
3 days ago I found out that I have a water leak. The water meter is running when all the taps and toilets in the house are
shut down. By all the symptoms it is a leak in the water line which is running in front of my house. Most likely it is with 2 or 3 meters from the foundation and in a close proximity to other services (e.g. electricity, telephone line, etc).
Access to the water pipe is a bit difficult as it is under paving.
Amount of water wasted is approximately 4 cubical meter a day.
As the house was built four and a half years ago I still have builder's warranty for the plumbing (which lasts for 5 years).
I called the building company. They sent their construction consultant to the site. He said that I need to remove pavers around an entry point, dig in and find the water pipe. Then it should be cut off and a pressure test to be done. After that I need to advise them on the results of the test and they will decide what they can do.
From my perspective, it will incur unnecessary hassles and costs to me, and all those activities is a part of fault fixing, and thus should be covered by builder's warranty.
I am wondering what I should do in this situation ?
I already called Office of Consumer Affairs yesterday. They suggested I should try to settle down this issue with the builder.
So, I plan to send an electronic letter to the builder tomorrow morning, saying that it is an urgent matter, and the plumbing should be fixed as soon as possible without any delays from their side.
My biggest concern is that if they refuse to come (using all kind of lame excuses, as it is what they have done so far), it may take some time to get it done.
Meanwhile, my water bill is increasing at ~$20 a day, and as I mentioned before other service may get damaged as well (and it is not too good for house foundation and paving strip around the house either).
Thank you.