r/Wellthatsucks 5d ago

Plumbers broke through this foundation to add pipes, compromising the structural support of the home.

28.1k Upvotes

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6.9k

u/mjh2901 5d ago

If this is from your home inspection, run like hell, if this is your house and those plumbers where just there get an attorney the fix is on them and will be expensive, if this is a flip then it seems about right.

5.2k

u/DMAS1638 5d ago edited 4d ago

We are a construction company that does property assessments, it's not the first time we have run into something like this.

1.7k

u/LadyIsabelle_ 5d ago

Is it possible to track down the plumbers and hold them accountable?

760

u/nlevine1988 5d ago

I'm guessing they're not licensed or insured so even if you find them you'll never get any money out of them because all of their money goes to meth or fentanyl

492

u/moogpaul 5d ago

They just declare bankruptcy, close down, and open a new business under their spouses name anyway.

311

u/nlevine1988 5d ago

Bold of you to assume they're actually a real business and not just some dude on Facebook doing work under the table in cash.

107

u/CorvusBrachy 5d ago

We call this “chuck in a truck”

49

u/pagit 5d ago

What if it was Dan with a Van?

49

u/kdjfsk 5d ago

in Australia, is he 'Newt in a Ute'?

42

u/pagit 5d ago

Don’t know but in UK it’s Rory in a lorry.

15

u/rgrossi 5d ago

In Alaska it’s Fred on a dogsled

14

u/mean_bean_machine 5d ago

In New Jersey its Vinny in a mini.

14

u/kdjfsk 5d ago

in Latvia. its Valdis. just Valdis. Can no afford car. not even afford Potato. Politburo take everything.

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u/wetcardboardsmell 5d ago

Sometimes its Harvey with an RV. And he lives where he works.

1

u/mayhap11 5d ago

He got better

1

u/mjh2901 4d ago

Wrong this was ed with a sledge

1

u/CLow48 4d ago

In this case, a plunder down under

1

u/deimos 4d ago

No, it’s dazza

1

u/blindreefer 5d ago

As long as it’s not Dirty Mike in a Prius

1

u/Puffinz420 5d ago

Doesn’t even rhyme… clear mike rides a fuckin bike.

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1

u/edithputhy6977 5d ago

Stan in a van.

1

u/naazzttyy 5d ago

Chuck in a truck, Matt with a hat, Bill with a drill, Dan with a plan, etc

31

u/docker1970 5d ago

I made a mistake once, hired an unknown company to sand/repaint my deck. Two days work he said. First he shows up, brings the tools and then disappears. Some other dude shows up 3-4 hrs later, sands half of it then disappears around 2PM. I called the guy the 2nd day at 10AM after no one shows up at 8AM. He has no clue why and sends someone else. This dude shows up but says he’ll just finish sanding. He vanishes after done and on the third day the first guy shows up and does the worst paint job ever. And once I gave him the check he asks if I can leave a positive review on Angies or something. Like wtf bro. The audacity….

8

u/BusterTheCat17 5d ago

Bold of him to also assume this plumbers brain functions enough to get married and/or start an LLC.

1

u/BoardGamesAndMurder 4d ago

The house I bought was "renovated" by one guy they found on Facebook who does landscaping. None of the work or known issues were disclosed

1

u/renok_archnmy 4d ago

Bold of you to assume he even has Facebook. Dude probably needed a favor from a friend after his meth dealer beat his few remaining teeth out last month so through some long chain of cousins brothers sisters cousins friends uncles they showed up and did the work then hitchhiked back to the trailer park to load up on meth for the night and raged until the money was gone. 

1

u/Suicicoo 4d ago

he's not only working under the table, he's working under the floor!

45

u/No_Translator2218 5d ago

I said this elsewhere, but this is why you check the bonded status of your contractor before they do work.

Bonded means - they've put up money (or insurance) already with a regulated body in your area to cover this sort of damage.

7

u/veganize-it 5d ago

If you are in Nothern VA, how do you check for that?

12

u/No_Translator2218 5d ago

Ask the contractor for the bonded license number or name that will appear on their estimate or contract. If they're not legit they will run away from your knowledge.

If they give you something, call or email the DPOR and provide the info and you'll get what you need. Just Google dpor Virginia.

2

u/AcrolloPeed 4d ago

A-1 Plumbing Hey Juan Plumbing

Totally different!

73

u/Only_Indication_9715 5d ago

I mean, I'm a plumber, and the actual plumbing work here is acceptable - I'd rate it 'not bad".

But for some godforsaken reason, they put in that 4x2 combo at a really dumb spot. How they decided smashing the cinder block was the way to go? That one I can't figure.

So, yeah, probably a meth addict.

22

u/captanzuelo 5d ago

I dont think thats a cinder block. Thats poured concrete, structural foundation of the house

7

u/Only_Indication_9715 4d ago

You are definitely correct. My bad.

4

u/captanzuelo 4d ago

And you are correct in that a meth addict probably did the smashing

2

u/Only_Indication_9715 4d ago

Everybody has a love-language

2

u/bumbletowne 5d ago

It's a stem wall and if you're seeing this on a big PC screen you can see it's cinder block

3

u/captanzuelo 4d ago

I can see its a stem wall made of poured concrete. You can even see the imprint of the wood concrete form, imprinted onto that front side of the stem wall.

30

u/UsedDragon 5d ago

Right? Why not just pipe right around the support? It would have been easier.

9

u/Tiny_Count4239 5d ago

That’s assuming you brought enough pipe

1

u/Voxbury 5d ago

Crawlspace door maybe? I feel like there’s rarely just a hole like that.

0

u/BurninatorJT 5d ago

Or perhaps the foundation was already busted, and the plumbing work happened after. Breaking through foundation wouldn't be easy, unlike adding a simple few more sections of pipe. Why would a plumber work twice as hard to do a worse job? Why should we trust the title of the post?

3

u/Only_Indication_9715 4d ago

Nah, no way I'd run a drain through a broken foundation component 😅

19

u/exredditor81 5d ago

smashing the cinder block

Looks like solid poured cement to me.

11

u/AltruisticSalamander 5d ago

agree it just looks like cinderblock because of the formwork impressions

6

u/Only_Indication_9715 4d ago

You are correct. I misspoke.

3

u/exredditor81 4d ago

no worries!

5

u/tsn39 5d ago

Bust through the cinder block for it to end back up on the original side.

41

u/koret121212 5d ago

Woah woah woah, some of those guys are just good ole fashion chain smoking alcoholics

1

u/Long_Run6500 5d ago

Giving me flashbacks to my old landlord's handyman. Call him over for a simple job and he'd sit outside chainsmoking in his truck for 4 hours before he came inside and then for 2 hours after the half-assed job was done. He was paid by the hour.

4

u/Zinoviev85 5d ago

Why not both?

1

u/Imaginary-Nebula1778 5d ago

Meth for sure. Only a Methany or Methew would do this

1

u/luckydice767 5d ago

At least they’re using it for the essentials

1

u/xylotism 5d ago

I’m willing to bet the foundation was already broken and the plumbers/maybe a homeowner themselves just worked around it when installing.

1

u/NJWendys4life 4d ago

Wow...I always wondered who tf* throws broken power tools down at the train tracks...

1

u/norsurfit 4d ago

Maybe they can pay you in fentanyl!

-1

u/78765 5d ago

I'm guessing they're not licensed or insured

You would be wrong with that guess. Don't let plumbers touch anything not plumbing.