Oil leak at my new home - should they cover the cost?

Lord Nikon

Im in my new home a few months now, and about 2 weeks after getting the keys i noticed that the heat was on whenever it wanted to be. I only found this out after checking up on the house, I had not officially moved in for about o month after getting the keys.

Anyway, they came and fixed the wired, and I let that slide.

Now, a few days ago i noticed a leak in the back garden coming from the burner, not a big leak, just mostly around the outside of the burner. Two days later, the heating ceases to work completely. i ring the foreman the next day, and he says he'll get someone to look at it. Also, i dip the tank and its completely empty.

So, two days later, after no-one getting in touch with me, i ring the foreman, and he said that a guy checked it out, and fixed the leak, WHILE I WASN'T THERE. He said that I need oil/kerosene so they can check the heating.

My problem is this...there was a leak, and got knows how much kerosene washed away, and now i have an empty tank with no heating, and I have to put more in to it. i wouldn't mind if i had it on everyday, but im there maybe 3 days a week, and im the only one in the house. i know that i wouldnt have used that much kerosene.

Are they liable/responsible to get me more kerosene?

paulksnn

Hi Neuro
Aren't new houses just a joy to deal with. We had lots of similar little issues when we first moved in.

As for the leak, if they fixed it, it's fixed and theres no longer anyway to figure out how much was leaking.
In new houses, they'll put in a little bit of oil so they can check the heating works.
Have you had oil filled at all since you moved in?
If you have, then the receipt will be proof enough to get them to at least refill the tank somewhat. You also need to check whether the leaking oil made it into the garden(it'll ruin any hope of grass or flower growth - the fix is to remove all affected soil and get new soill in)
If you didn't get the tank filled, it's possible the little that they put in is gone already. You'll just have to suck it up and get the tank filled yourself.

DublinDilbert

paulksnn wrote: »

Hi Neuro
Aren't new houses just a joy to deal with. We had lots of similar little issues when we first moved in.

As for the leak, if they fixed it, it's fixed and theres no longer anyway to figure out how much was leaking.
In new houses, they'll put in a little bit of oil so they can check the heating works.
Have you had oil filled at all since you moved in?
If you have, then the receipt will be proof enough to get them to at least refill the tank somewhat. You also need to check whether the leaking oil made it into the garden(it'll ruin any hope of grass or flower growth - the fix is to remove all affected soil and get new soill in)
If you didn't get the tank filled, it's possible the little that they put in is gone already. You'll just have to suck it up and get the tank filled yourself.

You'll need to try and estimate how much oil has leaked from the tank, I would not be happy if it was a substantial amount, the ground might have to be treated.... remember a drip can leak a large amount very quickly...

Lord Nikon

I put in 500 litres when I moved in. i was shocked to see that it's all gone so soon.

paulksnn

No way it should be gone already so - receipt for the oil is your proof - what were they like to deal with on the snagging issues.
Although - that doesn't really matter, after they get your cash, it's a different company almost.

Lord Nikon

They are building the next faze, so they are all still over the place, foreman is there everyday.

Victor

You could actually have a pollution problem on your hands with a few hundred litres of oil soaked into you garden. As oil is less dense than water, it will soak as far as the water table and then spread out under surrounding properties and possibly into drains and wells.

I suggest you talk to your local council and not leave it for the builder to sort.

Talk to your solicitor.

Jo King

You should contact an insurance loss assessor immediately followed by your house insurance company. You should also speak to your solicitor. It will cost a large sum of money to remove the contaminated soil from your garden and make good the damage.

Lord Nikon

That seems very extreme

Victor

neuromancer wrote: »

That seems very extreme

It could end up costing hundreds of thousands of euro to clean up.

Lord Nikon

Okay then.

I had a small leak and was told it can ruin the foundations by the builder himself! But the leak was caught in time.

Its a very serious thing if 500litres are gone? How much could be in the soil and how much could have been burnt by the heating system?

the_syco

Sounds like the pipe burst. Is the pipe above or below ground? If it's below ground, you're asking to get ass-raped.

We have a pipe above ground, and during the 1st winter, the pipe burst at least once. After that it was grand. Having it above ground, and we noticed it leaking (see and smelled the leak) fairly quick.

Rented a house down in Naas, once. Went though £400 of oil in a month. Heating was only on for 2 hours in the morning, 2 hours in the evening. Underground piping: never knew where the oil went to.


On another note: how flamable is the stuff? If one had a barby after an oil leak, would the garden become the barby?

Jo King

I know a woman whose oil tank leaked. The oil went into the ground under the neighbouring house. She was sued by the neighbour. The whole thing cost over a million punts. Luckily she had insurance cover. When oil gets into concrete it stops the concrete hardening. It also degrades chemically in the ground. The chemical degradation results in toxins being formed. Some are carcinogenic. The o/p should not hang around.

fresher

HAve just woken up this morning to simular prob... I have a oil fired range in my kitchen. New house- living here 6 month... Have noticed a smell of oil in around the stanley in last few days so contacted the company. THe said it smell like that when it needs to be serviced, nothing to worry about someone will be out after long wknd. Didn't worry, woke up this morning to find oil coming up through the grout in the tiles in the bathroom which is directly behind the range. SO now all my tiles floors everything is going to have to come up...

but refering back to your question about the oil, I spoke to an accessor this morning and he said I should get together all my reciepts for oil we've had delivered because we have noticed we've been flying through oil. SO hopefully this means this will be taken into account...

Akrasia

My brother bought a new house last year and had the same problem with leaking oil.

He contacted the developer and they had to dig up his entire garden and replace all the soil. They also replaced the oil in the tank.

This sounds like a responsible reaction, but their house is semi detached, and the neighbours garden was never touched by the developer even though the oil probably leaked next door as well.