joeferns
Dec 26, 2013, 09:10 PM
We hired a licensed contractor to demolish a full bath which was right in the middle of our basement and to build a half bath closer to the side wall so as to make more space in our basement. There was a vertical pipe in our basement which he thought was a vent and he showed the same in the plan submitted to the township. Also in the old bathroom, there was a vent stack coming out of the horizontal main sewer line but in the plan the new bathroom did not have such vent stack coming out directly from the main sewer line. The plan also showed that he was changing the vertical pipe which he had shown as vent and enclosing that inside a wall in the new bathroom with a accessible cleanout. The township inspector gave approval for the rough work and the contractor put up all bathroom walls. Four days later, we had a sewage overflow in our basement. The contractor brought one of his cousin to clean the sewer line and the cousin said that the vertical pipe was a drain and not a vent. Contractor looked flustered and he said we did not hire him to put a new vent and he just changed the existing pipes. Couple days later he came and opened the bathroom walls and put some new pipes and connectors but did not explain to us what he was doing. Now he is asking for more money for which we have already paid him and when we said it is unfair of him to ask for more money, he is saying we are in breach of his contract. We think that he is worried about his work and his credibility with the township and so he want to back off. Do you think that could be the reason? Also do you think he might have messed up our plumbing system? Do we need to get another licensed plumber to fix this mess? Should we tell the township inspector about the wrong plan our contractor submitted? We don't know what to do.