California Code Enforcement Nightmare

[Xiaoyu L.]

We are currently in a nightmare with code enforcement. A tenant's drain got clogged and caused sewage to back out in one room. They called code enforcement on the property. I don't know why they think that was necessary.

The flood was not too bad. We hired a plumber and the drainage issue was quick fixed, and water extracted. The flood level was not above the baseboard level. By now the baseboard is dry to the touch. We asked tenant to open windows to help dry anything that might have gotten wet as well.

Now we are in this complex nightmare. Code enforcement just would not let it go. An officer initially ordered us to replace the baseboards. But another officer later requested us to hire Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) specialist to provide a moisture meter clearance, as their concern is mold. And they consider this practice as "industry standard". We don't know if it is. Code enforcement has also been vague on what's going to happen next after IAQ.

My question is does IAQ provide some type of closure in this situation? Is it by law required at all? I'm not sure what regulation is there that mandates certain practice in this situation. Does code enforcement have the authority to demand whatever they want no matter how expensive it will cost us?

They also raised concern about gypsum board, sill plate and framing may have been wet. It sounds like they could just keep adding to the list, until we remodel the apartment. We have no end in sight.

Any thoughts and suggestions will be very much appreciated!

[Jon Holdman]

You write:

I read that to mean that the level of the sewage completely covered the floor and partially covered the baseboards.  How deep was the sewage at the walls?  How long was the sewage in this room?  Baseboards can be several inches tall.  If you had two inches of sewage in this room and it set there for 24 hours, the water almost certainly did penetrate the sheetrock and into the framing.  If that's the case, then its really not unreasonable to rip off the baseboards and the sheetrock to a level above the highest water level and replace it.  Our flooding was a lot deeper, but you can see how we did that in these pictures:

After cleaning up the mess and pulling out the insulation you see in the upper picture, we ran fans and dehumidifiers for a couple of weeks in these rooms. We checked moisture with a meter (from Amazon) until they were below the level specified by the building inspector. Then we replaced the sheetrock, baseboards and flooring. Cleaning up also included thoroughly scrubbing the framing per FEMA guidelines. We didn't replace any framing, just the sheetrock, baseboards and flooring.

Now, if you mean there was a puddle of sewage around the toilet, but it only just touched the baseboards nearest the toilet and was cleaned up right away, then there is, IMHO, no need to start ripping out anything.  Your code enforcement people may see it differently.  But, realistically, does an overflowing toilet mean the flooring and walls need to be replaced?  If so, there would be a lot of floors getting replaced every day.

I have generally found that if you make it clear to the code enforcement people that you will be cooperative and do what needs to be done, they will work with you.  OTOH, if you push back and try to argue with them, things can go downhill fast and they will be real sticklers.  Here are a couple of pictures of what code enforcement can make you do if you don't cooperate:

This is from a house where the rehabber failed to get all the proper permits, got caught, ended up defaulting on the loan we had made to him and we had to deal with all the fallout.  That's a finished basement they made us dig up.  Cooperation will go a long ways to resolving a bad situation as cheaply and easily as possible.

What was the source of this backup?  If this was your problem (like backups caused by a failing sewer line I spent $6000 replacing a few years ago), then this is your cost.  But if the tenants did it, then you may have a case against them.  Actually proving that can be difficult unless there is really clear evidence.