Residents displaced by apartment re-piping

CANTON, Ga.,None — Erin Buglione could not believe how her unit in the Lancaster Ridge apartments in Canton was turned into a construction zone on Monday morning.

"This is what it feels like to be a tornado victim," Buglione said. "The dust from the exposed dry wall, today, it was like a tornado hit this place. I couldn't breathe. There was dust everywhere."

Buglione received a notice from apartment management that crews would be doing some re-plumbing work, so she and her roommate took items out of their bathrooms, the master closet and emptied the cabinet underneath the kitchen sink in preparation.

Construction crews covered her furniture in tarp and holes were punched all over the walls and ceiling.

"I mean, it could be chemicals, pipes, bugs, insulation, everything," Buglione said. "There's strangers in and out of my house, people walking everywhere. There's drills, there's saws and this is completely out of my control."

"We're actually going to move. We can't take it. The whole time we've been here, it's been nothing but construction," another tenant told Channel 2's Eric Philips.

The 11-month tenant told Philips that the project is the last straw following an electrical problem and a flood.

"It's been like one gigantic move this whole time," the tenant said.

Apartment management sent Philips a statement about the re-plumbing project.

"The polybutylene pipes in Lancaster Ridge apartments were recalled by the manufacturer before new ownership and management took over the building. Management made the decision to undertake the replacement of the damaged pipes. Lancaster Ridge is deeply sorry if this causes residents any inconvenience," the statement said.

"It I'm going to use (the apartment) half the time and with all these inconveniences, I'm not going to pay full price," Buglione said.

Apartment management told residents they could go to the leasing office to use the restroom if need be while the work is taking place. They also said there would be snacks available for residents there.

Some tenants said that is little consolation for the major inconvenience.

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WSBTV