Subscribe for Daily Updates!
A shareholder has been approved by the board for renovation work in his apartment. The renovation triggered a gas line inspection, which revealed a leak somewhere in the line. The leak was found to be somewhere in between the shareholder's apartment and the meter in the basement. It is clearly in the walls, somewhere below his apartment and has nothing to do with the work he has done in his apartment. Had he not done the renovation, the inspection would never have been triggered, but now he is asking that the COOP pay to repair/replace the line (which is very expensive). Who is ultimately responsible to pay for the line -- the coop or the shareholder?
The co-op, of course.
And you all ought to thank the shareholder heartily for his renovation having uncovered the leak!
While you're in there for repairs, maybe you should look at the rest of the piping in the building... especially if it's all the same age. Don't fool around with gas leaks - the gas company can shut you down for MONTHS.
I agree with RLM, as a Resident Manager, I went through two Con Edison building wide shut-downs and it is a huge project once the building gets shut down.
It costs the building thousands of dollars!!!
It's cheaper to make the necessary repairs and count your blessings.
Are you kidding? Clearly, the Shareholder performing the alteration is responsible. A gas line typically holds 5 psi of pressure. Essentially you can hold your finger over the pipe and stop it. When Con-Ed performs the test, they pressureize it to 150 psi. A shareholder in our building was claiming some kind of hero status while trying to get the coop to pay 120k in repairs to walls and pipes. In the alteration agreement it states that the shareholder is responsible as additional rent. What ever the contractor did caused this situation causing Con-Ed to turn off the Gas. So the contractors insurance should pay or the Shareholder. The contractor obviously shocked the pipe or cut it causing the leak but you'll never get them to admit it. Give the alteration agreement to your insurance company so they can go against the shareholder. It's like if you know the tire on your car holds 35 psi of pressure and the inspection company puts 300 psi of pressure and the tire blows and they say "see... the tire was no good" duh.
isn't pressurizing the line to 150psi a standard test? All gas lines should pass that sort of test. It should not cause the pipe to "blow" as in your tire analogy. It seems a bit far fetched to imply that the "contractor obviously shocked the pipe or cut it causing the leak". That is a very strong accusation to make. Especially if the building's own plumbing company came in and verified the same leak in the line.
In our co-op, any problems behind the walls are the responsibility of the co-op, not the shareholder. In this case the problem showed up in between floors, had nothing to do with the shareholder's apartment or renovation, and in my opinion, is clearly the responsibility of the cooperative.
It's definatly the contractors fault. His insurance should pay or the shareholders homeowner policy. The contractor obviously did something to trigger a bluecard test. Probably cut the line with a saw or smashed it with a sledge hammer. Since what ever the contractor did was serious enough to make ConEd come to turn off the building and then force the building to conduct the bluecard test to ensure the repairs of the damage that the contractor caused were done properly by a licenced plumber, the shareholder is ultimatly responsible and has to submit to appropriate insurance.
...because if you're not, you're making some pretty drastic accusations/assumptions. The original poster stated quite clearly that this was not related to the renovation IN ANY WAY.
Oh, ha ha, I think what you really mean is that since I disagree it is the Coop's responsiblity and that I would rule that the shareholder is responsible based on what was presented is that I'm maaking accusations and assumptions. The fact is that Con-Ed doesn't just stop by for a visit to shut the gas off at random. Someone obviously called because the renovation "triggered" it. Those are the facts. Of course If the roof is leaking that does not mean the renovation triggered DOH to come by and issue violations for plaster damage or high mold spore count in the penthouse.
Danny, Con-Ed never came by, and the inspection is necessary because of the renovation work. Changes were made to the gas line in the apartment, which forces an inspection of the whole line. It was only inspected by the building plumber and the shareholder's contractor. It was not an emergency situation in any way. The shareholder's plumber and the building plumber simply informed that the line will not pass inspection.
GAS LEAKS MUST BE REPORTED TO CONED IMMEDIATELY. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN INSURER DECLINING TO PAY SHOULD THERE BE AN EXPLOSION AND THEY WOULD HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO DO SO. IF I KNEW WHERE THIS BUILDING WAS I WOULD REPORT IT MYSELF- RIGHT NOW. PEOPLE GET WITH THE PROGRAM-LIVES ARE AT STAKE.
This is an inactive line and it has been shut down by the building's plumber.
There is a valve at the meter and it was shut off there.
If the person is committed to gas and not electricity for cooking, the co-op will have to provide the standard facility that they had from the basement to the apartment. Expensive? You bet! This is the case case as the electrical box in the apartment and the box in the basement. The box and cable within the apartments belong to the shareholder to repair; from the basement to the apartment, the co-op is responsible. Most likely your building is old and pinholes appear in gas lines through welding areas.
Before renovating an apartment, please make sure that the gas in the basement does not need to be shut down as you will always find yourself in the same predicament.
Good luck!
AdC
years ago there was a ;lawsuit with a coop in the UWS and Fireman's insurance (as i recall) the building's overall insurance will pay for the entire gasline replacement if it is leaking. You may have to fight but you will prevail.
Hi Sally? Is there any way to look up that case? I have tried. Would be EXTREMELY appreciated. Thanks.
Introduce yourself to other members of Board Talk! Log in below or register here.
Board Talk members who registered prior to March 9th, 2016 will need to reset their password.
The coop. And it should be done fast for financial and safety reasons.
The last thing you want is to have coned get involved and shut the entire building.
Thank you for rating!
You have already rated this page, you can only rate it once!
Your rating has been changed, thanks for rating!
Board Talk members who registered prior to March 9th, 2016 will need to reset their password.