ᐅ Warranty on Plumbing: 5 Years or 2 Years for Self-Contracting?

Dear forum members,

Brief question: In the case of a house connection as part of a new build, with the sanitary installation done by the owner, is the warranty 2 years or 5 years?
In this specific case, the pipe section where the valve for the house connection is located has cracked (behind the water meter, so on the property side, not the water utility).

Long version:

Last year, during the meter reading, we noticed that there was water standing in the pit. The water utility staff said this was normal after heavy rain (which we had last year) and it wouldn’t harm the installation, but it would be better to pump it out before the next reading.

Now, with the hot days and little rain, we thought we’d pump it out. The neighbor had already been pumping for several hours yesterday and today discovered the pit was full again. So we pumped it out once more, and as the water level got just above the installation, we noticed there was a current, coming from my piping. We pumped further and first turned off the valve in front of the meter. When the water level dropped slightly below the installation, we opened the valve slightly again. That’s when a jet of water shot out from the pipe section where the valve behind the meter is attached. On closer inspection, you could see a fine crack running through the entire threaded coupling.

Now the question is whether this would still be covered under warranty?

It does not matter how you commissioned the contractor. What counts is whether the installation is considered "permanently attached to the building." In this case, the warranty period is 5 years.

I just found out from the plumber and the water utility that the water utility is also responsible up to the first valve after the meter. Lucky break.

You can still help me if you have experience with this. How do you handle excess consumption? Do you base it on the difference compared to previous years’ consumption, or on an average consumption? The meter shows 235 m³ (8,298 cubic feet) after just under a year. Last year we had 112 m³ (3,956 cubic feet).
I would say that excess consumption due to the faulty valve definitely plays a role.

Tolentino schrieb:

Is this based on the difference compared to previous years’ consumption or an average usage? The meter shows 235 m³ (8,295 cubic feet) after just under a year. Last year we had 112 m³ (3,956 cubic feet).

Comparing the difference to previous years’ consumption is a very good estimate—as long as there haven’t been major changes in household composition.
The scale is not surprising; it’s roughly equivalent to the amount of beer in a typical Kölsch glass per minute. A barely audible running toilet flush actually uses more.