Lawsuit: Lowe's Cabinet Installers Drill Into Water Lines Three Times
Here's an interesting little lawsuit from West Virginia. A customer is suing Lowe's, claiming that installers contracted by the hardware giant drilled into his water lines. Not once. Not twice. Three times.
The now-allegedly-quite-soggy Lowe's customer says he hired the store to design and install kitchen cabinets back in June of 2007. A month later he says a crew contracted by Lowe's installed the cabinets — and drilled into his water line. When they came back to correct their mistakes — he says they did it again. And again.
He claims that the leaks have caused water and mold damage and is seeking compensation. Sounds like a lot of fun.
Clay man sues over cabinet installation [WV Record]
(Photo:slhpatterson)
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"Lawsuit: Lowe's Cabinet Installers Drill Into Water Lines Three Times"
This reminds me of a Dave Attell joke.
Hey, you've got to give credit to Lowe's here. At least they're consistent.
Plans anyone?
Obviously a Clay Man shouldn't be getting wet all the time.
@takes_so_little: "You know how I know I'm not gay? Because one time while I was making a sandwich, a cucumber went up my ass...three times."
This title makes this story sound like a Three Stooges skit.
Impressive! Not shocking though... He has every right to sue the hell outta them
Damn water lines keep moving around. And tell that pink elephant to shut up already.
Okay, now if we can schedule the Lowe's dude and the Verizon dude to do installs at the same time. At least that way the water leak caused by Lowes will put out the fire started started by Verizon.
Oh Meg you passed up the rare opportunity to use the word thrice. Not once, not twice, but thrice... that would have made my day.
I call shenanigans! Running water in a house in West Viriginia? Pfff....
I predict this will be dismissed by the judge as yet another frivilous lawsuit.
This should be a cautionary tale to all you homeowners out there that may be tempted to use Lowe's or Home Depot for installation and services because they have reassuring ads that promise you that the job will be done right , instantly by caring ,experienced ,professionals that happen to look like soap opera stars. The truth is that the work that these guys do is often substandard or worse. I don't have an axe to grind here , but since I do lots of home repair remodel work for myself , I have heard horror stories from friends and neighbors that are just heartbreaking.
And these people charge the fucking earth for some simple jobs that a licensed pro can do for a lot less.In fact , your best bet is to get a licensed contractor (find a good one) and stick with him.Lowe's and HD are really not in the service bueiness - their schtick is to sell DIY products. Installation and service is really just a sideline for them.
you're once, twice, three times the cabinet-installer-fucker-upper...
@Snarkysnake: Ugh, spaces don't go after punctuation, this was difficult to read.
Secondly, even licenses props like to screw up and screw customers. LOTS of horror stories in Phoenix during the big housing boom.
I'm not sure if it's the same anymore, but I worked for Menards about 9 years ago. As I recall, the store itself does not take responsibility for its contractors. I always thought that was a load of crap.
Oh boy do i have stories about Home Depot lawsuits!
I'm not at liberty to spill the beans lets just say YOU SHOULD NOT USE THEM! using either home depot and/or lowes is just like throwing a dart at the yellow pages.
The only thing different is you can sue the crap out of Home Depot and they will have to pay, private contractor? good luck.
suggestion? Buy the stuff from those big box places and find a good contractor through word of mouth or that website [www.angieslist.com]
@Snarkysnake: Thanks for the warning {she says as she researched contractors to install a new sliding-glass door}
If you don't like the way I write... ! ? & Stop. Readin g.
I don't need an english lesson from you , OK ? If you disagree with an idea , yes , fair game. Otherwise , go the hell away.
@Skankingmike:
Wait....
If I have a chance of winning a lawsuit against Home Depot and I will need "good luck" with a private contractor Why would I try to find a good contractor on my own?
"Water lines..."
Wait. West Virginia has running water?!
@Snarkysnake: Although, fair or not, one's ideas are also judged by how one expresses them. Grammar & style included. (shrug)
Ah yes , the wonderfull world of contractors and sub contractors .
And since Lowes and Home Depot are trying to beat competitors prices all the time the amount of money or profit actually going to these contractors is probably minimal . The installers have incentive for speed and quantity and NOT quality .
It's still sloppy work/habits contractor or not . If you're cutting or drilling into a wall it behooves to see what might behind it .
It might even be in Lowes contractor contract the actual installer might have to deal with the customer direct for any changes/alterations to the work/price OR they must be approved by Lowes . But all that is time & hassle to the contractor . It all goes back to the incentive to get it done as soon as possible .
Lowes installed patio french doors for us. It took nearly a year and 3 deliveries & I still didn't have the screen installed (the doors were fine). Finally the local manager came over & found that the contractors were trying to install the screen backwards (they kept blaming the manufacturer for sending the "wrong" screen). 5 minutes later it was all fixed. Must have cost Lowes more than double what we paid them originally.
Isn't West Virginaia the land of "uncle dad"?
At least they only hit the water lines. A plumber accidentally hit the gas line with a blowtorch while doing some work on a house in parent's neighborhood a number of years ago. He lived, but the entire third floor of the house had to be rebuilt after the fire it caused.
@u1itn0w2day: And exactly how would you go about looking behind the wall without cutting or drilling a hole in it?
Seriously though sounds like the water lines did something funky and were not where you would expect them to be. Either that or they were at just the right height so that they lined up with where they wanted to screw the cabinets to the wall
Cost effective contractors at Lowes or Home Depot???
PSHAW!
