Water Damage Found In New Mass. High School....

A Massachusetts contractor has extended his warranty on the new Quincy High School by two years, following the discovery of a series of leaks in the newly installed plumbing.

The school opened in September, and within a period of several weeks more than 17 leaks were discovered, damaging carpeting and tiles in the area above the administration office.  P.J. Kennedy and Sons of Boston, the contractor responsible for the pipework in the building, blamed a faulty batch of elbow shaped fittings as the cause of the leaks.   The contracting firm agreed to replace the faulty fittings at no additional cost to the city, and repair the resulting water damage.

The company has also extended the warranty coverage on all work performed for the school through 2013, and put up a bond to cover the cost of any future work.

The leaks began to appear shortly after the school opened, and the damage got progressively worse over the course of several weeks. 

Paul Kennedy Sr., president of P.J. Kennedy and Sons, said the manufacturer of the fittings, NIBCO Inc. of Indiana, has agreed to cover the $60,000 his company spent fixing the leaks and damage. The company also covered overtime costs for school custodians who worked on the leaks.

The fittings in question were not perfectly formed, leaving small gaps that could not be successfully patched with solder.  As the heating season began and the pipes expanded, water was able to seep through those unsealed gaps, causing the damage. 

School officials say they believe the problem has been correctly rectified; however they are anxious for another heating season to pass before they can rest easier. 

The problems at Quincy High School make a perfect illustration, that even new constructs are not immune from water damage.  Perfectly new constructs can suffer damage as the result of poor workmanship or, as in this case, faulty piping.

In many cases, home inspectors can find such problems before a purchase is made on a new home, but at the same time it is always important to be proactive.  Inspect your property regularly for any signs of small problems before they have the chance to become large ones, such as basement flooding.  Not just leaking pipes, but broken window seals, cracks in your foundational wall, pretty much anything that might allow access to your home by ground water or rain water. 

Home and business owners, as a rule, do not normally know what to look for when it comes to potential water damage, so it is usually advisable to call in a professional.  Your local, IICRC certified, water damage restoration company can send a trained technician out to your home, someone who knows what to look for, where to look for it, and what to do with it when he finds it.  They can also take the proper steps to correct it before it becomes an issue, as well as clean up and repair any damage that may have already occurred. 

So enjoy that new house, but don’t be lulled into a false sense of security by the smell of new carpet and wood.  Keep an eye out for problems, or potential problems, and call your local professionals to keep everything in its proper working order.