Client's Ceiling Collapsed

[Nick Ostrowski]

I was on the way to my morning inspection on Thursday when my cell phone rang with a call forwarded by my office line. It was a client I did an inspection for a month or two prior who said his dining room ceiling just collapsed. My thoughts at this point are "Oh ---!!!". He said he was taking a shower when the water pressure dropped to nothing. Shortly after this happened, he heard his smoke alarm go off so he runs downstairs to find water cascading through his living room ceiling and the drywall collapsing. The deluge also soaked his laptop computer which directly beneath. He said the shower head snapped and it was something neither I no he saw during the inspection and he was wondering what he should do and was wondering what his rights were. All I could think in my mind now was "How much is this going to cost me and was it something I could have/should have seen". I told him to call his homeowners insurance provider and get the ball rolling with a claim and that I would stop by after my morning job.

I had about 4.5 hours to fret about this before I got to his house and saw some of his property lined up in the front yard. When he greeted me, he quickly alleviated ny fears and said it was nothing I could have seen. The shower head pipe corroded and snapped behind the wall and sent a torrent of water into the wall cavity. The dining room ceiling was destroyed, water ran over to the living room ceiling, filled some of the flex HVAC ducts in the ceiling, and went through the 1st floor and down into the basement causing the drywalled ceiling in the basement to sag. His insurance company had already been there and a cleanup crew was in the process of beginning tearout of damaged materials to start repairs. I expressed my regret for the incident and he again said it was not my fault and that he was very happy with the job I did for him.

Whew!!!!!!!!

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[John Arnold]

Nick - You mean to tell me that you have clients who don't expect you to have x-ray vision and a crystal ball? Where do you find these people?!

[Rick Hurst]

Nick,

Now that is a nice client. Some would be blaming you for that rusted shower head or why you didn't suggest that due to its age it might be rusted.

Some people have that great attitude when things happen that its all part of owning a home.

Good day,

Rick

[Bruce Breedlove]

. . . He said he was taking a shower when the water pressure dropped to nothing. Shortly after this happened, he heard his smoke alarm go off so he runs downstairs to find water cascading through his living room ceiling and the drywall collapsing. . . .

The shower head pipe corroded and snapped behind the wall and sent a torrent of water into the wall cavity.

I'm curious why he did not turn the water off after the pipe broke. Surely he could hear the water was still running. I would have been wondering where the water is going if it is still running but it is no longer coming out of the shower head.

[Nick Ostrowski]

I think it all happened pretty quick Bruce based upon the way he described it to me. And I think the sound of the smoke alarms going off drowned out the water noises.

[Richard Rushing]

It's funny about good vs bad expectations of a client.

Like John and Rick stated above, there are alot of people who are unreasonable in their expectations and just don't give a damn... if something goes wrong during homeownership, it's automatically assumed that (no matter what) the inspector should have know or seen the issue was going to happen.

I've had'em blue before... but never crystal.