Question about leak / water damage / home insurance

[billyfsu76]

I live in Altamonte Springs (suburb on the north side of Orlando). I had some sort of pipe burst in my house yesterday (probably after starting the washing machine in the laundry room). Thankfully, someone was home and got the water turned off (noticed it about 20 mins.) after the water started coming out of the wall.

Obviously we need a plumber to find the problem and fix it so that we can have the water turned back on to the house.

I know a guy through work who owns a contracting co. that specializes in catastrophe / disaster type situations to get commercial businesses functioning after fires / flood / wind damage. I called him up and they don't do residential but he put me in contact with a guy who used to work for him. The contractor came out with a remediation guy and they told me I need to get dehumidifiers and other fans in the house relatively soon (within the next few days). The contractor said a majority of the floor and drywall that need to be replaced.

We do not have carpet and the majority of the water went onto tile in the kitchen that flowed to tile in a foyer and below the front door to the porch (cement). I do not think any water went through any walls and we were able to get all of the water up off the floor within 45 mins. Some water did get over to wood floor of a room off the kitchen - about a foot or so from the tile. Also, in one area of tile, the grout was loose and water got underneath that tile and has loosened it.

From anyone's experience, is it warranted to pull up my tile floor and a sizeable chunk of my living room floor to repair the boards that are right by the kitchen? A few planks by the tile where the water got to are warped but the contractor is saying it's not enough to just pull those up and replace the individual pieces.

I have the guy coming out who did my home inspection a few years ago when I bought the house, hoping he can give me an opinion. If he says it needs to be done, does my insurance cover any of this? Any help is appreciated.

 

[Fijimn]

Your homeowner's will cover the resulting damage less your deductible. It will probably not cover the cost repair the pipe. Depending on your policy, but those type of workmanship or material defects are excluded under a regular HOA. However, some of the higher-end insurers will cover it.

I would file a claim and have the adjuster write up his estimate. Then get an estimate from one or two contractors for comparison. If the third-party contractors are substantially higher or they find additional damage, go back to your adjuster with the estimates so he/she can re-examine. Then you can decided based on your deductible what you want to do.

 

[billyfsu76]

Thanks so much for your response. The remediation guy wanted to start ASAP but I said I wasn't sure if the insurance would cover it. He was fairly confident that my policy (with Tower Hill Insurance) would cover it based on some right that homeowner's have to start addressing damage prior to getting an adjuster out, he had some jargon for it but I can't remember exactly the terms. I just don't want to have him start with all his gear and then the insurance deny it and be on the hook for thousands to his company that insurance won't cover.

 

[Fijimn]

My advice: right now, read your policy then call your agent. That's what your agent is for

 

[goldmom]

I'd go along with the fans and dehumidifiers and definitely run you A/C with the doors and windows closed. Water gets behind the drywall and if it stays wet in there you can get mold and mildew. Bleach diluted with water in a spray bottle will kill that, despite what some of these companies tell you.
Replacing portions of the drywall is not a bad idea.

 

[Lemon Thrower]

research the pipe.

in the 80s/90s, they built some homes with plastic piping. the pipe was fine but the glue they used would dissolve over time. they typically put these in lower end housing, but I have seen it in high end houses as well, although less commonly.

there was a class action suit at one point. not sure if you can still collect. it was called polybutylene pipe or something. Hoechst Celanese was one of the companies that made the glue.

 

[TexSkills]

At our old house, we had a pipe bust under our sink and I called our insurance company immediately. The insurance company had a water mitigation company out to my house within an hour and a half. Depending on the company/coverage levels, they should take care of it, minus your deductible.

 

[goldmom]

At our old house, we had a pipe bust under our sink and I called our insurance company immediately. The insurance company had a water mitigation company out to my house within an hour and a half. Depending on the company/coverage levels, they should take care of it, minus your deductible.

After your Mother wrote a check for almost $300 to the plumber since it was on a Saturday...then went and got food from Tijuana Flats for you, me, and my pregnant DIL. (Spoiling my DIL because she was carrying my first grandchild)

Tex had gotten the idea that he could do a repair himself from watching a video on You Tube three times. You can't make this stuff up.

 

[noleville]

I do this for a living, have been for 30 years.

1) Contractors are the worst, they want to tear out and replace, that's how they make money. If the walls are wet just pull the baseboards, bore holes behind them and put air movement in them, within a couple days it'll be dry.
2) If the floors are buckling no amount of drying will save them. Now, if there recent floors and you have some spare boards you can replace just the damaged ones. If not the whole floor should be replaced, that's what homeowners insurance is all about.
3) Tile, unless it's that vinyl type is as hardy as it can get. No you don't have to pull it up, just set a fan on it for a couple days.
3) Let an adjuster look at it for you, NEVER allow a contractor to bring in his own mitigation company, that's never good news.

