1996-05-27|Sunatori's Water Infiltration into the Basement
Basement Flood
Our house at 65, des Parulines, Hull (Québec) CANADA was built in 1988 by Construction Denis Lefebvre. The subcontractor for the foundation work was Goyette Fondation Inc. We had the basement beautifully finished in 1989. There was no problem in 8 years other than a separate water escape problem at the beam pocket which was fixed up before the basement was finished.
The water started to leak into our house 1996-04-08. For the following 2 weeks until 1996-04-21, a tremendous amount of water escaped into the basement. We were vacuuming hundreds of litres of water every day for 2 weeks. The arrows on the following diagram show the locations of the water leaks.
Here is a graph showing the amount of water that we sucked up with a Shop-Vac. There was actually more water that drained into a floor hole, but it is not included in the figure.
Test Drill
Fissure Pro-Tech discovered that there was very little, if any, crashed stones around the drain tile. The house is built on sand. They say that the work was poorly done, "mauvais travail", "problème unique", and that they had never seen anything like this during the 7 years that they were in business. Here is their report.
Suite à l'inspection du drain agricole, nous avons constaté que le système de drainage n'est pas fonctionnel. Ceci a été causé par l'absence de concassé sur le drain. Ce dernier s'est donc rempli de sable.
Une nappe d'eau entoure la fondation en permanence, ce qui est la source de l'infiltration.
Two other foundation waterproofing companies said they had never seen so much water leakage into a basement in such a new house.
The drain tiles were filled with sand. In addition, the pipe from the house to the storm sewer was completely blocked with sand, so they had to call up a sewage specialist to unblock the pipe.
The Canadian National Building Code (1985), which applied when the construction was done, states the following:
9.14.3.4. Les tuyaux ou drains utilisés pour le drainage et qui ne sont pas raccordés doivent être espacés de 6 à 10 mm. La moitié supérieure des joints doit être protégée par du papier de revêtement, du polyéthylène de 0.10 mm d'épaisseur ou du feutre imprégné de goudron ou d'asphalte et de qualité no 15.
9.14.3.5. Les côtés et le dessus des tuyaux ou drains utilisés pour le drainage doivent être recouverts d'au moins 150 mm de pierre concassée ou d'un autre matériau granulaire propre et grossier ne contenant pas plus de 10 p. 100 de granulats pouvant traverser un tamis de 4 mm.
The following photo shows the lack of crashed stones.
Amazingly, a part of the drain tile was ripped off for no apparent reason and buried like this. No wonder sand went into the drain tile and got it completely clogged.
Lesson: If you are planning to buy a house or have lived in a house that is built on sand, have a foundation waterproofing company test drill to check the drain tile.
Insurance Company
Despite the initial reaction that "causes are not covered but the consequences are covered", the insurance company Gan Canada/Simcoe & Erie refused to pay anything because it is "water escape" due to a blocked drain. An insurance claims adjuster said he had never experienced anything like this during the 25 years that he was in business. He suggested that we take photos and go after the contractor and/or subcontractor.
To my amazement, the insurance company cited the fine prints in the policy even though the intent of the exception is not to pay for negligence of maintenance and we were not negligent. In our case, there had been absolutely 0 (zero) problem for 8 years and all of a sudden a flood! However, we received no compensation from the insurance company. Here is the fine print on the coverage.
We do not insure loss or damage:
(29) caused by water below the surface of the ground including that which exerts pressure on or flows, seeps or leaks through sidewalks, driveways, foundations, walls or floors unless:
(a) such loss or damage arises from escape of water from a public watermain, swimming pool or equipment attached thereto but excluding loss or damage to the system or other property from which water escapes;
(b) loss or damage by fire or explosion ensues and then we are liable only for such ensuing loss or damage; or
(c) such loss or damage arises from theft.
Here is the official letter from the insurance company, which starts with the provocative phrase WITHOUT PREJUDICE.
Further to the investigation conducted by our claims adjuster, we regret to inform you that the damages to your property are not covered by your insurance policy. It has been determined that the water infiltrated the foundation.
The exclusion "8" specifies that we do not insure the loss or damage caused by seepage of leakage of water below the surface of the ground including through sidewalks, driveways, foundations, walls, basement or other floors or through doors.
We regret this situation and we trust that you understand our position.
Please take note that we reserve the right to invoke any other points in support of our denial of coverage.
The insurance company paid for the test drill ($275 CAD out of thousands of dollars that we could have received!) due to the extraordinary situation.
The photo below shows the damage to the studs and drywalls.
The photo below shows the damage to the carpet and furniture.
Lesson: Check your insurance for "water escape" clause, switch to "all-risk" type of insurance policy.
Finger Pointing
L'Association Provinciale des Constructeurs d'Habitations du Québec does not cover houses of 5 years or older (the house is 8 years old) in their New Home Warranty program, with no exception regardless of the situation. La Régie des entreprises de construction du Québec says we could file a complaint to them against the subcontractor.
Lesson: Even if the cause is a defect due to poor construction, the contractors can get away from the rip-off if they go out of business! No wonder why very few contractors last long.
La Ville de Hull was not legally obliged to inspect every house in 1988. In fact, the file on our house was empty. However, they say that we can establish poor/defective work for a lawsuit against a contractor and/or a subcontractor even if the work was done 8 years ago.
They dismissed the subcontractor's ludicrous claim that the inspectors were at fault as "negligent". In their opinion, sufficient crashed stones would have prevented a problem of this magnitude. It is the contractor's and the subcontractor's responsibility to do quality assurance, not the city.
Lesson: Before you buy a new house, demand an inspection report! Before you buy an old house, spend $300 CAD or so for a test hole.
Legal Action
Original contractor who built the house in 1988.
Construction Denis Lefebvre
No longer exists!
Original sub-contractor who actually did the work in 1988.
Goyette Fondation Inc. (license number 1811-3803)
Still in business.
Although we identified a lawyer, we were willing to go for an amicable out-of-court settlement with Goyette Fondation Inc. However, Goyette Fondation Inc. refused on the ground that we did not directly hire them for the work. Their business was with Construction Denis Lefebvre.
Lesson: If the original contractor is out of business, which is very often the case, you are out of luck legally. Be your own contractor and hire sub-contractors yourself so that they are legally bound for poor work!
Aftermath
Here is the estimated damages.
$7 000 CAD for exterior work
$5 000 CAD for interior work
$5 000 CAD for time lost
disruption of business
stress to family life
restart of the lawn
legal fees
...
Readers, please draw your own conclusion as to who is at fault.
Lesson: Even though it was none of our fault, bad luck happens to honest people, causing deep loss. Meanwhile, the "shrewd business people" get away with no liability.
