Check the Connectors

Here’s a tip for strata owners: Check the connector pipes to your suites, such as under the vanities and the connector to the toilet.

Often the builder doesn’t put in the best quality at the time the development is built. Replacement pipes at best quality offer preventative maintenance, and could cost as little as $5.
Let’s say a pipe breaks in an ensuite bathroom while your tenant is out. This burst can happen due to less-than-best quality connector pipes, even in a high-end luxury suite in a modern concrete high-rise. The entire suite’s hardwood flooring has to be taken out. All the baseboards rapidly absorb the water, puff up and have to be replaced. The water leaches into the drywall, so a skirt of 12″ all around has to be replaced. Then there are the doorframes (which could now warp), not to mention soaked carpets, potentially warping wood furniture, and anything else on the floor open to water damage. Everything must be removed as quickly as possible to avoid further moisture damage, and the suite is unlivable while this restoration takes place.
This is not a hypothetical scenario. It actually happened to one of our clients. We were able to help by finding alternate accommodation for the tenant while the restoration work was going on. It’s interesting to note that when I went to the check on the suite, three insurance companies were involved: the building’s insurance, the owner’s insurance and the tenant’s insurance.