# Stoppages..aarrgh!!



## rydinhood (May 22, 2012)

Hey, good morning Plumbing Gurus..
It's time for my official Monday morning stupid question.
Do any of you guys use some kind of liability waiver when you run stoppages?
You know, for that once in 10 year "I got the stoppage" just to find out the cast iron was shot, your machine popped a hole in the line, and the stoppage 'cleared' into their basement??
Do you really go into the tightest crawl spaces and inspect every inch of the exposed line before you run the cable? Every time?
Do you have a 30 minute conversation with your customer before you start, outlining all the things that may or may not go wrong and hope they remember you went over it with them if something, G-d forbid, does go wrong?
I had some minor issues come up recently (obviously; hence the question) that could've been major and just started thinking...


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## UN1TED-WE-PLUMB (Oct 3, 2012)

I always make the customer aware that by snaking this 60 year old galvanized pipe that the snake _may_ pop a hole in the pipe.. Not likely but it has happened..

We cannot be held responsible for our equipment punching through an old pipe. If the pipe was solid it would never had happened. 

With that disclaimer I've never had an issue.


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

I know a lot of people do use written disclaimers but being a good communicator is as much if not more important.

Customers that get a sense that you are unsure of your ability or the results, will smell blood and blame it on you.


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## gilbertjeffrey (Mar 6, 2011)

I agree that communication is key, and experience plays a big part into this, I always make sure my customer is aware if I feel something may go awry. For myself I usually give this speech when cabling lines in apartment complex's. If a cable manages to go thru a cast iron pipe, then there is something was wrong with the cast iron pipe. The burden to prove this will lie on your shoulders if you are the guy that pops it, but with good communication and experience, you should be able to turn that basement full of $hit into a clean basement with new pipes and a fat check in your pocket. My 2 cents.


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