Garment Street Condos | 25 & 6 fl | U/C

[skyrise32]

The email we got claimed that the burst pipe caused an 'unavoidable delay' but this doesn't seem right. If they kept the building at a correct temperature then the pipe would not have failed. Tarion says floods are unavoidable but I think that means natural floods due to rain, etc. It's my thought that it was the end of march, and they didn't expect a cold snap so they didn't have the heat on.

If they are claiming that it's unavoidable does that mean Tarion has already determined that it is, or is that something that can be disputed? It's just so disheartening that this could happen with such highly regarded builders and developers What is a good way to make sure that the building is being properly fixed? It's not the purchaser's cost to fix now but in the future if this causes other issues it will be, so I'm very curious and anxious.

A burst pipe doesn't always mean it was from freezing and I doubt this one was from that. More than likely poor workmanship on soldering pipes, maybe a clamp wasnt tightened or something failed that shouldnt have. Cannot control it a lot of times.
This fix will be paid through insurance claim and should be done properly.

[ac3r]

A burst pipe doesn't always mean it was from freezing and I doubt this one was from that. More than likely poor workmanship on soldering pipes, maybe a clamp wasnt tightened or something failed that shouldnt have. Cannot control it a lot of times.

I'd be feeling a bit anxious if I was a future resident in this building if was indeed a case of poor workmanship. If it was indeed the case, I wouldn't want to wake up one morning to learn another pipe exploded and there was a torrent of water raining down the tower for over a day after I've moved in. That would really suck.

[panamaniac]

I doubt that the workmanship is any worse than that of the other towers going up in town ...

[tomh009]

The frozen water (sometimes called "ice") in the photo gives a good indication to me that the pipes may have frozen. Which indeed does cause burst pipes.

[bravado]

The frozen water (sometimes called "ice") in the photo gives a good indication to me that the pipes may have frozen. Which indeed does cause burst pipes.

Huge if true

[Rainrider22]

The "ice is a result of the cold air outside as the water run out of the building. Water pipes are kept on the interior walls off a building, not exterior. The water takes the path of least resistance once it escapes the pipe. I highly doubt a pipe froze.

[tomh009]

At least in the case of Ophelia, windows and doors had not yet been installed so the interior temperature would have been pretty much the same as the exterior. Don't know how warm the units were at Garment.

In any case, neither one of us has any real info, so I don't expect that we can definitevely conclude what happened.

[ac3r]

The frozen water (sometimes called "ice") in the photo gives a good indication to me that the pipes may have frozen. Which indeed does cause burst pipes.

Lol what? That's not how ice works. It's obvious the pipes failed somewhere in the building and then liquid water was flowing out and simply froze due to the temperatures outside.

[dtkvictim]

The frozen water (sometimes called "ice") in the photo gives a good indication to me that the pipes may have frozen. Which indeed does cause burst pipes.

Lol what? That's not how ice works. It's obvious the pipes failed somewhere in the building and then liquid water was flowing out and simply froze due to the temperatures outside.

I think his point was that the ice indicates temperatures were low enough for pipes freezing to be a possibility. Assuming indoor temperatures were similar to outside.

[skyrise32]

Lol what? That's not how ice works. It's obvious the pipes failed somewhere in the building and then liquid water was flowing out and simply froze due to the temperatures outside.

I think his point was that the ice indicates temperatures were low enough for pipes freezing to be a possibility. Assuming indoor temperatures were similar to outside.

The building is fully enclosed, at this point mechanical systems are functioning heating the building. You cannot do any other finishing in below zero temps such as tape, paint, tile etc.

[Serendipity]

Anyone have any information on the extent of the damage? How many floors were affected?

I'd taken a photo on the 29th which gives some indication.

WOW ! That's much worse than I thought. What floor did it start on? I can't seem to figure it out on this picture.

[ac3r]

I think his point was that the ice indicates temperatures were low enough for pipes freezing to be a possibility. Assuming indoor temperatures were similar to outside.

The building is fully enclosed, at this point mechanical systems are functioning heating the building. You cannot do any other finishing in below zero temps such as tape, paint, tile etc.

Indeed. The pipes inside didn't freeze...one look at this picture shows that and common sense should be enough to tell you that didn't happen lol. I mean, there wouldn't be icicles hanging off the balconies if the water managed to flow out of the building, because they'd only form if there was liquid water flowing.

The entire building is complete - including the insulation and heating systems - sans the typical interior finishing work. Heating is no doubt operational already, because they often run it during finishing construction touches to both test out the systems and keep the workers warm. So there's no way the pipes could have froze inside. There was definitely some sort of catastrophic failure most certainly due to construction problems which resulted in water pouring out of a pipe(s) and then flooding down the various floors and out the windows, where the cold temperatures outside froze it.

I'd taken a photo on the 29th which gives some indication.

WOW ! That's much worse than I thought. What floor did it start on? I can't seem to figure it out on this picture.

It started on the 18th floor.

[Serendipity]

The email we got claimed that the burst pipe caused an 'unavoidable delay' but this doesn't seem right. If they kept the building at a correct temperature then the pipe would not have failed. Tarion says floods are unavoidable but I think that means natural floods due to rain, etc. It's my thought that it was the end of march, and they didn't expect a cold snap so they didn't have the heat on.

If they are claiming that it's unavoidable does that mean Tarion has already determined that it is, or is that something that can be disputed? It's just so disheartening that this could happen with such highly regarded builders and developers What is a good way to make sure that the building is being properly fixed? It's not the purchaser's cost to fix now but in the future if this causes other issues it will be, so I'm very curious and anxious.

I'm wondering the same. I may just ask my lawyer to see what can be done to protect homeowners from further issues, although I doubt there's much that can be done. 

Also, I don't know how it works with Tarion, but wouldn't it be in their best interest to claim this was an 'unavoidable delay' as that means they don't have to pay owners the delayed closing fee of $150/day to a max of $7500? 

I think owners should be compensated somehow. For me, my mortgage rate will expire by the time these units close and of coarse, rates have increased considerably since I booked my rate. Other homeowners may have sold their homes with the intention of moving in in May and may now need to rent.

[Serendipity]

Lol what? That's not how ice works. It's obvious the pipes failed somewhere in the building and then liquid water was flowing out and simply froze due to the temperatures outside.

I think his point was that the ice indicates temperatures were low enough for pipes freezing to be a possibility. Assuming indoor temperatures were similar to outside.

When I did a walk through at the end of Feb, my unit was very warm so it's surprising to me that the pipes would freeze.

[Serendipity]

The building is fully enclosed, at this point mechanical systems are functioning heating the building. You cannot do any other finishing in below zero temps such as tape, paint, tile etc.

Indeed. The pipes inside didn't freeze...one look at this picture shows that and common sense should be enough to tell you that didn't happen lol. I mean, there wouldn't be icicles hanging off the balconies if the water managed to flow out of the building, because they'd only form if there was liquid water flowing.

The entire building is complete - including the insulation and heating systems - sans the typical interior finishing work. Heating is no doubt operational already, because they often run it during finishing construction touches to both test out the systems and keep the workers warm. So there's no way the pipes could have froze inside. There was definitely some sort of catastrophic failure most certainly due to construction problems which resulted in water pouring out of a pipe(s) and then flooding down the various floors and out the windows, where the cold temperatures outside froze it.

WOW ! That's much worse than I thought. What floor did it start on? I can't seem to figure it out on this picture.

It started on the 18th floor.

I agree...I don't think the pipes froze. It was extremely warm when I was there. My unit was completely finished when I was there so I'm sure this will be a very costly fix - flooring, drywall, appliances, etc  .