Oil leak in garden - are we being fleeced?

Smurphette

hi all,

just looking for some opinions. I have a small back garden with an oil tank by the back wall and the boiler in the shed nearby. I found some oil patches on the paving slabs by the shed the other day, I googled "oil leak garden" and found a company with good reviews etc. Called them, they sent someone out to check it. Suddenly it's a major issue where the fix on the boiler is simple but they'll need to do testing and remediation works, digging up, removing soil. Figures of 10, 20, 30k are being bandied about. All covered by house insurance etc but our premium would go sky high and the inconvenience is just a mare.

The dripping seems to be coming from the boiler, but has possibly been going on for some time, and the heavy rain the other day washed it out of the soil that's in the immediate area of the shed.

I'm contacting our own usual plumber (who I'm sorry I didn't contact straight away tbh) for him to come and take a look before we commit to anything with the company. They've been great to deal with but I feel a little bit railroaded to be honest considering the amounts they're throwing out. Other people have told me different approaches they've taken to it.

I'm wondering if anyone could give me their experience/opinions?

Thanks a mil.

R

cruizer101

It can be a major job if there is a significant oil leak, have you any idea how much was spilt.

Probably best to get some testing done and go from there.

Bioremediation is a potential easier solution where instead of digging out all the soil, bacteria is used to basically eat up the leaked oil. I think it is only suitable in certain circumstances though, the below do it.

https://www.spilltech.ie/oil-spills/

JimmyVik

We had an oil leak from a tank. €15k insurance job to fix it. 10 times less than that to get a guy to come out with a digger. Dig it up, replace the tank. Dispose of the old tank and soil. Put new soil into the hole.

But even after that if you went through insurance you might only pay €1000 or so over the next 5 years in extra premiums. After that you can move insurance company and answer no to "Have you had any claims in the last 5 years".

ax530

know someone who spent almost 30k was stress at the time around would insurance actually cover it, think issue was the leak close to house wall and foundations so the 'clean and replace' more than just the garden.

If it is a case you may want to sell house again it should be dealt with correctly

Tom44

Those figures are actually on the lower end of the scale of oil leak's that I know about. ( By multiples )

Imperative that you let your insurance company know firstly before any work is started, they would have their preferred contractor.

shane b

Went through this process in the last few months. Oil was leaking at 2 places - at the tank in the garden and and at another spot along the pavement before the boiler. We rang our house Insurer and they sent a contractor to the house. They took soil samples, sent us a report detailing the contamination area, remediation works and a cost. Oil was not detected in the house or near the foundations.

Quoted costs were 22K and remediation works included;

Digging out and removing about 20 tonne of contaminated soil in the garden, Replacing with new soil and reseed.

Dig up concrete path along the side of the house, remove 10 ton of contaminated soil under path, new filling and lay new concrete path.

New boiler required for the house and new bunded oil tank for the garden.

Our house insurance went up by about 150 euro and we lost the no claims bonus attached so all in all cant complain.

FYI. Enva were the only company i could find that dispose of contaminated soil. Soil must be transported to Shannon, Dublin or Portloaise and Enva charged 120 - 130 euro a tonne for disposal. That doesn't include transport costs.

Curious_Case

How bad is it really?

Are trees, shrubs & flowers dying?

Are birds falling, dead, out of the trees?

The contamination has already happened, I would suggest responsible monitoring of the situation.

Esel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118473323#Comment_118473323

Are you an expert in this subject to offer this suggestion?

Curious_Case

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118476190#Comment_118476190

I'm not even remotely familiar with the processes involved in the dispersal of contaminants.

I'm conscious though of how all eventualities seem only to be navigable via the transfer of large amounts of money.

Gusser09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058227312/oil-leak-in-garden-are-we-being-fleeced

You really need to know how much was spilled. If it was a drip i wouldnt be overly concerned. Was it leaking when the heating was running or leaking all the time?Get your plumber out to have a look. Calculate how much you have filled your tank up with over the last few years and go from there. Its only expensive if you know for sure you are getting ripped off.

enricoh

A mate of mines tank split and leaked into his n the neighbours garden. The neighbours house had to be jacked up n subfloor removed, paths n garden out for both. Think it was 250k all told. Just a big milk the insurance job according to my mate.

MuttonDagger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118489421#Comment_118489421

Happened to someone I know too.

The <MOD SNIP> were steeling the kero and took their fill and left the rest to run off (hundreds of liters).

The stench of kero come up through the floor and they had to move out while the floor was removed and the soil under the house removed.