If you live in a Chicago condominium building, you may wonder where all of your association dues go. Sometimes that money is used for upkeep or repairs, which many times need approval by the board. However, one condo resident tells of her persistence and questioning about a proposed job paid off.
Mrs. Bertram was questioning a plumbing estimate for her condo. It would have cost about $5,000 for the work, which would have included tearing up her floors for the job, and another $1,000 to repaint. The money would have come from either a special assessment or the building’s reserve fund.
In the first estimate, plumbers said the broken sewer line, which goes to an outside catch basin, needed to be repaired with a “new clay pipe.” But another company found in the second estimate that the “line has been abandoned.” The second plumber said the pipe is not in use and work is not needed.
“And now actually this really isn’t considered a catch basin now because it doesn’t trap any debris,” Joe Piccioli, of Power Plumbers, said.
Piccioli showed the I-Team the area in question and explained why he believes the first estimate was unnecessary. He said no waste from Bertram’s unit enters that catch basin.
” We went inside to the kitchen sink and we determined the line is tied into the main sewer, not to the sink line sewer. Therefore there is no reason to do any work to it,” Piccioli said.
Chicago, a second opinion is always worth a shot, call Perma-Liner 866-336-2568 or visit our website for more information www.perma-liner.com.