I had roofers come out and they stated I was looking at roughly 2500$-4000$ depending on shingles and any damage they might have to fix in the roof. (We had been in the house 3 years).
Then I had a roofer come out and give me estimates from both stores... I ran the Home depot guy out the door when he hit 20,000$. Lowes was more reasonable at 15k! What the hell business do these guys get in reality??? There must be a lot of stupid rich people around.
Lowes was talking about ice shields and extra underlayments. Im in freaking Virginia, we dont get canadian winters here. I might see snow once or twice every couple of years. Why do I need all of that crazy crap?
My roof ended up costing 2800$ with 15 year GAF Shingles. The contractor did some extra work for me and I ended up happy.
Good reminder. People might not know this about them.
I need someone to redo my bathroom but I guess I'll just buy the stuff there and hire someone else to install it. I had considered having them do some of the work, but now will avoid.
Here's an analogy that readers of this site should be able to sink their teeth into: paying Home Depot to install your door is like paying Geek Squad to install your motherboard. In a perfect world, we would all be able to perform both tasks for ourselves (while simultaneously changing a diaper, planning an invasion, butchering a hog, et cetera), but if we aren't comfortable with the task, or if we simply prefer to pay someone else to deal with it, we should at least find somebody reputable to do it for us.
It's possible to get fantastic service from a Home Depot installer, just like it's possible to get a Geek Squad tech who knows exactly what they're doing. But it's not terribly *likely*, so take the time to find someone better.
@Aladdyn: I would half blame the contractors because i mean, 3 times! half whoever installed the plumbing. On any water lines I run I put up blocker plates on all the studs they run through, that way if someone does try to run a screw or drill bit through there the steel blocker plates going to take it instead of the water lines.
On the side of how much these contractors make for their work when being contracted through Lowes or depot, I can tell you its a pretty good margin, for the company at least. When Lowes charges 150 bucks for an install, the contracting company charges Lowes 120. The contractor gets business sent his way and makes a decent profit, Lowes makes 30 bucks for sending a fax.
@tptcat: Reminds me of,
There hunter was vexed at no prey. Finally spying a momma bear and her cub, he crowed with satisfaction. While it was a family and in a protected park, the hunter felt above both simple humanity and the law because of his frustration at finding no legal game. So he aimed his rifle at her. Right as he was about to squeeze off his shot, he felt a heavy tap on his shoulder. He looked up, far up, to see a huge, angry, male Grizzly bear.
"I stopped you from doing a VERY bad thing.", said the bear. "Choose: either I maul you to death or have my carnal way with you with full vigor."
The hunter didn't want to die and admitted this, so he was brutally assaulted, brutal even by Grizzly butt-loving standards. The bear left, satisfied and the hunter, ravaged almost beyond life, slowly limped back to his cabin.
While recuperating from anal reconstructive surgery, the hunter decided to kill the bear for revenge. Upon his return, as luck would have it, the Grizzly found him first.
The same tap on his shoulder, a "Tsk, tsk, tsk..." followed by the same two options. "Choose: either I maul you to death or have my carnal way with you with full vigor."
Quivering and nearly breaking into tears, the hunter dropped trou, bent over, and took with fortitude what the randy, 10' beast had to offer. Even by Grizzly standards, his bearhood was unusually impressive and since this time it was personal, Mr Bear exhibited even more gusto than before. He barely survived. After the bear ambled off satisfied, the hunter crawled painfully back to his cabin.
While recuperating from the second operation, even more extensive and expensive (this wasn't a Canadian Grizzly) than the first, the hunter's anger grew even more. This time, he would kill that bear slowly!
Months later, he returned to the park. Once more, the bear was the better hunter. With a horrifying chill, the hunter felt the same tap on his shoulder. With dread, he heard the same "Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
This time, however, as he was thrown 20' feet thru the air, forcibly pinned over a log and his pants shredded to ribbons with a single swipe, before mounting him, the bear grunted matter-of-factly,
"Let's be honest. You're not really here for the hunting, are you?"
@Snarkysnake: I sort of have to agree there. We had Lowes send a contractor to install a new back door for us a while back. In the end he did a pretty good job, but there were a few points that we're sure if we hadn't been standing there he would have screwed us over. At one point he had severely split the trim around the door, and you could tell he was trying to decide whether or not he was going to leave it like that. We didn't let that happen though. Lowes contractors are just like toddlers you have to keep an eye on them or they might start doing something naughty.
@Aladdyn: You can trace them out IF you have a basement or mobile home you can trace from underneath. You can also lift drop ceiling tiles IF you have them. You should also note where the other plumbing is in the house and where the water comes from ie the water heater or water meter.
The thing here is that they were lucky this was water and not electric. There's also some metal stud locators/sensors on the market that may help with copper pipe. The fact they didn't seem to realize they damaged pipes could mean this was plastic or PVC here .
Although I must admit perhaps a few shallow test holes to look through should be drilled that can be spackled and painted easily. If cabinets are going over them you can spackle and prime(don't have to worry about color matching).
The big thing I'd say is to just orient yourself to where all the electric and water is and comes from.
@Aladdyn:
Since you're like actually installing cabinets that will cover the wall, you can cut it to see what's back there, especially once you hit the first water line.
They can cut a small hole in the wall, locate the water line, and then re-attach the drywall to maintain the fire rating. caulk the patch in with a little fire caulk hang the cabinet to hide it, and you're go to go. easier than patching a water line three times, you wave to cut the wall for that as well.
At least they are consistant.