You'd think they'd respond faster (renter's stuff)

[joannqn]

Last Sunday, I entered a maintenance ticket in the leasing agent's web-based system. It's what we were told to use for reporting issues. Today, we still haven't heard from them...not even an acknowledgment that it was received, and I checked to make sure it was there.

 

The problem:

 

Where the kitchen's wood laminate meets the living room's carpeting, the carpeting is wet. We haven't spilled anything; the moisture is coming from under the wood laminate in the kitchen. It's only a small area but it stays wet/gets wetter after every time we sop it up. We think the dishwasher or a pipe is leaking under the floor, and it is spreading under the floor until it gets to a place where it can seep up to the surface.

 

Now I know this sounds weird. Why wouldn't we notice the dishwasher leaking? Because when they laid down the laminate, they did not extend it under the dishwasher; the dishwasher sits on the sub-floor. If it leaked, it wouldn't run out onto the floor where we would see the puddle. Instead, the water would go under the laminate. The carpet 10 feet away is the closest spot where it would seep up to the surface.

 

And they haven't bothered to respond. I believe the law requires them to respond within 10 days but I would have thought they'd give this a little more priority because of the damage it can do to the house, especially since the house already has mold issues from the sweating windows, especially in the master bedroom and kitchen.

[narrow4life]

sad, huh!

 

and they'll probably have a lot of money in damages because of all the time delay and then try to blame you for that.

[tammyw]

Eeks, I'd be worried about the mold for your family, plus the possible damage to your stuff if it starts leaching towards your furniture.

[Carrie12345]

Pfft! I've been in complexes where they blew off treating for termites, mold, and raw sewage. My sister-in-law had mold, rotting walls, a broken balcony rail, and ants crawling out of her shower tiles. My sister had a leak from the upstairs apartment that grew mold in her bedroom. None of these things were ever treated as "urgent" by MegaLandlords. :glare:

[secular_mom]

I would call to varify that I had submitted the request correctly, and tell them what the request is so that it is brought to their attention. Sometimes websites have glitches so those types of reports aren't received on the other end.

[RoughCollie]

I'd call them directly and tell them to hop right on it.

 

That happened to us once. We put in a new laminate kitchen floor. Three months later, there were 5 hidden leaks (not the dishwasher -- it was from the plumbing located in the walls). The water leaked under the new flooring. The kids discovered it when they walked on the kitchen floor and it sounded like bubbles were under it. We had to rip out the entire kitchen, including all cabinetry, the ceiling, and two walls, and we had to replace the new floating laminate flooring in the adjacent rooms, too.

 

When it rains, it pours.

Edited February 18, 2011 by RoughCollie

[momofkhm]

Now I know this sounds weird. Why wouldn't we notice the dishwasher leaking? Because when they laid down the laminate, they did not extend it under the dishwasher; the dishwasher sits on the sub-floor. If it leaked, it wouldn't run out onto the floor where we would see the puddle. Instead, the water would go under the laminate. The carpet 10 feet away is the closest spot where it would seep up to the surface.

 

This doesn't sound weird to me at all. We had the exact same problem a couple years ago. The tube to take water out of the dishwasher came out and water was pouring out when we washed dishes. Once we found it, we called to get it fixed.

 

What you can expect if you are correct about it being a water issue:

(1) they will take up any laminate and carpet and anything else that is wet. They'll place fans and dehumidifiers in your home until all the subfloor is dry. This will take days. The noise will drive you nuts and you will have a near constant headache.

(2) then they will repair what they tore out.

(3) But they won't be able to match the laminate already on the floor. So they will have to order new and tear out ALL the laminate. and therefore take out all your appliances to put laminate under them. This repair will take days. The washer and dryer will reside in the garage, unusable. You will be forced to take your mountains of laundry over to a friend's house and spend 3-4 hours at her house. And the downstairs toilet will be out on the lawn.

(4) They will finish this repair in time to go out of town. You'll come home from visiting your parents to find the floor just inside the door both very cold and making squishy noises. You'll call the company who will come out and find that the toilet was broken upon re-hook-up.

(5) repeat #1 and 2 and 3 except obviously they can order more laminate.

All told, this repair project took about 10 weeks.

 

It was not fun. At. All.

 

I so hope you don't have to go through all that! But do be prepared for the noise of the fans and dehumidifiers.

[joannqn]

I sent them an email asking them if they received the maintenance ticket and letting them know that the carpeting has been wet in that spot for 5 days now.

[Big Buckin' Longhorn]

I sent them an email asking them if they received the maintenance ticket and letting them know that the carpeting has been wet in that spot for 5 days now.

 

Did you try calling them to verify they got the original maintenance ticket? It seems a phone call could clear all of this up.