Q: If a contractor takes a job, and realizing its too big for for one man to accomplish safely after work has started.
This is my first excavation job. Sewer line in alley was originally located 6' deep, ended up being damaged all the way to city tap which is 13' deep. After replacing the damaged pipe, encasing in concrete, backfilling, replaced roadbase, and asphault. A week later the utility company ran a camera and said I have to dig it back up because it's slightly offset, It's been working fine for a few weeks now. I don't have the man power, money, to re excavate safely. Am I just screwed or do I have any options?
A: Your best option is to subcontract the work out to another excavator with more manpower
A: A Colorado attorney could advise best, as you have state-specific construction and engineering codes in a project like this, but you posted two weeks ago. One option is for the job to be examined by someone with legal and technical experience with such project to explore options, determine the most cost-effective fix, whether it's re-excavating, challenging the utility company's position, exploring an engineering solution to the offset if it is not too severe, and other possibilities. Challenging the claim of unacceptable offset could be costly - depending on Colorado codes, it's possible that could involve the need for a P.E. civil engineer - that's something you'd need to research. You have to do some research here and plan this carefully - an ill-conceived and poorly prosecuted lawsuit could exceed the costs of such a project. Good luck
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