In the words of Amature Cutter What A Pisser !

[Pallet Pete]

Well today I came home to a notice that said your water main on the road side of the sidewalk is busted and you have 10 days to fix it or we will shut off your water. What a pisser ! That thing looks like a fricken pressure washer coming out of my driveway. I called the repair company certified to do the work ( villiage approved ) and guess what it's $1500 to fix the leaky valve. I dug it up and it is defiantly a leaky valve by the street. The villiage won't allow me to do the repair or anybody other than who they recommend for the work. Does this sound right ?

Pete

 

[Lumber-Jack]

The villiage won't allow me to do the repair or anybody other than who they recommend for the work. Does this sound right ?

Pete

That wouldn't fly around here, although you might have to pay the "village" (city, regional district, whatever...) to turn off the water so that the repairs could be made. But hiring who they tell me too,,,, that's BS. (and I don't mean Backwoods Savage either)

 

[Ehouse]

Well today I came home to a notice that said your water main on the road side of the sidewalk is busted and you have 10 days to fix it or we will shut off your water. What a pisser ! That thing looks like a fricken pressure washer coming out of my driveway. I called the repair company certified to do the work ( villiage approved ) and guess what it's $1500 to fix the leaky valve. I dug it up and it is defiantly a leaky valve by the street. The villiage won't allow me to do the repair or anybody other than who they recommend for the work. Does this sound right ?

Pete

I'd contest it. Your water main? BS, it's their water main.

 

[Pallet Pete]

Well I got hung up on lol apparently I am a smart.... any suggestions on how to fight this ? I pay rather high taxes for a reason !

Pete

 

[fossil]

Gotta be talking about the service line that branches off the main to the house. That's the homeowner's responsibility, at least from the isolation valve in the service line (your water shut-off valve). My next door neighbor in Virginia had the same problem...he was able to swing a hush-hush deal with a couple of the water utility workers to come fix it as a moonlighting cash job. As to whether or not they can insist on a single contractor, I can't say. They most certainly can insist that the repair be done by a licensed professional. Rick

 

[arngnick]

Sounds like a Monopoly to me when I used to live in town I dug and replaced my water line from the curb shutoff all the way to my house. Now if the valve itself had to be replaced I think the town would have had to do the work themselves. This most I would have had to pay in that situation is for the valve which most likely would be purchased from them.

 

[Pallet Pete]

It is the valve that's my whole issue with the fix to be honest. They say from the service box to the house is all in need of replacemet except I dug up a lot and its in good shape other than the valve. Sh don't tell them that I will get fined for looking from what I am told.

The licensed / certified part does make sense however.

Pete

 

[arngnick]

Let me ask...do they tell you what color your house can be in this town too? JK I agree with the valve somewhat but if the water line is your responsibility then you should at least have a choice to fix it yourself as long as it is inspected and all codes are followed or you sould at least be offered a list of several certified contractors. Some towns are very different in their ways so I would at least try to have a conversation about it. If only one person is certified it sounds like a monopoly to me.

How do I get a job where I can be the ONLY one certified and "name my price"

 

[Highbeam]

So the best thing you can ask them is to "show me". Show me where it says that the homeowner is responsible for the service line between the main and the meter. In most cities, the city owns the water service line up to and including the meter. Behind the meter is the responsibility of the homeowner. This makes sense since the leaks on the homeowner's side will be metered so the utility get's paid for the water. You are looking for a piece of code that defines who owns what.

Seriously. Show me! Show me where I must use this one contractor. Doubt it's true since that is not fair to other contractors. They can require licensure but that is not exclusive to the one contractor. There will be some sort of municipal code where all rules are written. The city staff don't get to make up rules as they go.

Show me!

PS, I'm the guy that gets these calls and sends my city workers out to repair leaks between the meter and the main on the city's dime.

 

[lukem]

Sounds sketchy to me. The WaterCo should own everything on the "main" side of the meter.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Sounds terrible....

 

[Gary_602z]

Is this the same valve that they turn off if you don't pay your bill? If so I would say it is their problem.

Gary

 

[Pallet Pete]

Yes that's the one.

