Home warranty problems- grading/drainage?

[Snow Dog]

that you can see....

just one thought for your neighbors, they need to run their sprinklers in short bursts 3min on, 30min off, 3min on to get the correct water down.

I've never heard that. Here you run the sprinkler continuously until an inch is down (put out some cups to measure). That way the water soaks deep and the roots follow. Repeat once a week. Early morning is best.

[smmokan]

They can't do that when the water runs right off their property after 5 minutes of the sprinklers being on.

[boarddad]

OK... so, assuming these jackass guys from the warranty dept. don't do anything for me (or refuse to), what steps do I take in going above them? Apparently, they're going to have an engineer come out and shoot the grade again, so I should have that information on hand. When the water comes down in our yard again (I may have to wait til it rains), I can take pictures and document the situation. My back neighbor already has a video of the running water thru his yard as well.

There's been so much advice here I'm not sure where I'd start. Should I check into the building/grading codes for the county first? Should I talk with the home-builder's insurance company to file a complaint? Feel free to PM me if it would be easier. Hopefully I won't have to deal with it, and they'll take care of the problem- but I have a feeling it won't work out that way.

OK, seriously, get a lawyer and do it now. It sounds like you and your neighbors have the makings of a class-action lawsuit. The lawyer will be able to tell you what documentation you need, what expert witnesses you need to hire (i.e. another Civil Engineer), etc. But first he'll fire off a tersely worded letter that could solve all your problems. Phone calls and e-mails will get you nowhere, letters from you will help, but a letter from an lawyer theatening to drag their asses into court will have the contractor fixing the problem this afternoon. It's not as expensive as you might think, and if the contractor doesn't fix it you'll need (you guessed it) a lawyer anyway. Besides that, if you think your contractor or developer doesn't already have legal representation you're being naive.

BTW, I'm an engineer, not a lawyer. I've just seen firsthand how horribly awry this can go.

[smmokan]

OK... so I just talked to the guy. He, his boss, and an engineer are coming out first thing Monday morning to look at all the grades and drainages and see what needs to be done. I could tell from his tone of voice that they're going to have to do something... he even admitted that our situation is unique and they'll come up with a solution. I think it was the part where I threatened to take legal action if something is not done that made him budge. We'll see what they say... but at least they're acknowledging that something's wrong now.

[lemon boy]

I've never heard that. Here you run the sprinkler continuously until an inch is down (put out some cups to measure). That way the water soaks deep and the roots follow. Repeat once a week. Early morning is best.

a) you're over watering
b) if there's any grade it will run off unless your ground is extremely porous

good luck lloyd

[Snow Dog]

a) you're over watering
b) if there's any grade it will run off unless your ground is extremely porous

Now I had to look -- the recommended amount of water for lawns from a variety of sources is 1" per week. Up here they (the local governments) figured out the importance of soil porosity and it's part of the building codes. With new construction roof downspouts don't connect to the storm sewers any more -- they drain straight into the soil. That lets the towns and cities build smaller storm sewer systems. In the spring and fall we get rainstorms that drop 1" - 2" per day so the soil has to soak it up.

[Gebster]

OK, seriously, get a lawyer and do it now. It sounds like you and your neighbors have the makings of a class-action lawsuit. The lawyer will be able to tell you what documentation you need, what expert witnesses you need to hire (i.e. another Civil Engineer), etc. But first he'll fire off a tersely worded letter that could solve all your problems. Phone calls and e-mails will get you nowhere, letters from you will help, but a letter from an lawyer theatening to drag their asses into court will have the contractor fixing the problem this afternoon. It's not as expensive as you might think, and if the contractor doesn't fix it you'll need (you guessed it) a lawyer anyway. Besides that, if you think your contractor or developer doesn't already have legal representation you're being naive.

BTW, I'm an engineer, not a lawyer. I've just seen firsthand how horribly awry this can go.

Ditto to what Boarddad said.

[Dirty Hoar]

Hey Canada... here on the Wasatch Front we have this handy dandy weatherman that provides us with this http://water.ksl.com/index.php?nid=12


It tells us on a weekly basis on average how much water we should put down on our lawns. Now we're willing to do a trade. We'll trade you the secret lawn watering formula for say... uh... your health care system? Deal???


And Lloyd, good for you. Sounds like you might not have to hit the builder over the head with a shovel afterall.

[Tectonically_Neglected]

Heh, I didn't realize how many enginerds/cuntractors were on the board. We got your back Lloyd.

Here's another.

Can't add much except to reinforce that all communication must be done on paper. Any telephone conversations: make notes and send to contractor. Add something like if they don't react within 30 days, by default the contractor agrees that this is what was said in the conversation. Don't forget to ask for the name/ location/ tel no of the person your talked to.

[Snow Dog]

Hey Canada... here on the Wasatch Front we have this handy dandy weatherman that provides us with this http://water.ksl.com/index.php?nid=12


It tells us on a weekly basis on average how much water we should put down on our lawns. Now we're willing to do a trade. We'll trade you the secret lawn watering formula for say... uh... your health care system? Deal???

Our watering guidelines are this:

Annual lawn sprinkling restrictions are in effect in the City of Vancouver from June 1 to September 30. Lawn sprinkling is allowed:

* 4a.m. to 9a.m. and 7p.m. to 10p.m. only
* Even-numbered address: Wednesdays and Saturdays
* Odd-numbered address: Thursdays and Sundays

Take my health care -- please. The government pays about $2,500 per person per year for health care plus I pay an extra $720 because I live in BC. Plus it's only good in BC, I have to pay extra for other provinces.

[ANON-505]

Take my health care -- please. The government pays about $2,500 per person per year for health care plus I pay an extra $720 because I live in BC. Plus it's only good in BC, I have to pay extra for other provinces.

Are you complaining??

I get a GREAT deal for the united states (by exploiting social programs that took over a year of hoop-jumping and red tape) and pay about $200/MONTH (that's $2400 a year). Not only is it only good in my state, they tell me which doctors I can and can't go to. $720 a year...so that's like $60 a month? The federal government give's me $0/year for healthcare...but we can spend 12 Billion dollars blowing up Iraq. sweet.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but US Healthcare is corrupt and completely whacked.

[iceman]

, but US Healthcare is corrupt and completely whacked.

Whoa...dopeslap to me, for sure.

I never knew.

Dammit.

[Snow Dog]

Are you complaining??

What burns a lot of people here is it's actually ILLEGAL for me to pay for my own health care. If I don't want to wait 20 weeks for an MRI I have to drive to America and pay for it there. Then take the results back to my specialist.

[smmokan]

Just an update... the warranty guys came out this morning and finally admitted that the grading/drainage is wrong in our backyard, and it should be fixed. They're coming out tomorrow to shoot the grade of the backyard, and are then going to put in a drain (probably French) that runs along the backside of our yard and then down the side to catch all of our neighbors excess water. Thanks again everyone for the suggestions, hopefully I won't have to use them.

[DJSapp]

Just an update... the warranty guys came out this morning and finally admitted that the grading/drainage is wrong in our backyard, and it should be fixed. They're coming out tomorrow to shoot the grade of the backyard, and are then going to put in a drain (probably French) that runs along the backside of our yard and then down the side to catch all of our neighbors excess water. Thanks again everyone for the suggestions, hopefully I won't have to use them.

Document everything that happened today. Names, positions, and promises. Make sure they are authorized to make such promises to the work performed and scheduled. It might be unnecessary, but if it is needed, you'll be glad you have it.

Res. contractors suck.

[smmokan]

Yep, will do. Thanks DJS.