# I told her not to touch it



## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

I'm being backcharged to grind and polish a concrete floor on a residential project.

Last spring a can of blue PVC glue was knocked off of a ladder and spilled about a pint of glue onto the concrete floor during the rough-in stage.

The HO was standing close by and went batshiot when she saw it -- I told her and the GC to leave it alone and that it would pull up with no damage or discoloration to the floor when it dried.

I put a cardboard box upside down over it to keep it from being disturbed and left for the day -- I came back the next morning and discovered they'd tried to clean it up with rags, which essentially just smeared it around and pushed it into the pores of the slab, fibers from the rags were also embedded in the pores.

Anyway, no one but me seems to remember me telling them to leave it alone, so I'm stuck with the $4500.00 grinding and polishing bill (the floor hadn't been polished yet at the time of the incident). 

Leaving an open can of glue was my fault, so I'm willing to take some responsibility, but not to the tune of 4.5 grand.


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## liquid plumber (Nov 25, 2011)

ouch, in the past i did spill a can of abs glue and tried to clean it up.......whew what a mess. Question is, have seen your theory to conclusion? will it clean up nicely if it gets to dry


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

liquid plumber said:


> ouch, in the past i did spill a can of abs glue and tried to clean it up.......whew what a mess. Question is, have seen your theory to conclusion? will it clean up nicely if it gets to dry


 Yes I have -- It'll pull up like a piece of fruit leather if allowed to dry out and fully cure.


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## 504Plumber (Jan 26, 2011)

4500 to grind and polish what I would assume is 1 sqft, where do I sign up for that job?!


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## futz (Sep 17, 2009)

Widdershins said:


> Yes I have -- It'll pull up like a piece of fruit leather if allowed to dry out and fully cure.


Yup, that's the way to do it. But you can't allow freaked out customers to panic and start rubbing it in. Just let it dry without molesting it. It comes right off on its own.


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

That is why you have insurance. Submit the claim to your insurance, the adjuster will more than likely get the cost down or get you completely off.


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

I would fight it.

Your GL Ins will probably just roll over and take it though.


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## Mr Plumber (Oct 20, 2011)

Screw them. Shi* happens and chances are that floor will be covered up if and when they finish the basement. Even If they never finish it the stain wont even be noticeable in six months. I think the GC and the HO is pulling a fast one on you. Get paid in full or lean the house that's what i say. i dont mess around with unpractical Home owners and idiot GC,s. Furthermore the homeowner should never of even been on the job while you were their working. :furious:


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## beachplumber (Feb 7, 2010)

HeII NO don,t pay

What u doin with blue glue, thos old house one step irrigation!?


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## OldSchool (Jan 30, 2010)

I would ask to see the quote and do a face to face with the concrete guy. 
Sounds like somebody is trying to scam you

The GC and home owner I have responsibility to limit your cost

Furthermore, if it ever went to court they would win nothing.

The law clearly states that one must have clean hands (common law) Meaning they can not be part of the cause of damage. Clearly they touched it and made the situation worse

Therefore they are partly responsible

I would find out who touched it.


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## gitnerdun (Nov 5, 2008)

A little late, but I noticed years ago that if the floor is wet, primer and glue won't stain or stick to it. Yes, it sounds a lot $$ for what the stain was.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

*I smell FRAUD*

So last spring .... you did this ..thats like 9 months ago..... 
and just now they are trying to stick it to you for $4500 ??? 


I am willing to bet that they had the work done already 
without gettting an estimate from your insurance company or 
letting them look at the damages?? correct??? 
That is where I would cry FOUL...


So what kind of floor are we talking about
just concrete , of some sort of vinyl ???


no way would I pay 4500 for this , especially if you 
and your insurance company were left out of the loop..

turn it in to your insurance company and let them fight over it.....


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

I mis-read the invoice -- Page 4 shows a line item for a spot grind and polish to be billed to the Plumbing Contractor in the amount of $478.00 -- That's doable and I've already made arrangements to pay it out of pocket.

The Framers who missed nearly every single interior wall location in the basement have been stuck with the bulk of the bill.

As for paying it out of pocket instead of running it through my insurance company -- This is the first year where my premiums actually went down instead of up. No way am I going to sabotage that little bit of good fortune with such a piddling claim.


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## Epox (Sep 19, 2010)

$478 beats $4500 anyday.


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## ZL700 (Dec 8, 2009)

Post your PayPal account we can all send $2 and share in the lesson


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## surfdog (Oct 20, 2011)

how mant sq.ft did they grind i wouldnt pay it let the judge decide at least make them work for it


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## Titan Plumbing (Oct 8, 2009)

Widdershins said:


> I mis-read the invoice -- Page 4 shows a line item for a spot grind and polish to be billed to the Plumbing Contractor in the amount of $478.00 -- That's doable and I've already made arrangements to pay it out of pocket.
> 
> The Framers who missed nearly every single interior wall location in the basement have been stuck with the bulk of the bill.
> 
> As for paying it out of pocket instead of running it through my insurance company -- This is the first year where my premiums actually went down instead of up. No way am I going to sabotage that little bit of good fortune with such a piddling claim.


Sounds like the subs are paying for this job...Is the homeowner on the hook for anything?


