Plumbing Stolen during renovation!!!

It seems pretty organized. These guys definitely came in with a crew. In and out fast. Left tools. Only took copper and brass. (me and @StuyHeights may have been hit by the same people). Scrap copper will get you $3.50 a pound. I’m going to estimate generously and say they got $200-300 worth of metal, bypassed a couple grand worth of tools and cost me a ton. No word from my insurance company yet. Either way, what are you going to do? I still have two working legs and arms and my family is ok. Bruised no doubt, but we live to fight another day.

lilshalimar

in Brownstoner Renovation 10 years and 9 months ago

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lilshalimar | 10 years and 9 months ago

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I’m renovating a place in Stuyvesant Heights and someone broke in and stole all of the copper pipe out of the place. They even took my new water main (i just replaced the old lead one!) and water meter. I showed up to a basement with a foot of water in it. Fortunately there was a drain that kept it from getting any higher! We’d damn near gutted the place but were going to use all the existing plumbing. WHAT A DRAG!!!! Be careful, as apparently this is happening a lot these days. I don’t know whether my insurance will cover this as I didn’t tell them I was renovating. Anybody have any experience with this?

Guest User | 10 years and 9 months ago

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Big drag, indeed. So sorry. Presumably, you called the police (if not, you should). I live within the 79th precinct and am on my block assoc board and we got an email from the precinct’s community affairs officer asking us if we had abandoned buildings on our block because of the increase in break-ins and thefts. We did have a building on our block that got robbed twice — of it’s appliances. The second time the thieves were stealing the appliances that had replaced their first “effort,” they were caught by a neighbor. Anyway, yes, this is happening a lot. You might consider installing a basic alarm system and/or video; leaving lights on or some such measure. You could also call the precinct and see if they have any recommendations. You should also tell your neighbors to keep a look out. I also understand that you may need special “renovation” insurance so check with your carrier.

Rick | 10 years and 9 months ago

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Happens all the time. Do what ever you can to protect your building and its contents. Many years ago I was working with a contractor and we lost tools and materials. Very expensive to replace but we did. In addition we rented a nasty guard dog and left him in the building. The dog did his job well when the next break in happened a couple weeks later. We came in that day to find a sick dog, blood all over a window and a chunk of someones hand on the fire escape.

stuyheights | 10 years and 9 months ago

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They did the exact same thing to my house. Ripped the water main off, stole pipes, and caused a HUGE mess. I also live in Stuy heights, and this happened about a month ago. You MUST go crazy securing the house every night. Leave them no way in the world to get in.

catboot | 10 years and 9 months ago

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The 81st Precinct has asked our block association (and presumably all block association) to let them know of any vacant/under renovation houses in the area because of this type of theft. They said they send extra patrols to keep an eye on the places. If that’s actually happening, I have no idea, but might be a good idea to let your local precinct know you’re working on the house.

transworld | 10 years and 9 months ago

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Check out “Simplisafe” It’s an alarm system sending you text message and email when someone enter the place, also linked to a central calling the police. Why this system? Because it uses the cell phone network, so you dont need a phone line. On construction site, it is very convenient, because it can also function 48 hours without power. No cable, everything is linked by radio. Subscription starts at $15 a month, and hardware is $225 and up.

resident2 | 10 years and 9 months ago

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This kind of break in has always happened unfortunately. Desperate people do desperate things! One of my buildings in the mid 1980’s was a victim of this; it was vacant for a sale. The house sitter went to church on Sunday morning, came “home” on Monday morning to find the place completely stripped of all the copper, brass etc. Floors ripped up, walls broken open, a complete mess. They did leave the water main and actually turned it off! So I did not have as much water damage as I could have had. As it was an investment property the insurance policy had no burglary insurance component, so they claimed that they could not payout for all the plumbing because it had been burgled (taken away)! The vandalism only covered the walls and floors etc. Eventually they paid out about 25% of the total loss. Luckily my buyer was willing to close on it with a deduction of course. The Police just give lip-service as always, this is nothing new. Take a report to justify their job and budget from the tax payers. As for having Guard Dogs, back in the day that was a common scenario, but between liability for what the dogs do to intruders and animal cruelty people, that seems to have not been a practice in many years. The best security is to be good to the neighbors, make sure that they have your phone numbers and keep there property secure and clean while you are working and making a mess on the block! And of course securing yours as best you can vigilantly. The bottom line with the insurance; is it really does all depend on your policy and the semantics of how the loss is presented with the adjuster. Always get a second opinion adjuster.

BobMarvin | 10 years and 9 months ago

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I hope the dog recovered.

no-permits | 10 years and 9 months ago

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resident2 is on point as usual. also, to all you need homeowners out there. never let anyone work for you who comes in off the street. don’t let anyone inside period who you do not know. these guys all have a hustle they are looking to pull on you.

no-permits | 10 years and 9 months ago

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what is this about being tagged “baltimore style”?? that’s old school “brooklyn style”. it’s not a new thing here.

heightsres | 10 years and 9 months ago

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This happened to us two nights ago. Doing a gut reno on a townhouse in north Crown Heights off of Franklin, and some people broke in, stole a bunch of the contractors tools, and took every square inch of pipe they could get their hands on. Took the water meter, chopped off the water main to the wall. Six inches of water ruined our basement and did damage to the neighbors on both sides. Really sad. And what’s the point? All this effort for copper. Do they really get that much money for it? And all the damage they do. Anyway, seems like there’s a spate of these happening. We’re now getting ready to file a claim with the insurance company. Any advice from people on how to fill that out? Links?

stuyheights | 10 years and 9 months ago

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It is a shame and I wondered the same thing. They walked by all kinds of tools to get a water main? Makes no sense but then again, these people are most likely on some sort of drugs. As far as the insurance, you would be in need of a builders risk policy. If you have that, you shouldn’t have any problems.