Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Sep 04, 2018 9:33 pm Curious to see if anyone on this forum have had the same experience with their builder. I built with Metricon and moved in just a little over three years ago. Approx 3 months ago, I noticed a water leak at the front garden of the house, however the water meter was not ticking over. I dug at the joiner at the meter and found that it wasn't leaking. Metricon sent out a plumber to investigate and provided this report. "We attended site to investigate a water leak. Upon arrival on site , we found that the client had exposed a small trench from the pavement to the joiner at the meter. We note this joiner was not leaking, though we found water was tracking down the line. We continue to excavate by hand under the driveway. We removed approx 70L of water from the ground using a wetvac. We then performed a pressure test on the water line for over an hour. We found the pressure dropped very slightly, indicating only a small leak. We believe the run-in was damaged by the landscapers as there were sharp rocks in the landscapers' backfill and the run-in runs underneath a very large paving stone which was cemented into place. We excavated as much as possible but we're not able to shift the paving stone by hand. Any further investigations would require the use of heavy machinery. When advised of our findings, Metricon declined for us to move forward with any further investigations." Note - paver is 50cm x 70cm uneven shape (not sure if that is classified as "very large paving stone" to require heavy machinery. I believe plumbing company Metricon used to investigate water leak is the same company that did the plumbing work and run the pipes when the house was being built (awaiting for Metricon to confirm this). Prior to receiving this report, I spoke to the plumbing company and made arrangements on three occasions to come back to further investigate but failed to turn up twice and just before the third arrangement, they called to say that Metricon had advised them to cease the investigation. To me the report is circumstantial not compelling evidence. Metricon conveniently shifted the blame to the developer who provided the landscaping. Developer's response after receiving the plumber's report: "It appears that your builder has assumed the works completed when our contractor landscape your home. The landscaper installed the pavers on top of the existing soil, they had no reason to excavate, expose any water pipes and backfill with sharp rocks. We confirm in accordance with our normal scope, landscape work requires no excavation or trenching nor any backfilling so leak/damage to water pipe existed prior to front garden landscaping works commencing." I have made countless requests for Metricon to investigate to locate where the damage of the water leak but they but they have refused to take the responsibility every time. I have contacted consumer affairs for advice however, however wasn't able to speak with with anyone due to the high volume of calls. Left a number and awaiting for a call back. Any suggestions is much appreciated. Sorry for the long post. Re: Dispute with Metricon 2Sep 05, 2018 2:15 am If paver is only 50x70 cm, why don't you just lift it with the help of couple of mates or with a leverage, find where the leakage is and close it with a sealer. You will save yourself tons of nerves, time and potentially money. You can also use a shovel to dig along the pipe. If you know where most of the water is, the leakage should not be too far from that area. Re: Dispute with Metricon 3Sep 05, 2018 10:59 am Were you present during the plumber's inspection? It would have been easy to see the distance between the bottom of the concrete under the stone and the pipe. You should check to see if the pipe has been buried at the compliant minimum depth. The pipe had to have a minimum cover of 225mm prior to landscaping unless it was subject to vehicular traffic in which case a minimum cover of 300mm was required. The 225mm cover includes the pipe being surrounded by not less than 75mm of compacted sand or fine grain soil. I believe that it is reasonable for Metricon not have to pay for removal of heavy objects placed over the water pipe and unless you have observed the depth of the pipe and the stone and concrete, you don't know whether the pipe's cover has been compromised. You need to remove the rock and use a reputable plumbing company to fix the pipe if you find a leak. It is illegal for you to attempt any DIY. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Dispute with Metricon 4Sep 05, 2018 5:44 pm No, we weren't home when the plumbers inspected the water leak. When I got home, I found that the plumber covered up the trench that was dug prior to their inspection. They also covered up the digging that they did on the side of the house when they were trying to locate the leak. I was advised by the plumbing company over the phone that they would come back in the next few days to investigate further. Is it normal practice for them to cover up holes that they have dug and come back to re-dig it again a few days later? Re: Dispute with Metricon 5Sep 05, 2018 5:44 pm No, we weren't home when the plumbers inspected the water leak. When I got home, I found that the plumber covered up the trench that was dug prior to their inspection. They also covered up the digging that they did on the side of the house when they were trying to locate the leak. I was advised by the plumbing company over the phone that they would come back in the next few days to investigate further. Is it normal practice for them to cover up holes that they have dug and come back to re-dig it again a few days later? Re: Dispute with Metricon 6Sep 05, 2018 5:45 pm No, we weren't home when the plumbers inspected the water leak. When I got home, I found that the plumber covered up the trench that was dug prior to their inspection. They also covered up the digging that they did on the side of the house when they were trying to locate the leak. I was advised by the plumbing company over the phone that they would come back in the next few days to investigate further. Is it normal practice for them to cover up holes that they have dug and come back to re-dig it again a few days later? Re: Dispute with Metricon 7Sep 05, 2018 5:46 pm No, we weren't home when the plumbers inspected the water leak. When I got home, I found that the plumber covered up the trench that was dug prior to their inspection. They also covered up the digging that they did on the side of the house when they were trying to locate the leak. I was advised by the plumbing company over the phone that they would come back in the next few days to investigate further. Is it normal practice for them to cover up holes that they have dug and come back and dig it again a few days later? Re: Dispute with Metricon 9Sep 05, 2018 8:12 pm They would have covered the holes due to safety, their other option was to tape off the area. They established that there was a slow leak and other evidence also supported this. All you can really do is move it and get a plumber in to complete the investigation and fix the problem. Either the plumber or the landscaper is not telling the truth but as far as fixing it goes, the 'rock' is the fly in Metricon's ointment. The thing that would interest me is finding out how deep the pipe was buried. I assume that the 'paver' sits above ground. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Dispute with Metricon 10Sep 05, 2018 8:52 pm Thank you for your reply. Yes paver sits above ground. After I received the plumbing report, I did plan to dig to find out how deep the pipe was buried but thought I'd challenged Metricon first about the report as it did not provide compelling evidence and cause of water leak has still not been located. Spoke to VBA today and will lodge a complaint. Re: Dispute with Metricon 13Sep 06, 2018 9:20 am T123 Also the plumbing report was done by the same company that installed the pipes, not exactly and independent report. It was correct for Metricon to arrange for a plumber from their contracted plumbing company to try to identify the leak because the plumbing company warrants the work. A slow leak is usually from a fitting and to establish whether the leak is under the paver, the paver needs to be removed and the pipe examined. The onus of removing the paver and concrete is on you. If it is established that the pipe is not leaking under the paver, then Metricon need to be sent the finding/report and they then need to send out the plumbing company who did the installation to identify and repair the leak. The plumber's report indicates that the leak is most likely in the area of the paver. If the pipe was buried at a non compliant insufficient depth, this should be noted and Metricon made aware. If the landscaper has damaged the pipe, he would have to had dug down 150mm before reaching the 75mm sand cover and the sand should have alerted him to the presence of a pipe. It is hard to imagine him digging down that far but the only way you will know is to remove the paver and concrete. I would video its removal and the depth of concrete under the paver. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Dispute with Metricon 14Nov 27, 2018 2:46 pm its hard to see how its Metricon's fault after 3 years. Save yourself the headache and just fix it Simeon McGovern Affordable Custom Homes, We design and build to your budget Ashington Homes www.ashingtonhomes.com.au yes it does, you've just not understood it. theres a difference. 4 5424 Hi, First of all, thank you to this community for sharing your thoughts and opinions. We are in early days of our pre-contract stage for Metricon Doulton and we are… 0 11018 Hello All π We are planning to start our journey of construction our first home. 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