ch pipe leaked under floor. Help please

[Deleted User]

I noticed 3 damp patches on the kitchen ceiling this morning so quickly turned off the water and central heating. Luckily the ch had only been on an hour and it looks as though the damp patches are starting to dry. The lounge is above the kitchen and house is 3 years old. I believe that plastic ch pipes run under the lounge floor. We have moved the furniture and rolled the carpet back and marked the positions of the 3 damp spots

We rang barclays emergency people and they contacted homeserve who had a plumber contact us. At that stage we could no way get any flooring up as the boards are thoroughly nailed and glued down. The plumber will not visit if we cannot get access. We have tried to get a joiner but the one we contacted at 10 am has not rung back as yet (6.30pm)

Please please can someone kindly advise what to do next. Will any plumber do both jobs? ie cut access as well as investigate and repair

It is very frustrating as we feel so let down by the insurance people and it is cold as well as we have no water. We are both retired and it has been such a difficult day, moving everything

Airwolf1

Hmm. I did post, but its disappeared.

Something like this would normally be covered on your house insurance. Ensure you have a trace and access policy. The actual problem itself wouldn't be covered, i.e., repairs to the pipework, but the damage it causes should be.

eco-friendly_2

Will any plumber do both jobs?

Yes! that's what plumbers do when their installing heating, you might req; another tradesman once the leak is repaired, depending on the type of floor.

Take a few photographs before the work starts.

[Deleted User]

thank you both!! At last I feel I am moving forward. We are leasehold and the policy does have trace and access and I have managed to ring the joiner, who actually put the floor down. He is going to ring the plumber who put the ch in and they will liase and probably get the job done tomorrow evening

Barclays emergency cover has been absolutely hopeless. Never again. I will make a list of good local tradesmen and go with them in future. It certainly focuses the mind on having handy access to telephone numbers!!

Ms_Scrooge

Keep dates, notes and photos of everything. Exactly two years ago we had a mains water leak under a concrete/tiled kitchen floor. We had trace and access but were told for three months we didn't and it was our responsibility to get it repaired. Nobody would dig up the floor so we were left in limbo. It is the policyholder's responsibility to minimise damage so we had to have the water turned on for just a short time everyday to fill the tanks. Even now I am trying to get the loss adjusters to tell me how many days have been allowed for redecorating so I can add this to the claim....have been waiting for this info for three months. Feel I will never get it sorted out short of getting our own loss assessor. Can anyone say if this is a good idea or not??
Do hope you get it all sorted out quickly.

[Deleted User]

The joiner is hopefully going to start cutting into the floor this evening. Day 2 today without water and ch and fingers crossed. Photos taken and very very frustrated