New to Real Estate · Philadelphia · Member since 2020 · 12 posts · 10 votes
Hello everyone,
So a few days ago I found a small hole near my sewer lines in the basement where water was gushing out. I called a plumber and City PWD for inspection since I didn't want bigger problems (enlarged holes etc.) down the line. The City PWD came out yesterday (plumber is scheduled to come tmrw) and told me that there is a potential leak in the water line and gave me a Notice of Defect (NOD).
A quick google search reveals that a typical work of this nature costs thousands of dollars. I initially thought home insurance would cover such situations, but after research, I realized I need a separate insurance for service line protection...
Did I pick the short end of the straw with this property purchase? What's the best money and time saving way to deal with this situation?
Any help or guidance will be hugely appreciated. Thank you everyone in advance!
FYI, this is my residence which I bought recently for house hacking.
Not a whole lot you can do here other than call a few plumbers to get quotes for repairs, unfortunately. It's not clear to me based on the description if this is a water supply issue or a sewer main issue. Does the water gush continuously, or just when you flush a toilet?
If it is just when you flush the toilet, then its a sewer problem. There are ways to "line" a sewer main without digging up too much of the street, but I don't know if that will help you here.
If it is continuous, then it is a water main problem and you need to replace the main. Hopefully they can access the defect from inside the basement, which will save a lot of money, but they might need to dig up the sidewalk.
Not a whole lot you can do here other than call a few plumbers to get quotes for repairs, unfortunately. It's not clear to me based on the description if this is a water supply issue or a sewer main issue. Does the water gush continuously, or just when you flush a toilet?
If it is just when you flush the toilet, then its a sewer problem. There are ways to "line" a sewer main without digging up too much of the street, but I don't know if that will help you here.
If it is continuous, then it is a water main problem and you need to replace the main. Hopefully they can access the defect from inside the basement, which will save a lot of money, but they might need to dig up the sidewalk.
If you have not discussed this with your insurance agent you should do so. Where the leak occured and that it was sudden and accidental will be important to the claim. Since your leak is within the foundation of the house and sounds like it was sudden, there may be coverage. Check with the agent and see if they recommend submitting it.
@Rich O'Neill Thanks for your comment! The water gushes continuously and looks clear. So we are suspecting it's a water line issue, not a sewer issue. (Additionally, that's what the city PWD stated in their Notice of Defect)
Plumber actually just came out to inspect the area too but he doesn't think it's our water line. He checked our water box on the sidewalk and said it's dry, and suggested that the leak might not be from our water line. He said the leak could be either from groundwater or from someone else's line.
Planning to call a few other plumbers tomorrow morning for additional opinions. It also looks like I can dispute this notice of defect with the city. Do you happen to have any experiences with disputes?
@John Mocker Thanks for your comment on the post. I did talk with my insurance agent but she said the water lines (under the sidewalk) aren't covered with my home insurance. I haven't asked about the foundation coverage though. But is there a way to assess foundation damage without actually digging up the basement / tearing down my walls?
I rent a house (I live in the house), and when it rains alot, and the ground is saturated, a small river starts coming out from the foundation, runs down the cement stairs and goes down a drain. I live in the PNW where is rains all the time. It doesn't affect anything, including my water bill. Has your sewer or water bill increased since the leak....if not, it's probably ground water, still a problem though!
@Jenn Richardson Sewer or water bill definitely hasn't increased since the leak...But then again, I've noticed the hole only recently so I would need to wait until the next billing cycle to be certain. It could be groundwater but just worried since I can't visually determine the source of the water nor where it's flowing into... I definitely don't want a random sink hole in front of the property!
If there’s no work needed inside the house it shouldn’t be that bad. It runs about $5k in beast when they have to go from the street and under the foundation or through the walls since all of our water connections are at the back of the garage and under the driveway for some Reason.
I would check again that your water meter doesn’t run while water is flying out of the pipe. That would be a good sign as it’s not your main water supply. BUT, then how did you turn off the leak? It sure sounds like your water? Do you also have well water? GL
Hey @Jun Ho Lee, Makes sense. Based on the other comments here, any of the plumbers you bring in should be able to shut your water off at the street to test either the groundwater or neighbors line theories. If they shut it off at the street and the flow stops, then its obvious what the problem is. If it doesn't then you know it's probably not your line, unless it is between the main shutoff and the street main, which I would think is a city problem.
If it is not your line, next diagnosing step I would think is the consistency of the flow. Is it always the same amount of water flowing day after day? If so, I would think that it isn't groundwater, as that would fluctuate at least a little, and you are likely dealing with a neighbors broken main.
@Bill B. Thanks for your comments and the insights! We haven’t been able to stop the leak yet - we were just able to stop the flow a little bit with sand. Thankfully we do have a French Drain, which appears to catch the flowing water as of now. Also we don’t have a well - everything is connected to the public water / sewage. Thanks for the well wishes - we’re currently getting multiple plumber opinions since some of them have been conflicting…
@Rich O'Neill So the unfortunate thing is, the most recent plumber tried to shut off the valve at our waterbox, but said he couldn’t access it due to some sort of dirt/rocks in the access pipes. So we couldn’t rule out any theories…
Regarding the flow, it is pretty consistent, and seems to hold constant regardless of outside weather conditions. Although patching up the hole with sand definitely decreases the flow (could be sand absorbing the water, or the water just finding some other path of least resistance)
Thanks for all your input though! I’m trying to get more plumbers to assess the situation
Similar happened at my rental and they had to dig up the sidewalk and replace the section from sidewalk (shutoff) to the house (meter). Luckily I had purchased the water line protection insurance so they took care of it. At $5/mo. it's worth it. Here's the link https://www.awrusa.com/philade... in case you're interested. There's a 30 days wait period after you sign up before coverage takes effect.
mine is $9.89/month :) still a great deal of course! They also offered in-home plumbing support for an extra fee...but I cheaped out because I have a 3-unit building and would have to pay per unit. I probably should get it though, in my experience, it has been a real nightmare to deal with contractors. Prices are going up everywhere...hello inflation!
I believe the $9.89 price covers both the water line and sewer line which is what I paid. I did have to use the sewer line coverage one time and I was very satisfied with the service. I have since let the coverage lapsed since I did the annual payment forgot to renew. I need to look into it again since it's definitely worth it but just like any insurance, it's easy to procrastinate.