DOB Inspection, Violation, Repeat Visits

Hi there! Reaching out about a strange situation. Last October a Department of Buildings inspector showed up at our door with an annoymous complaint about illegal plumbing in our basement. He looked in the basement and said some pipes were not to code. We paid a plumber $3500, went to court, and paid a $1000 fine. Then a different DOB inspector came back to approve the work and found other issues with other pipes. We had to pay the plumber another $3200, and are now waiting for another inspection. We are very worried that they will find a different problem and this cycle will continue. Our plumber says none of the problems are actually dangerous, they’re just codes that the DOB can enforce if they happen to see inside your home.

One other thing- I found a scheduled inspection for April 10 on the DOB website, but it was “cancelled.” Our plumber says the DOB cancelled it, but I don’t understand why they would cancel an inspection that they set up. So now I think our plumber may be dishonest (he told us they would come re-inspect within a week or two at most; it has now been over 3 weeks). The whole thing is very frustrating. Any advice is much appreciated!

Guest User | 8 years ago

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Guest User | 8 years ago

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Whatever’s happening with your plumber, you need better representation for the violations. Call Tim Mitchell, 212-566-7081, at [Cohen Hochman & Allen](www.violationlawyers.com)

Guest User | 8 years ago

string(1) "3"
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Whatever’s happening with your plumber, you need better representation for the violations. Call Tim Mitchell, 212-566-7081, at [Cohen Hochman & Allen](www.violationlawyers.com)

Master Plvmber | 8 years ago

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Wait. What?
You went to court because “some pipes were not to code”?
That doesn’t happen. More likely, you used an unlicensed “plumber” who didn’t file anything and then he had to pay a licensed plumber $3,000 per occurrence to pull permits or otherwise legalize the work.

tyjvpwzvhdtcw | 8 years ago

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Have you worked with this plumber before, Megan? It is absolutely worth getting a second opinion at this point. If a second inspection found other problems after your plumber’s first job, he either isn’t very good/ thorough or he set up future work from you. In either case, it’s costing you extra money!

CarmenR | 8 years ago

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You need a new plumber.