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## beachplumber (Feb 7, 2010)

Seriously what was the blue glue for.

I very rarly use it. If its raining or i have trouble draing water service down.


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## stillaround (Mar 11, 2009)

Ah yes I remember the days.....people dont see why I have an attitude that is so vocal about new construction.....other than I did make some money at it.......

In general though, I like having the insurance company handle all the grief...


I like blue glue....we used heavy duty gray for a while on roughs...it never leaked and allowed more handling time to get that extra plumb look....


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## 89plumbum (May 14, 2011)

Were you aware that the floor was going to be a clear polished floor. Like was it written in your contract. If not I would only pay it if this GC gives you a lot of work. If not then forget it!


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

Titan Plumbing said:


> Sounds like the subs are paying for this job...Is the homeowner on the hook for anything?


I don't mind seeing the framing contractor take it in the shorts on this one. They nailed most of my vents putting up the sheathing when they were sheeting the sheer walls, they removed most of my band iron when they rolled out the roof trusses and broke the only usable CI stack off at the floor.


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

beachplumber said:


> Seriously what was the blue glue for.
> 
> I very rarly use it. If its raining or i have trouble draing water service down.


I always use blue hot glue for PVC DWV piping -- It sets up in about 30 minutes and can be immediately static tested.


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## user8031 (Dec 14, 2011)

45 freaking hundred!!??

Let me go vomit real quick!

DO NOT PAY THIS!!:no:


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## OldSchool (Jan 30, 2010)

wyefortyfive said:


> 45 freaking hundred!!??
> 
> Let me go vomit real quick!
> 
> DO NOT PAY THIS!!:no:


You didn't read the whole thread it wasn't $ 4,500 after all


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## cityplumbing (Jun 12, 2010)

I dont see the problem if they were polishing the floor anyway.


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## Zone16Plumber (Dec 21, 2011)

*Murphy's Law reigns as "queen" in the world of plumbing.*

Ya, sometimes people don't listen. I once had to replace a vitrified clay sanitary drain in a basement with 4" ABS and I told the owner (including his wife), "don't flush the powder room toilet upstairs". I shut-off the valve to the toilet before I began but I didn't flush the toilet to empty out the water that was in the tank. Needless to say, the toilet was full of "stuff" when it finally accidentally got flushed and I had already opened up the pipe in the basement.

Don't ever trust anyone and cover your posterior. :thumbsup:


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## PrecisePlumbing (Jan 31, 2011)

Zone16Plumber said:


> Ya, sometimes people don't listen. I once had to replace a vitrified clay sanitary drain in a basement with 4" ABS and I told the owner (including his wife), "don't flush the powder room toilet upstairs". I shut-off the valve to the toilet before I began but I didn't flush the toilet to empty out the water that was in the tank. Needless to say, the toilet was full of "stuff" when it finally accidentally got flushed and I had already opened up the pipe in the basement.
> 
> Don't ever trust anyone and cover your posterior. :thumbsup:


 If I'm doing domestic drain work I tell the homeowner not to use the toilet and as insurance I cling wrap (Saran wrap) the bowl ; ) Im still waiting for someone to try it


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## ChrisConnor (Dec 31, 2009)

While working for some nuns at a convent, my helper was cleaning out around the building drain and they flushed the toilet on him, he managed to get a warm turd into his glove, right into the palm. Sometimes you just gotta shut the water off and make them flush everything before you open a line.


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## Zone16Plumber (Dec 21, 2011)

Since we are talking about dung falling out of pipes here, I wanted to hear everyone else's opinion on who should be responsible for the cleanup. Personally, if I go to a service call and there was already a drain backup and overflow of the rich stuff onto the floor, I don't clean that up because that wasn't my fault. Also, if I tell someone not to use a fixture and they promise me that they won't and they still accidentally use it after I have opened up a pipe, I don't accept responsibility to clean that up either. If I cut open a pipe that is already clogged and despite taking whatever reasonable precautions still make a small mess, I take responsibility for it and clean that up myself.

Other than offering to clean up other messes that weren't my fault for additional money, does anyone here have an opinion on how to handle these situations at service calls? What expectations from homeowners or property managers have you experienced when in these situations? Just wanted to get a feel for what everyone else goes through.


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## plumberkc (Jun 23, 2011)

We have had a few customers flush on us while the drain is opened up.

I have actually considered adding a line item to the contract, "If any waste is flushed during construction there will be a $200 clean up fee added to the total bill". :laughing:


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## billy_awesome (Dec 19, 2011)

This sucks, but unfortunately it happens to us.

I don't blame you for not putting your glue cap back on, you use that glue can 200 times during a rough in. If you want to spend 2 weeks roughing in a house that's fine, as long as the home owner is paying your time and material!

I've been in the same situation, home owner gutted the whole house and kept old wooden chairs in the basement for guys to sit down for lunch in. My ladder was in the truck and I was just gluing on a ptrap. I dropped my glue on the chair, not thinking it was a big deal I just cleaned it off with a rag.

A week later the home owner called my boss saying it was a wooden chair passed threw the family for generations and I had to pay 200 dollars for it to be sanded and re-finished.

The problem is, as the plumber. We are responsible for our work. The only thing we can do is try and ask the home owner to fix the problem our self, maybe that will bring costs down?


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