Water leaked from tank in the attic

[Yeneh]

I've had a job done in 2009 I knew the plumber well as he was a customer in my London print business, we had several conversations and we had great exchanges over 8 years. When our old boiler needed replacing I asked him to do the work. When he finished, I had to call him back because of pipe rattle and he stuck in a valve which stopped the noise. We always go to the Epsom Races and when we got back the whole house was flooded and a complete mess. What happened was, the ball on the stopcock in the attic storage tank had vibrated off its connection and the water flooded through the house. The plumber apologised but that was all he offered. The question I have is how common is an incident like this and does anyone in the plumbing community know of a similar event like this happening. Thanks for reading my story. Brian

 

[SimonG]

The top and bottom of it is that sometimes excrement happens.

Im on with a bathroom. Took the rad off. Cust phoned at 7 last night to say water coming through living room ceiling. The 10mm pipe had pulled out of the manifold under the bedroom floor. Bearing in mind it was soldered and I hadnt been under the bathroom floor to touch anything. Turns out it was poorly done 21 years ago. Excrement happens

 

[ShaunCorbs]

The top and bottom of it is that sometimes excrement happens.

Im on with a bathroom. Took the rad off. Cust phoned at 7 last night to say water coming through living room ceiling. The 10mm pipe had pulled out of the manifold under the bedroom floor. Bearing in mind it was soldered and I hadnt been under the bathroom floor to touch anything. Turns out it was poorly done 21 years ago. Excrement happens

same old same old you were here last must be your fault

 

[Yeneh]

I find the plumbing community online huddling together and saying it wasn't his fault. The reason I am asking is for my knowledge of the event maybe I was badly treated and should I have done something differently. It was a Victorian house in London three floors were damaged and the stress on the family was very difficult to handle afterwards for 4 months until the repairs were completed.

 

[SimonG]

same old same old you were here last must be your fault

Thats why I have the 'no guarantee of existing pipework' on my estimates.

But aye, love the, well it was working before you touched it. First rule of servicing, turn it on.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

I find the plumbing community online huddling together and saying it wasn't his fault. The reason I am asking is for my knowledge of the event maybe I was badly treated and should I have done something differently. It was a Victorian house in London three floors were damaged and the stress on the family was very difficult to handle afterwards for 4 months until the repairs were completed.

not huddling together if he didnt fit or fix it or touch it (the ball valve that is , its not his fault

 

[Ch4 plumbing]

I find the plumbing community online huddling together and saying it wasn't his fault. The reason I am asking is for my knowledge of the event maybe I was badly treated and should I have done something differently. It was a Victorian house in London three floors were damaged and the stress on the family was very difficult to handle afterwards for 4 months until the repairs were completed.

Yeneh, yes this can happen and no thankfully not all the time but it's all been repaired and the leak fixed so my question if you please is why bring it up now?

 

[Dotty]

I find the plumbing community online huddling together and saying it wasn't his fault. The reason I am asking is for my knowledge of the event maybe I was badly treated and should I have done something differently. It was a Victorian house in London three floors were damaged and the stress on the family was very difficult to handle afterwards for 4 months until the repairs were completed.

The plumbing community doesn't huddle together.

We tell it as it is. WERE it the boys fault we'd let you know.

In this case it's not. We could be here all night and this will still be the only opinion you'll get, no matter ho many different ways you ask.

Let it go old son. Merde occurs I'm afraid.

 

[SimonG]

I find the plumbing community online huddling together and saying it wasn't his fault. The reason I am asking is for my knowledge of the event maybe I was badly treated and should I have done something differently. It was a Victorian house in London three floors were damaged and the stress on the family was very difficult to handle afterwards for 4 months until the repairs were completed.

This happened 6 years ago? Been away somewhere?

Just to summarise.

2009 you had a new boiler fitted and the bloke changed the float valve. Or did he just change the washer.

A month later, the ball valve failed, but the overflow didnt work.

Your insurance coughed up, and you had major remedial works to the house, that took 4 months and probably included new carpets and decoration.

6 years later your now having a whinge that you were hard done by, by the plumber.

If I have summarised correctly, then the phrase you are looking for is jog on, thats putting it politely.

 

[Best]

You can't check all of other people's work all the time. If I had replaced the entire ball valve, then I can guarantee I would tighten the nut against the float, but as to the overflow - I would take a look at it if it was handy to get or looked dodgy while I was there & I would check it was tight fitted onto the cold water tank. But I wouldn't always water test the overflow.
Maybe your plumber was careless, but I don't think you can be sure by your wording tbh.

 

[Yeneh]

I understand where you are all coming from, something happens and who ever was at it last must be to blame. So I just have to accept I was unlucky that is all it was. ok but something in me can't accept the way the work was done and the final outcome. It is my belief that the ball was replaced with incompetence. My definition of incompetence is that you can do 100 things in a day and double check 99 of them but the one you didn't check is the one you are judged on. I will accept all of what has been said here on the forum and thanks very much for giving your time to me. Thank you.

 

[Dotty]

It's never a problem old son.

I'd disagree about the 99/100 analogy with regards to competence though.

Sometimes, just sometimes, these things happen.

It's unfortunate, especially if you're the one it's happened to, but I'm afraid it's called life.

At the end of the day no one died as a result and that's what matters most.

 

[Best]

I personally believe most insurance claims like yours are attributable to work that has been not done very carefully, or even very bad workmanship. But proving who was 100% at fault is often not easy.
I always remember putting a stopend on a pipe & turning the water back on & immediately turning it off again as the same pipe was teed & run below a stud wall to a toilet. Some idiot plumber has soldered a connector on to the vertical pipe but the fitting had slipped down & was just soldered on the edge of the pipe. Pipe broke off with me touching it in different room.
If it had flooded the place, - who was to blame - me? or the idiot that did it?

 

[Yeneh]

I really understand all of what has been said and I sympathise with the job plumbers have to do I can see its difficult. I remember the judge in the Zeebrugge accident saying the assistant bosun was incompetent. He didn't double check the bow doors were closed. He was capable of closing the doors he just didn't check. This is incompetence, you can do something but you haven't checked what you did was correct. Thanks

 

[WaterTight]

As a side point of chin scratching: Ideally he should have tested the overflow but if he didn't, does that make him culpable if it doesn't work and leads to a flood if he didn't install said overflow? And if not, where does the line get drawn? What if he changed the CWSC and base and didn't check the overflow?

 

[WaterTight]

I fix toilets all the time and will check that my re-connection of the overflow is back how it was but almost never check that it overflows properly as it should.

 

[Yeneh]

I'm glad I've taken the time to understand my fellow man and I'm humbled to read the comments and I am very grateful for the time you have all taken to reply. I agree things happen and that is called life. Thanks again

 

[PONU]

I had a call on a hot day from the misses that that there's water everywhere ! Coming from attic , to the loft the 1/2 tap connector to my f and e was spraying water everywhere , open it up seem'd like someone had used paste instead of the fibre washer and it had melted ?. I go to fix it and wot do I see right below the connection was a dusty fibre washer ! , it had been like that for I estimate 15+ years
I had 2months previously plumbed in a shower so the misses blamed me of course

 

[rocketmanbkk]

No it all happened the weekend after the boiler was installed.

What in 2009? It's now 2015. What are you looking to know?

I'm a bit confused.

The house flooded & the plumber said sorry... And??