Looking to sue a local construction contractor hired by city of College Station who caused a good amount of damage to our rental property in College Station and caused us to lose a tenant for a 12 month lease. Any recommendations would be appreciated. It's an absolute slam dunk case. Construction company already admitted fault but now won't respond to us.
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Need BCS lawyer for civil matter
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Last: 1 day ago by DRBSK
Good Luck. COCS has done several thousand dollars of damage at our place, and they claim that they are not responsible due to the way they word their contracts. TBH, never seen a city act in such a disreputable manner.
There may not be time to do the job right, but there is always time to do the job over!!
question: why is the City hiring contractors to fix your property?
The city's contractor was hired to lay new sewer lines, cut the connections to the existing sewer lines and failed to reconnect a number of houses to the new sewer lines after laying the new sewage line causing sewage to back up into multiple houses on our street. It was a disaster.
Crappy situation. Sorry OP.
Can you share the area? Sounds like some of the work done near one of my places.
What does the city say? I had a fence messed up during a construction project. Took about 6 months of me pestering them but city eventually got the contractor to make it right. City handled the contractor and never put me in contact with them.
What does the city say? I had a fence messed up during a construction project. Took about 6 months of me pestering them but city eventually got the contractor to make it right. City handled the contractor and never put me in contact with them.
Dealt with this at city of Bryan years ago. Sewer main would back up in neighborhood due to storm water infiltration during heavy rain events until they eventually redid all the mains and moved man hole covers to higher elevations. No rec on a lawyer but I do recommend every home owner put one of these on your sewer clean out even if you are on a septic system. Best insurance you can buy for $20 that prevents this problem and can save you thousands of dollars in damage. Have seen mains back up from all kinds of reasons including tree roots and grease and even have seen a gas contractor tunnel bore the gas line through the existing sewer main at one customer's house. Best $20 any homeowner can spend.
https://www.amazon.com/Home-saver-Flip-Top-Sewer-relief/dp/B0BP2X35BX/ref=asc_df_B0BP2X35BX?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80470698170680&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=m&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=65831&hvtargid=pla-4584070173231357&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/Home-saver-Flip-Top-Sewer-relief/dp/B0BP2X35BX/ref=asc_df_B0BP2X35BX?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80470698170680&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=m&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=65831&hvtargid=pla-4584070173231357&psc=1
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CS78 said:
Can you share the area? Sounds like some of the work done near one of my places.
Just south of Kyle Field off of Wellborn
MS08 said:
Crappy situation. Sorry OP.
Too soon, but well done.
MS08 said:
Crappy situation. Sorry OP.
That really stinks.
Thanks for the recommendations and the bathroom humor is always a hit.
****ty contractors
maddiedou
1997Aggie said:
The city's contractor was hired to lay new sewer lines, cut the connections to the existing sewer lines and failed to reconnect a number of houses to the new sewer lines after laying the new sewage line causing sewage to back up into multiple houses on our street. It was a disaster.
I'm pretty familiar with this process, we do this about once or twice per year in our redevelopment projects here in Bryan. Are you saying they removed the existing sewer taps to each home, replaced the main line under the street, then failed reconnect the new taps to each house?
That what it sounds like, and if so that's a complete fail from the contractor all the way to COCS engineering dept and their on-site inspectors.
I've never done anything in College Station that required public infrastructure work so I don't know their process, but in Bryan we typically work hand in hand with public works engineering folks and they're pretty meticulous in their inspection process. It would be very hard to screw up like this unless something is done after they leave then covered up.
Hope you can get something out of the city for your troubles as well, not just the contractor.
On-site inspectors have to actually leave the office to do on-site inspections.
maroon barchetta said:
On-site inspectors have to actually leave the office to do on-site inspections.
True. I can't speak for College Station, but I can assure you Bryan's engineering inspectors actually leave the office. At least for my jobs they do.
Our sewer line near Glade and Holleman was replaced a few years ago.
They disconnected the old one and didn't connect the new one until the following day. We had an open hole in our yard with toilet waste which was infuriating. Later I was told that was not allowed but the contractor did it anyway. I assume they didn't want to pay overtime to get them reconnected same day.
They disconnected the old one and didn't connect the new one until the following day. We had an open hole in our yard with toilet waste which was infuriating. Later I was told that was not allowed but the contractor did it anyway. I assume they didn't want to pay overtime to get them reconnected same day.
dubi said:
Our sewer line near Glade and Holleman was replaced a few years ago.
They disconnected the old one and didn't connect the new one until the following day. We had an open hole in our yard with toilet waste which was infuriating. Later I was told that was not allowed but the contractor did it anyway. I assume they didn't want to pay overtime to get them reconnected same day.
I don't know your particular situation, but as someone with extensive water/wastewater knowledge, there are some technologies that many cities are using to replace water/wastewater lines that install a thermoplastic product that requires a relaxation period due to the material properties. These technologies and materials are becoming increasingly popular. The popularity is due to the increasing cost to remove and replace existing pipe by full excavation. The increased cost in the remove and replace method is due to surface restoration costs with the high cost of paving, fence repairs, concrete sidewalk, and so on. With the aging infrastructure, and need for replacement, the alternative methods that are becoming popular are allowing cities to stretch their dollar further and save taxpayers/ratepayers from increases those taxes/rates. There are so many technologies available that can be evaluated, but the condition of the existing water/wastewater lines, depth, soil, surface obstructions, and other existing utilities all have a bearing on selection in addition to cost, social, and environmental impacts.
With all that said, there are measures that contractors should take which can include cutting the service tap into the new pipe and allow the sewer to flow from the private lateral, into the excavation, which then should flow into the hole cut in the main until relaxation is met and the service lateral pipe can be connected. While it could be failure to want overtime, I just know there could be other reasons without knowing all of the details of the installation method or pipe materials that were used in your situation. Contractors should protect the excavation with temporary fencing and even covering the excavation with a steel plate or plywood depending on the location.
Just wanted to add some additional thoughts to your situation, but agreed, no one wants to feel like they live next to a sewage treatment plant.