Bath water came through the ceiling! Yikes!

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BeeCee

Mon, 04/09/2007 - 10:43pm

Bath water came through the ceiling! Yikes!

Yes, even those of us who work at BeJane.com have house problems too! So my son is taking a shower and I'm upstairs getting things ready for the next morning. I come downstairs to grab a book to read and low and behold, there is water all over my counter - AND IT'S COMING OUT OF MY LIGHT! Ok, this is NOT good!

Quick online search for 'water damage in walls' and I'm fortunate enough to find a local water damage restoration company that can make it out in a few hours. I'm thinking that I can probably fix this, but am not sure how that will affect my insurance coverage since it is in-wall plumbing, so decide this one is best left to the certified contractors. And good thing I did! When they came out they started probing the ceiling with a water detector and noticed some other water damage in my kitchen, but this was under my pantry and appears to be coming out of the slab. Definately NOT GOOD!

Not sure how many of you have ever had to deal with major damage issues such as this, but apparently you're supposed to know what to do and in what order - um, no. I guess there's 1. a water damage restoration company, 2. a water leakage detection company, 3. a plumbing company and 4. a finish/repair company or set of contractors that will all need to come out to take a piece of your paycheck. Tonight alone, I've already gone way past my deductible with a LOT more to go! I'll keep you updated as this progresses, perhaps it will give you all some insight as to what to do (and possibly not do) if you ever run into this situation yourself. Wish me luck and check back to see how it goes.

Water came through the ceiling and into the kitchen

Here's what's left of my ceiling

And the suspect - the bathtub drain - think the plastic may have just busted, waiting for an 'expert' opinion however...

And the blower and dehumidifier that need to run 24/7, they're a bit intrusive ya think?!

And the little surprise 2nd leak, will the fun ever end?

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Insurance Claims Adjuster - How well do you know YOUR policy?

BeeCee writes:

Tue, 04/10/2007 - 4:38pm

Did you know that plumbing fixtures and pipes are not covered through most insurance policies? So if a pipe ruptures, the pipe repair itself is not covered, only the resulting damage. Interesting, huh?

On another note, we found out what the second leak under my pantry was, my hot water heater in the garage (on the other side of the wall) had rusted through the bottom and was slowly leaking. Did you know that your water heater lasts on average only 10 years? If yours is approaching it's 10th birthday, you should probably get it inspected to be sure you don't have a leak. That's a much better investment of money than to have to not only buy a new unit, but replace all of the surrounding walls as well.

My insurance adjuster is in his car right now punching the numbers into his computer and I'm awaiting the results. From this point, it sounds like they'll give me a check (minus my deductible) and then I'm responsible for hiring a plumber and getting the drywall fixed and repainting. I guess based on what the insurance comes back with will dictate how much I do vs. how much I hire out. I am very bummed but I am glad that the one leak is the water heater which is accessible rather than a slab leak. Thank goodness for small miracles!

More to come.

A check, a hand shake and a good bye - then the 'fun' begins!

BeeCee writes:

Mon, 04/16/2007 - 3:57pm

So after crunching numbers in his car, my insurance adjuster came back in, handed me a check (of course far less than it will actually cost to make the repairs), then told me I'm on my own basically. I never knew how insurance claims worked, but now I am schooled in Insurance 101. Basically, they determine what your local contractors may charge for the estimated repairs and then half it (at least that what it seemed like) and cut a check. He said if I had any questions, I could call him. All I have are questions. How did they decide that this was the appropriate amount of work? Where on Earth can I find contractors that will only charge this amount of money for the work required to put my house back into working order?!

Well, it looks as though the internal plumbing will need to be fixed by a certified plumber (to hopefully insure it WON’T leak again) and then I’ll get busy fixing the rest. This will be an interesting time to figure out how to sister some drywall together above a cabinet already attached to a wall for an invisible seam, hmmmm….

Yipes!

Handymom writes:

Mon, 04/16/2007 - 10:57pm

After a flood in my house I had a guy come over and he put some gizmo next to the wall and told me I had moisture and they'd need to hook up the blowers and dehumidifiers for several days. I asked how much it would cost and he kind of waffled for a while. Then I asked for a written estimate and he said, "Oh we never give written estimates cause people just give them to the insurance company, collect the money and don't even hire us." It was at that point I asked him to leave. NEVER HIRE A CONTRACTOR WHO REFUSES TO GIVE YOU A WRITTEN ESTIMATE. That's against the law in some states. By the way, turns out I had no moisture in the walls after all. Hmmm, go figure.