Source
r/HomeImprovement•
BoomFrog

Contractor caused a gas leak

So I have a contractor doing a seismic retrofit on my house. They are just getting started and they took some siding off of the outside overnight so they covered it with plastic because it was raining. The problem is they also covered the vents for several things including my water heater, which caused the pilot light to go out and the gas to leak into the house.

When we smelled gas we evacuated the house and called the gas company. They came out, found the problem, turned it off and gave us the all clear. All told it was a few hours of stress for my whole family. We hung out at our neighbors, ate dinner late, and no one got hurt. The contractor is extremely apologetic and has offered to waive $100 change order fee we had from earlier, and to do some other minor work for free as an apology.

Should I ask for more? On the one hand this seems like an obvious mistake to avoid, vents are there for a reason, don't cover them up. And there was the potential for serious damage or injury. On the other hand, no one was actually harmed. I feel like $100 isn't enough, but I don't know what's fair. What's reasonable?

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This is in Washington State, USA in case that matters.

Posted May 16, 2019, 7:43 PM UTC

211
skotman01•

It sounds like a genuine mistake. How were they to know what those vents vented?

$100 plus some minor work for free is an offer of good will. I’d take it and not look back.

15
BoomFrogOP•

Well, for one they were in and out next to the water heater and it was very clear what that vent connected to. So they definitely didn't even consider the question.

However the consensus in thread seems to be that their offer is reasonable, mistakes happen, so I'm going to go with that over my emotional response.

1
[deleted]•

No, you shouldn't ask for more, and you might want to replace your water heater; gas should shut off when the pilot goes out.

10
yesmaybepossibly•

If this restaurant can accept this mistake https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-48292972

you can accept that your contractor made a shitty mistake, and you can accept his apologies.

If the issue is you don't trust them to do work, that's different and you can talk to them about maybe cutting ties and going with someone else.

but asking for more money IMO is not the way to go. And to be clear, you'd get more than $100 since you said they'd do other work for free.

We all make shitty mistakes at work, even ones we should know better about.

As you said, no one got hurt, and he clearly feels bad about it.

5
distantreplay•

What is the actual cost of your "damages"? If you haven't gotten billed for anything, you are left trying to figure out your "noneconomic" damages, like significant inconvenience, and perhaps some "emotional trauma" aka "fear". Okay. Those are real things.

So look at it the way courts and attorneys try to. They do what's called an economic analysis to try to evaluate this stuff. What would you customarily pay to enjoy a pleasant evening with your family (not merely an estimate of what it is "worth" to you, but what you have actually paid)? Can you think of any examples of times you spent money to avoid being afraid of something, for example vacation insurance? Using points of reference like that, chances are your contractor's offer is pretty good.

5
Rick91981•

I think he is being completely reasonable and you shouldn't ask for more unless the gas company is charging you for the trip out. Then i would ask them to cover that bill. Otherwise, contractor is handling it perfectly.

2
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
silverrt•

What exactly would the insurance pay for?

1
Ryanh0190•

What is it that you are expecting? If someone was harmed there would be cause for negligence, however, it was a mistake and he is trying to make up for it. If you feel his contribution is not sufficient then you should consult an attorney.

1
kronco•

I thought a pilot light is typically directed at a thermocouple that generates a small amount of current to keep the gas valve open. If the pilot goes out the valve should close and stop the leak. Did that not happen? Might be something to look into.

1
BoomFrogOP•

Thanks, that makes sense that there should be some safety system like that. My technical understanding might be a little off. Maybe the pilot only had limited oxygen and so it didn't burn all the gas but also didn't totally go out? Would that make sense?

1
LollyAtkinson•

Keep them away from your home. They covered vents???? Any moron knows better than that. They DO NOT know what they are doing. You are lucky nobody was hurt.

-1