In this industry it's scam after scam after scam. I just got called out by an insurance company to do a quality check on one of their insured. The adjuster couldn't be out there for a few days and the company this old woman called (actually it was her plumber that brought them in, that's another story altogether) is known for being one of the worst scam companies around. Well I read the report, "pipe break, 6 rooms and a hall flooded. Walls, flooring, cabinets, vanities all need to be replaced". They had 36 fans and 5 XL dehumidifiers in the house. It happened 9-20-15 at 10:30AM. I get dispatched and get into her house unannounced at 1:30PM the same day. The company was there with 3 trucks, I met the old women who looked scared and told me "I didn't think it was a big deal but they said it went every place". The owner of the company wanted to take me outside to talk away from the customer, I declined. He got pissed and waved his contract in my face to which I said, "it's not binding and you know that". I took out my Infrared camera and checked, NO WATER AT ALL!! Where's the water I told him? He ignored me and told his guys to tear up the cabinets. The old women started getting up set so I told him and the guys "I'm not dealing with any of you, I'll let the police decide". He got really pissed and started yelling at the old women. She got up set and sat down. The police were coming but before they did her GIGANTIC grandson came over. Happy ending, this dude trashed these dirtbags equipment as he chucked them in the street. The police came and told them that they weren't going to arrest the grandson and to leave.

This is the point I'm making. It sounds like you have very minimal damage, but if one of those scam companies gets out you can bet they'll tear your house apart, it's what they do..

 

[ericram]

Call your insurance company. They will help you through this. Do it now.

 

[billyfsu76]

Thanks for all the info.

 

[squiffynole]

We had a bad six months with the local office of a national water damage company which trumped up a job, left us to deal with unreliable subcontractors and screwed up the billing.

 

[noleville]

We had a bad six months with the local office of a national water damage company which trumped up a job, left us to deal with unreliable subcontractors and screwed up the billing.

National...was their equipment Green or Yellow??

One thing I will say though. If you do file a claim don't be gentle, get everything you're entitled too because most likely they're going to cancel you. If you have extra wood to fix the damage, great. If you file make them pay for for full replacement, you're entitled to it. The money you save doing just a little can pay off your deductible..

 

[Mugsy101]

Any company, such as servepro have to be watched like a hawk, your agent will probably tell you this. You need to know exactly how many units they bring into your home, and what type they are....ie...2 dehumidifiers and 3 fans.....because they will charge you for 4 and 5.

 

[FishinNole86]

Call up your tower hill. There a good company and handle claims well. They'll get someone out for you to make sure you do not get scammed.

 

[noleville]

Any company, such as servepro have to be watched like a hawk, your agent will probably tell you this. You need to know exactly how many units they bring into your home, and what type they are....ie...2 dehumidifiers and 3 fans.....because they will charge you for 4 and 5.

I owned a ServPro for 7 years, most of them are very good but they do have their rouges. Bottom line, even the best likes to use more equipment than needed, and they always keep the equipment in for 3 days or longer even if it dries in 1.

 

[osceola63]

Just a subtle difference...call your insurance agent not the company.

They will review the deductible and check to see if you have any other claims that in conjunction with this claim could cause a problem with your renewal.

The cost to fix the pipe is considered maintenance and is not covered. Everything else should be covered minus the deductible.

If there is more damage found in the near future that was caused by the leak, the claim can be reopened and paid.

 

[jonagardner]

We had a pipe leak in the slab in 2012...we also have Tower Hill. They sent their own mitigation team to bring in fans etc the next day. They arranged for the demo crew to rip up floors and baseboards. I got to pick new floors, prices, etc and just had to submit expenses. They sent in an examiner/adjuster to measure, verify, and take pics. Once created an estimate of the repairs needed, that's what they paid. I could go over that amount with my replacements, but would have to pay the difference. We went from wood to tile in kitchen and replaced the wood floors in adjoining room. Cost was about $200 over their estimate. So we paid deductible plus $200 for the repair of the plumbing and the new floors and baseboards. Done in about 4 days. Tower Hill was spot on.

 

[bigmamanole]

After your Mother wrote a check for almost $300 to the plumber since it was on a Saturday...then went and got food from Tijuana Flats for you, me, and my pregnant DIL. (Spoiling my DIL because she was carrying my first grandchild)

Tex had gotten the idea that he could do a repair himself from watching a video on You Tube three times. You can't make this stuff up.

Awesome Goldie!