Comments on: Sewer

By: the idiot

the idiot — Tue, 02 May 2006 16:18:37 +0000

I feel your pain. Six months after rehabbing the ghetto backyard of my rowhome, my toiled stopped flushing. A week later, I paid a man to jackhammer up half the salvaged brick we’d laid by hand. The culprit was a 100-year-old terra-cotta cleanout joint from the days when there was no indoor plumbing. There was an empty 10′x5′x5′ space under the concrete slab where the pipe simply disintegrated. There went all my back pay and a summer’s work…down the drain. Old houses are fun.

By: frances

frances — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 00:18:46 +0000

Same thing happened to us here in Texas. Our handy-dandy plumber also pointed out that our pipes were caked several inches thick in some places with cement-like residue from dishwasher soap and laundry soap. We now proclaim the Gospel of Liquid Detergent to everyone we meet.

By: gordon

gordon — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 16:22:25 +0000

Heather mention you found a beach towel in the line. Not to sound like a “topper” (a la Dilbert), but my co-worker had a 2×4 pulled out of his line. Forunately for him, it was just over enough to be the city’s problem. The only thing they can figure is that a annoyed worker placed in there when building the subdivision as the house is only 15 years old.

By: victoria

victoria — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 00:55:26 +0000

OK, I just did a little checking. It looks like there’s a split among various jurisdicitons in how to construe “sudden and accidental” in a homeowner’s policy. My jurisdiction and a few others do construe these terms to favor insureds. Unfortunately, it looks like Utah is in the majority of states that gives “sudden” its common and ordinary meaning. Slow processes (I would think root invasion of a sewer line is one of them) are not covered. But you should still talk to your lawyer.

By: Sharon Faulk

Sharon Faulk — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 23:26:15 +0000

Another problem are poor trees. Silver Maples are one of the worst.

By: victoria

victoria — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 22:55:35 +0000

I just read a case o this issue, Gruol Construction v. Insurance Company of North America, 11 Wn. App. 632, 524 P.2d 427 (1974). The Gruol court held that slowly-accummulating dry rot was an “accident”:

“The accident mentioned in the policy need not be a blow but may be a process. It is not required that the injury be the result of some contact with the bulldozer or the shelf or a rock hurled over from the shelf. It is not required to be sudden like an Alpine avalanche . . . A glacier moves slowly but inevitably.”

Id. at 636.

This is authority in Washington, not Utah. And I haven’t read your policy. But don’t just take the insurance company’s word for it. If you’re talking a lot of money it’s worth fighting over.

Insurance contracts are always construed against the carrier’s interest and in favor of the policy holder. Discuss coverage with your attorney.

By: victoria

victoria — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 22:44:55 +0000

Do not take the “not sudden and accidental” ocverage defense at face value.

I am not an insurance coverage attorney but I work with enough of them to know that policies that cover only “sudden and accidental” occurrences *DO* cover slowly-accruing, long term damage. At least, this is true in my jurisdiciton.

Check with your attorney.

Do not take the insurance company’s word on coverage.

By: katy66

katy66 — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 18:04:44 +0000

What kind of bacteria? My house is over 100 years old, I wanna know!

By: Jezzie

Jezzie — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 16:31:07 +0000

WOW! for some reason the tulips just drove home to me..thank God! this didn’t happen in winter! Holy cow!how much worse would it have been with a couple damn feet of snow on the ground? Made me glad to be in FL.
You and Heather sure are plucky ducks, keep up the good spirit. Jezzie

By: Miko Monkey

Miko Monkey — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 01:31:28 +0000

I love the shot of the tulips & the tractor. At least there’s still some beauty around you (besides H&L, of course!).