Replaced sewer line and subsequent problems
Poor workmanship by Absolute cost me an additional $8000 for new porch
Absolute Draining installed a new sewer line two years ago and did not properly back-fill the eight foot trench that they dug. After two winters of freeze and thaw the ground has resettled and sunk the porch post by six inches causing the porch deck to tilt to the same side. Three contractors who came to my house voiced the same opinion that improper back-filling of the trench contributed to the sinking of the brick post.
Andrew from Absolute came by to inspect and was brusque and dismissive of my concerns. According to him the trench dug six inches away from the pillar and back-filled without using a tamper was merely coincidental to the subsidence of the brick post. He stated that this problem was in no way a problem of his and he left without offering any assistance or proposals.
In my experience this company does not stand by their work and I strongly advise anyone from using their services.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $0.00
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Do not use this company
- Company Response
There always were, are and will be people who try to put blame on someone if something goes wrong. These three contractors obviously were on your site because they had an interest in signing the fix-your-pillar contract.
It is unfortunate that you had drain problem required digging of your sewer pipe but… it is NOT our fault.
It is unfortunate that whoever in the past did the original pipe layout ran the sewer line very close to the pillar… but it is also NOT our fault.
If in order to fix the problem we could dig somewhere else, we would do so but we were forced to dig a hole close to the pillar. We intentionally did not use a jumping jack to compact the soil because this method could disturb soil under the pillar. Instead we used the other commonly used method of static compaction when water eliminates all air pockets and compaction occurs due to heavy weight of the soil column above. The compaction considers to be completed if the content of water in disturbed and undisturbed soil is equal. Even in case of heavy clay soil this process takes no more than a year. So the blaming in two years and two months is an unfair game as well as the accusation that we do not stand for our work. If something would or will happen to the part of the sewer line we repaired WE WILL FIX IT FOR FREE OF CHARGE.
And one more thing is worth to mention. During my last visit to your house I noticed that someone (not us) recently installed new water service in your house. In order to carry out this kind of upgrade the contractor had to shoot a torpedo very close to the pillar. And torpedo is a heavy duty impact tool that creates a hollow underground channel. The piercing process creates heavy soil vibration, which can affect the pillar’s structural integrity. I am not trying to put blame on the colleague; he did his best in this situation. I am just wondering if he also received a negative review.