How a $300 plumbing problem morphed into a $50K flooding bill for this Scarborough homeowner

Linda Mangalathu's problems began with an contented galore homeowners successful Toronto are acquainted with: a insignificant basement flood.

Now, a small much than 3 weeks later, she's had to determination retired of her Scarborough house, her beforehand gait is simply a operation zone, and neither her contractor nor the metropolis person yet discovered the root of the h2o that's leaking into her home. 

Adding to her problems: the metropolis connected Wednesday deemed the operation of the location unsafe, acknowledgment to each the excavation successful the beforehand yard.

Her measure truthful acold stands astatine $30,000 and could ascent past $50,000, she's been told by her contractor — not including immoderate further costs to repair the house's structure.

"Financially, emotionally, I'm stressed," says Mangalathu, who's lived successful the Morningside-Highway 401 country location for 26 years. "I'm not capable to sleep; it's heartbreaking."

Mangalathu's problems began connected April 29, erstwhile her lad Shane noticed h2o coming up done the ablution drain.

That inconvenience led to a $300 sojourn from a plumber — a sojourn that she assumed would extremity the problem.

It was conscionable the beginning. 

The plumber told her the home's sewer lines were blocked determination betwixt the location and the street, and that a contractor with expertise successful uncovering buried pipes would person to beryllium brought successful to excavation into her driveway. That, she was told, would beryllium different $3,900.

In the meantime, h2o besides began appearing successful her basement done a level drain successful the furnace room. 

By May 1, the full basement was knee-deep successful water, immoderate of which was coming successful done the foundation, the plumbing contractor told her later, and she was forced to determination with her hubby and 2 children, Shalia, 25, and Shane, 23, to her brother's location successful Pickering.

The contractor past brought successful pumps to drain the basement and support it comparatively dry. 

Also connected May 1, the contractor dug done her beforehand gait down to the tempest and sewer pipes, and determined that they had collapsed nether the value of bedewed ungraded — a occupation helium couldn't fix.

Mangalathu tried much than a twelve plumbing contractors, nary of whom felt assured that they could tackle a occupation of that magnitude, she says. They recommended a dense instrumentality operator be brought successful to excavate the full beforehand gait and regenerate the breached pipes, she says, adjacent though nary 1 knew for sure whether that was the root of the flooding.

That's erstwhile Mangalathu contacted excavator Benjamin Sarault of Henry's Bobcat Service. By then, she knew the scope of her occupation was going to outgo much wealth than she had saved.

"I don't cognize however overmuch successful indebtedness I volition be," Mangalathu said.

Sarault, who has been connected the occupation for astir 2 weeks, says he's established that the home's weeping tile strategy — a perforated tube that circles a location to cod immoderate underground water — is intact and delivering immoderate h2o it catches into the tempest pipe, arsenic it should. 

But that damaged tempest tube could beryllium spilling the h2o close backmost into the ungraded astir the house, helium says. From there, the h2o could beryllium making its mode backmost done the instauration into the basement — but helium acknowledges that's conscionable a guess.

Sarault has present created a two-and-a-half-metre deep pit successful Mangalathu's beforehand yard to uncover the breached pipes.

But helium said successful an interrogation Tuesday he can't hole the damaged conception until the metropolis shows up to hole its end, wherever the tempest tube connects to the metropolis sewer system.

City unit told CBC Toronto successful an email Thursday they are investigating the situation, and are present on-site moving to repair the metropolis sewer pipe.

So far, the city's email says, their crews person determined the leak is not coming from the city's h2o proviso tube to the house.

Structural damage 

But connected Wednesday, a metropolis inspector examining the excavation delivered much atrocious quality to Mangalathu. He told her all the operation enactment has damaged her house's foundation. The inspector gave her written announcement that she had to prosecute an technologist and contiguous a study connected the harm to the metropolis wrong 24 hours, an bid that's added much accent to Mangalathu's situation, she says.

"Where would I find an engineer?" she said. "What volition that cost?"

So far, she says, she's racked up $30,000 worthy of bills. That volition spell up, she knows, arsenic the last repairs to the pipes — and now, possibly,  the house's structure — are done and her home's beforehand gait is repaired.

Sarault estimated she'll beryllium facing a measure for $50,000 by the clip each is said and done, not including immoderate enactment ordered by the structural engineer.

As of Thursday morning, she was canvassing her contractors looking for an engineer, without success. 

Closer to $70,000, homeowner predicts

Mangalathu herself pegs the fig person to $70,000, only astir $15,000 of which volition beryllium covered by her security company, she says.

She says she'll besides person to compensate her neighbours, who've seen their beforehand yards covered with piles of asphalt, world and pumping equipment.

Dilvir Kalsi, who's lived adjacent doorway to Mangalathu for a decade, says she feels for her.

"There's truthful overmuch sympathy successful our hearts for our neighbours," she says. "We consciousness truthful bad."

As for the root of the water, metropolis unit accidental they're investigating but determination are nary hidden underground streams successful the area.

'Abandoned and desperate'

Mangalathu has contacted Mayor Olivia Chow's office. A unit idiosyncratic replied telling her the occupation is being investigated by Toronto Water.

"We consciousness abandoned and desperate," Mangalathu told CBC Toronto. So desperate, she said earlier this week, she's considering moving — if she tin find a buyer.

"Maybe idiosyncratic other volition beryllium capable to hole it," she says. "Come bargain my house."

Daughter Shalia, an simple schoolhouse teacher,  says she too has been feeling the strain.

"Home is expected to beryllium your harmless space," she said. "That's been taken away. So wherever bash I look to consciousness safe?"