kakmando
Feb 28, 2015, 01:05 AM
Hello everyone , I am new and really need some help badly. My family has been staying with family following the death of my wife's father. We rent a house about 30 minutes away and my wife stops by the home almost every day or every other day to check on the house. We had two pipes burst. First pipe burst under our living room window and our landlord blamed us, said we ran out of oil, yes we needed oil however they couldn't deliver until the next day, but the kicker is we were never out of oil. Then the plumber attempted to start the furnace, it started immediately and stayed running until oil was delivered the next afternoon. The landlord blamed us and made us clean up all the water despite him having homeowners insurance. Temps at that time were around 10-15 degrees with thermostat set at 60.
Now this week somehow the landlord was in our home without permission and found a leak, my wife was already getting ready to leave work to head to the home where she was harassed horribly once again. This time the pipes busted in my hospital room (I am young but have a progressive deadly brain disease which affects my walking up and down steps) There were two cracks one directly at the door and one about 4 feet from that one under a identical window that is in the living room. The temps were at -7 with wind chills up to - 40 for a few days, thermostat still set at 60. Once plumber fixed both cracks I placed my hands over where the cracks occurred and cold air was pouring in. I should say that all water was turned off except for the heating which is a combo boiler, furnace, boiler running on oil. Once again the landlord ignored us and handed a 5 gallon shop vac to clean up a horrible mess in our basement. I ended up becoming very sick due to doing work I am not capable of doing due to muscle spasms. He then blamed us and threatened to sue us.
I told him its impossible to be our fault my wife took photos of the last day she was there which was 5 days due to a snowstorm and illness and both photos showed the thermostat in the same spot to the mm but he said it was at 50 degrees when he walked in. Obviously it was a huge lie. Before he left, I had him feel the air pouring in, he said " yes , ok but it never happened before" I said yes it never was this cold before (our home is on top of a 70 percent grade all alone on top of a mountain) its always windy. During this cold spell every place in our area broke records that have not been broken since 1914. I said to him apparently this place is the only house in the entire 10 county area that didn't break cold records all week long, schools even started late each day. He said "it wasn't that cold I have a weather station at my house." I just laughed and called him a liar and said either you did not close the door fully when you entered my home illegally or your windows are just not capable of handling such cold on the outside walls.
He is again threatening to sue us and we had planned on returning back home this week but they still have not fixed the carpet or tile and with my wheelchair or walker depending on the day, I would fall very easily and none of my furniture was ever moved back into the living room. So what I really need to know from an experienced plumber is are we at fault for any of these pipes freezing? By the way he had a coal heater in the basement that he removed and sold before we moved in, this was directly vented into the second chimney and the wall. Also the house was vacant for the past two years and was weatherized.
I really need help I am on a very tight fixed income and my palliative care doctor has told me that this stress has probably increased the progression of my disease and now have to have to go get another MRI which are costly. If any experienced plumber can take the time to read my book and answer it will be greatly appreciated by not only me but by my wife and two young daughters. Paying $1200 rent and not being able to even live a week in the house is not fair. Thank You Gary and Family
Now this week somehow the landlord was in our home without permission and found a leak, my wife was already getting ready to leave work to head to the home where she was harassed horribly once again. This time the pipes busted in my hospital room (I am young but have a progressive deadly brain disease which affects my walking up and down steps) There were two cracks one directly at the door and one about 4 feet from that one under a identical window that is in the living room. The temps were at -7 with wind chills up to - 40 for a few days, thermostat still set at 60. Once plumber fixed both cracks I placed my hands over where the cracks occurred and cold air was pouring in. I should say that all water was turned off except for the heating which is a combo boiler, furnace, boiler running on oil. Once again the landlord ignored us and handed a 5 gallon shop vac to clean up a horrible mess in our basement. I ended up becoming very sick due to doing work I am not capable of doing due to muscle spasms. He then blamed us and threatened to sue us.
I told him its impossible to be our fault my wife took photos of the last day she was there which was 5 days due to a snowstorm and illness and both photos showed the thermostat in the same spot to the mm but he said it was at 50 degrees when he walked in. Obviously it was a huge lie. Before he left, I had him feel the air pouring in, he said " yes , ok but it never happened before" I said yes it never was this cold before (our home is on top of a 70 percent grade all alone on top of a mountain) its always windy. During this cold spell every place in our area broke records that have not been broken since 1914. I said to him apparently this place is the only house in the entire 10 county area that didn't break cold records all week long, schools even started late each day. He said "it wasn't that cold I have a weather station at my house." I just laughed and called him a liar and said either you did not close the door fully when you entered my home illegally or your windows are just not capable of handling such cold on the outside walls.
He is again threatening to sue us and we had planned on returning back home this week but they still have not fixed the carpet or tile and with my wheelchair or walker depending on the day, I would fall very easily and none of my furniture was ever moved back into the living room. So what I really need to know from an experienced plumber is are we at fault for any of these pipes freezing? By the way he had a coal heater in the basement that he removed and sold before we moved in, this was directly vented into the second chimney and the wall. Also the house was vacant for the past two years and was weatherized.
I really need help I am on a very tight fixed income and my palliative care doctor has told me that this stress has probably increased the progression of my disease and now have to have to go get another MRI which are costly. If any experienced plumber can take the time to read my book and answer it will be greatly appreciated by not only me but by my wife and two young daughters. Paying $1200 rent and not being able to even live a week in the house is not fair. Thank You Gary and Family