with very little more accumulated stress.
 
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