Part II: Disaster in the Bathroom
As of Monday, the leak in the wall was found and repaired. The plumbing company my HOA uses sent two different plumbers onsite to fix the drainage pipe from the kitchen of a unit two floors up and one unit over. Absolutely nothing was going down the drainpipe and all of it was going out the hole and down the walls for 4 floors. EEK.
What does this mean? This means my HOA’s insurance policy for the entire building can pony up the entire cost of the problem, or else split it with the unit directly above mine. And they can cover the moisture abatement problem that I can tell is an issue from the yucky smell in my apartment.
I have decided that someone is going to pay me the $1450 claim amount written up by my claims adjuster. Either way, the damage to my ceiling is the worst of any unit that I have heard so far.
All I am waiting for now is a full written estimate from the contractor I would like to use. I did ask the handyman belonging to the landlady upstairs who came in and also did a repair estimate. He gave me a ballpark $6-7K for the entire job and a repair cost close to that of my claims adjuster, but I got a shady feeling from him for two reasons. 1. He didn’t really want to commit himself to a paper estimate of any kind. BAD. 2. He was pretty reticent. I wasn’t sure if he was really listening to what I was saying about my desire to balance value with decor. This is my permanent home and I would like it to be nicer than your basic cut-rate rental unit. But maybe one day, I will rent it out.
I asked a friend of mine about a bathroom remodel he did and the cost. He gave me a figure in line with with the handyman’s verbal quote. Too bad it’s all more than I want to spend. But alas, I don’t get a choice here. It means that I need to adjust my budget and expectations.
SIGH. Where to find $6-7K?
HC wrote:
Eeek.
That is no good. I’m sorry the handyman wasn’t listening to your concerns. Is this worth getting a copy of the Consumer Checkbook? For $6K-$7K, I’d probably say yes.
Let me know if you need anything. I’m out of town this weekend. But when I return, I could swing by and help cart stuff. I don’t have asthma, so I’d do fine with a basic face mask.
Posted on 16-Apr-08 at 10:54 am | Permalink
twiggers wrote:
Ah man…so sorry to hear about that!!!! I would definitely run far from the handyman. In fact, when I was having quotes done for a bathroom build, I ran away from the guys who took too long to write up the estimate. I figured that if they are not on the ball with something simple like that, then they probably aren’t going to be so great with the actual job!
Posted on 16-Apr-08 at 11:30 am | Permalink
FCC wrote:
Ouch, the beauty of the HOA. I’ve had a few problems with my plumbing as well and to no avail, I had to pay all the fees in the long run
Good luck to you!
Posted on 16-Apr-08 at 8:20 pm | Permalink
Sistah Ant wrote:
Wow, talk about an unexpected expense. I’m sorry about that.
You’ve been tagged.
Posted on 17-Apr-08 at 5:41 pm | Permalink