WATER!

Things were clipping along nicely on the remodel when we hit a small snag. With most of the upstairs finished, the contractor was ready to put the downstairs ceilings back. He asked us to do one more water test of the shower and tubs before we did. Monday night, we filled the master tub and shower up to their overflows and ran the various whirlpool jets. Water went all over our living room floor from both. This was particularly disturbing because during escrow we had paid a home inspector that the sellers’ agent highly recommended to certify that these fixtures didn’t have leaks.

I called the home inspection company, Able Home Inspection, and told them about the problem. The next morning they called to say they were sending an inspector out. Two guys with little to no English ability showed up to water test. El Gordo went upstairs and turned on the hall bath (which we hadn’t even gotten to testing yet.) El Bajito stayed downstairs with the Dewalt flashlight he could barely hold up. After approximately 10 seconds, he turned to me and said, “No leaks.” I told him that he needed to fill it to the overflow drain before he could be sure. He shook his head and said “No leaks.” I spoke more slowly this time, asked him if he knew what an overflow was, and used hand gestures to indicate that the water needed to rise to the level of the overflow. “Yes, overflow. No leaks.”

At this point, I called the office and told them these guys didn’t seem to know what they were doing. Ralph indignantly told me that this was what these guys did every day and that they were perfectly capable--I guess he asked them when he picked them up from the Home Depot parking lot. I told them they hadn’t even filled the tub to the overflow; Ralph told me he would call them. El Gordo and El Bajito then got on the phone, but still seemed utterly lost. So, I filled the hall tub myself. Shortly after the water got up to the overflow drain, El Bajito came to tell me that the hall tub was leaking and Able was sending an inspector out (which is amusing since these guys were supposedly inspectors.) Now I have three leaky fixtures. El Gordo and El Bajito then went and sat on the lawn for two hours waiting for the inspector.

Ralph called me and said that his company NEVER worked with whirlpool tubs. I told him that they had water-tested and certified both of our tub and shower, both of which have jets. He said that was impossible because they never did that kind of stuff. I told him that I had the final copy of his report that said there were no leaks. He said that was too bad, they were only going to fix the hall bath overflow. I verged on going nuclear: we paid $500 to have these guys certify no leaks and had bought the house based on that. But, every fixture they guaranteed leaked. They had even given us an estimate for putting the sheetrock back in place.

Two more “inspectors” showed up and the four of them fixed the issued with the hall tub overflow. They then left saying they weren’t going to fix anything else, even though at least some of the problems were basic plumbing, not the whirlpool jets.

I called my mom (who had been our realtor) and put her on the case. Then I talked through options with my contractor and dad. Basically, we decided we were going to have to get the thing fixed ourselves and then sue. Late in the day, Ralph called to say he was turning the case over to Don, the company owner, and that my mom had left a “stern” message. Candace and I both took heart at this because it was the first time it seemed like something had rattled Able.

The next morning, my mom called to say that Don had called her. Don had talked with the sellers’ agent, Anne, who said that the buyers (i.e., Candace and I) had told Able only to water test it up to a point. My mom told him this was ridiculous: why would a buyer ask that something not be fully tested? Don said it sounded a little weird, but said it was what he had heard. Regardless, out report had no qualifiers or limitations on it—it said the units didn’t leak. My mom got Don to admit Able was going to have to pay to have this fixed and Able sent over an affable, elderly Japanese man who is apparently an independent plumber. He spoke very limited English, but seemed to understand plumbing and wanted to take a methodical approach. These are both big steps up from El Gordo and El Bajito.

The plumber returned Thursday. Within a couple of hours he was stunned to note at least four leaks and he was still testing.

To be continued. . .