Did my concrete contractor mess up my plumbing?

[cldir]

I am having a bathroom addition added to my house (pier and beam addition added to a 75 year old pier and beam house). The framing for the addition foundation and the rough plumbing for the sink, shower, and toilet drains were completed last week and then the foundation wall poured. When the concrete for the wall was poured, they actually covered up some of the rough plumbing with the concrete, and it is now partially encased, including at least one joint. Is this a problem? Could it affect the grade of the drain lines? What if there is a leak in the joint that is now encased? I thought one of the big advantages to a pier and beam was that everything was accessible - but it isn't anymore!

 

[colinnwn]

I don't know what code is on this, but it was definitely a sloppy concrete job. And you are right that an advantage to pier and beam is easy access to the mechanicals. The only way to make it easier is a full basement.

If the plumbing was properly joined and graded on the ground before the concrete was dumped on it, there is almost no chance of a leak occurring or the grading getting messed up in your lifetime. The only minor problem is pier and beam houses do move around and now there is less flex in the plumbing since it has all the weight and stiffness of the concrete on it.

But if you ever want to make further additions or changes to the plumbing, or the plumbing was done poorly and not graded, fixing it will be much harder in a crawlspace with all that concrete on top of it.

Personally if your building inspector is fine with it, I'd probably leave it alone, but call the concrete contractor and ask him why they did that, along with not using him in the future.

 

[havasu]

It looks to me that the concrete guys over poured the mud, and needed to quickly remove it. Ask some honest questions, and demand an honest answer.

 

[Chris]

I would ask them to clean up there mess. As a contractor myself that is not an unreasonable request.

 

[user 7082]

I agree with Chris and havasu. Ask honest questions, expect honest answers, and ask them to clean it up. Fair.

 

[cldir]

Thanks to all for the responses! I spoke to my contractor this morning as a result of your input and the mess was cleaned up this afternoon. Thanks again.

 

[phishfood]

Thanks for posting the resolution. So often, someone comes here, asks a question, we answer, then never hear anything more.