Thought I'd post an update on how this project went; there's also a
question down below for those of you patient enough to wade through
this all... .

You may recall when I first posted here, I had concerns and questions
over a proposed project to replace the water main that jointly
services my condo and my neighbor's. The neighbors were complaining
that they had insufficient water pressure due to the pipe being 70
years old. We were confused because our home inspection report said it
was new, and we certainly hadn't budgeted or planned for such an
expense so shortly upon moving in.

Turned out our home inspection report was very clearly wrong. I know
the inspector went downstairs to where the main comes in the house; I
can't remember whether he actually checked, because if he had, now
that I know what to look for, if it was a snake it woulda bit him.

Coincidentally, he had also been the inspector for my neighbors, and
their inspection accurately reported the main needed to be replaced.
The only thing I can determine is that the inspector, upon arriving at
the premises the second time around, observed that the water company
had recently dug up the asphalt around the buffalo box and wrongly
came to the conclusion that the main had been replaced. So he noted
this on the report WITHOUT checking the actual pipe itself!

After we figured out all this confusion, and after getting a kick in
the butt from this group (v in particular), we went ahead and agreed
to the project. What should've been straightforward ended up being a
nightmare due to the landscaper issue I also posted about, but that
has been resolved and we no longer have gaping holes and a river of
water running down our driveway.

The only outstanding issues a

- we still need a water pressure limiter put on the system; the water
pressure is at 90 psi right now and that concerns me. The plumber
seems to have disappeared and we can't get him to come back in a
timely manner (we're going on two months now). I am somewhat concerned
that adding the limiter might impact my neighbor's water pressure,
which they report is great now that the main has been replaced. But we
do have an agreement that if this replacement didn't solve their
problem, they would seek other alternatives such as a bladder tank or
pressure booster that don't involve ripping up the pipes in our house.

- none of us are sure whether we need to have an electrician come out
and ground the system. Perhaps the group can help me on that question:
due to the configuration of the property, we ultimately left the old
water main where it was, and brought a new one in on the other side of
the house. The old water main has been disconnected and capped off;
the electrical grounding remains intact. Is this adequate, or do we
need to ground the new water main as well? If so, is this something we
can do ourselves?

Our neighbors were really hot to sue the builder to recoup the total
cost of this project, which they believe was all his fault. We don't
agree with them on the builder's liability. Afterall, they had a home
inspection report that clearly stated the water main was old and
should be replaced. They bought the property fully knowing that. But
they have whined and complained so loud and long, the builder finally
came up with $ to cover 50% of the project and shut them up.

As for us, we believe we do have a claim with the inspector. The terms
of the contract clearly state that all we might be entitled to is a
refund of the inspection fees ($495). So we sent a certified letter
politely requesting a refund and including photo copies of the
incorrect inspection report, as well as photos clearly showing that
any expert would have been able to deduce the water main was not
copper. It's been 30 days and we've yet to hear a word from the
inspection company.

All in all, despite the headaches and unplanned expense, I am glad we
did this. The water pressure doesn't seem all that different to me
(just a lot louder - when you flush it sounds like an airplane taking
off due to the pressure being too high), but I can rest easier knowing
the old main isn't going to break on us someday.


jen