Pete

 

[Pallet Pete]

Well after a long drawn out argument with the villiage they are coming to look again and determine who fixes the valve today. It's most likely us givin the villiage does not want to budge an inch. The owner of two homes next to us had this issue originally about 9 years ago and told me that he went through the exact same thing. That apparently is when they changed the Villiage ordnance so the owner also covers the box. It is expensive to repair and our Village does not like to pay for things. Heck a few years ago we went through world war three over the sewer line being to close to the house. I won that one by the skin of my teeth. Doesn't look like I am winning this time though. Thanks for the advice guys and sorry for venting its just frustrating.

Pete

 

[Ashful]

I wonder how they'd respond to seeing a well-drilling truck at work in your front yard.

 

[billb3]

Probably have to get the shut-off valve repaired before they issue the permit(s) for the well and drilling.

 

[Ashful]

Probably have to get the shut-off valve repaired before they issue the permit(s) for the well and drilling.

Apparently, my sense of humor is off today.

 

[Highbeam]

If they changed the ordinance to give ownership of that valve to you then you are responsible to fix it. Make them show you exactly where that is spelled out in the ordinance.

The second part, probably the more important one, is this requirement to use the good buddy contractor. If that is true then there should be code language for that too.

 

[fossil]

In most cities, the city owns the water service line up to and including the meter. Behind the meter is the responsibility of the homeowner.

Right...that's what I meant to say. I misspoke.

 

[Pallet Pete]

If they changed the ordinance to give ownership of that valve to you then you are responsible to fix it. Make them show you exactly where that is spelled out in the ordinance.

The second part, probably the more important one, is this requirement to use the good buddy contractor. If that is true then there should be code language for that too.

Well they showed up early and we had a verbal punching match of which I won ! They insisted I had to use there contractor but they could not show me where it stated that. I already had a good friend of mine who is a contractor waiting with me. Facing Rich and Pallet Pete they didn't stand a chance. They just finished installing 1" pex all the way to the house and a new valve 48" below which is 6" deeper than it was. The Village paid for the valve . I decided to run the lines to the house after we looked and all it needed was a valve. The galvanized pipe was in good shape but was 1/2" I wanted bigger so they put the 1" pex in and I paid for that labor and pex all the way to the meter. ( By choice ) I climbed in and got dirty too which the contractor was very nice and knocked $500 off the price for that. The reason I helped was just cuz they where doing what I wanted come hell or high water and what better way than to show them. Its all fixed and we have much better pressure inside.

Pete

 

[lukem]

Victory.

 

[Ehouse]

Congrats! people should fight this stuff more.

 

[Highbeam]

1/2" galv service line! yikes! Those lines rust shut from the outside in and 1/2" was never big enough in the first place.

You say PEX, did they really use pex? Like the white, red, or blue or did the use black PE pipe which is thicker?

 

[Pallet Pete]

1/2" galv service line! yikes! Those lines rust shut from the outside in and 1/2" was never big enough in the first place.

You say PEX, did they really use pex? Like the white, red, or blue or did the use black PE pipe which is thicker?

It is Jain Polyethylene however it is labeled PE/Pex on the tube.

Pete

 

[peakbagger]

I used to work for water utility in Maine. The state PUC was pretty clear that the water utility was responsible to maintain the line in the street to the outlet of the stop ("valve") at the edge of the right of way. That way the utility could turn off the water, as it the valve was owned by the property owner they would not have the right to access it. The phone company in most states have the same thing, if you have problem with a phoneline they cant charge you to fix the line unless there is "network interface" installed on the line. Once there is a problem they fix it and then install an interface and try to scare the homeowner into a maintenance contract.

One of the meter techs had a scam going where he would get in a house to replace a meter and would decide if the owners might be conned, then he would tell them horror stories about the line coming from the street to the basement would break anytime and flood the house. The owners would then ask if the water company would fix it and he would tell them no they cant. The owners would ask who else would fix it and he conveniently had a few names of contractors. Of course he got a kickback from every one of them. He pulled that on my friends parents, I heard about it and I borrowed a curb wrench and we hand dug the line and replaced it in one evening and a couple cases of beer.