House leak - dryer rental?

Newbie2saving

Hi all,

I have had a leak at my home, it was a substantial one from under the bath and downstairs was about 2" deep in water. Now the insurance company said it would be months before they could get their contractors in to price the work up so I got a few quotes from people. Now one of the things I need to do is get some dryers in (or do I - the leak happened a couple of months ago). Has anyone done this independantly or should I use the contractors to price for it? I just feel they will go the exact same place (like a tool rental company) and then add their price onto it.

Any tips or thoughts for me?

TIA.

Tucker

I would use a de-humidifier, to take excess moisture out of the atmosphere.

I would have thought hiring one would be part of your claim, but I'd ask them.

Have you measured the humidity to see if it's still high?

withabix

Newbie2saving wrote: »

Now the insurance company said it would be months before they could get their contractors in to price the work up

Any tips or thoughts for me?

TIA.

Yes, name and shame the insurance company, so that we can make sure we don't use them. That is outrageous!!!

Tell them you are escalating this to the Insurance Ombudsman that they need to put a rocket up their backsides!!!

Newbie2saving

Tucker wrote: »

I would use a de-humidifier, to take excess moisture out of the atmosphere.

I would have thought hiring one would be part of your claim, but I'd ask them.

Have you measured the humidity to see if it's still high?

Thanks for the response.

No I haven't measured the humidity, makes sense, thanks for mentioning it. I don't know what it should be, but would imagine the rental company would be able to tell me.

It is part of the claim, but originally the insurance company were to send their people in, 2mths later I am still waiting!!! I asked the loss adjuster if I could get the contractors to do this element of the work and they said yes I just need quotes, but now I'm thinking maybe I should just get HSS or the likes to give me a quote and do it myself.

ihateflying

Dehumidifier definately. I bought a second hand one off EBAY £15 and put it it my damp cellar. It's now the warmest driest room in the house and the musty smell has gone.

muckybutt

Had a few leaks to fix in my line of work, id recommend one / two of these http://www.hss.com/g/56742/Warm-Air-Dryer-Dehumidifier.html depending upon how large the affected area is, and one / two of these http://www.hss.com/g/58382/Carpet-Turbo-Dryer.html good for drying out concrete floors and voids under floorboards.
Send the bill to the insurers along with the cost of electricity for using them.
I wouldnt bother with a small dehumidifier, with a large leak you will need a commercial / industrial version.

Newbie2saving

withabix wrote: »

Yes, name and shame the insurance company, so that we can make sure we don't use them. That is outrageous!!!

Tell them you are escalating this to the Insurance Ombudsman that they need to put a rocket up their backsides!!!

Maybe I worded my initial paragraph incorrectly. When I said "now", I meant at the time, as it was a couple of months ago and busy over the winter period. I know it's still not good and taken a lot of stress and strain, but I am happy with the contractors I've chosen so just hoping they pay up quickly! Will see...

Newbie2saving

muckybutt wrote: »

Had a few leaks to fix in my line of work, id recommend one / two of these http://www.hss.com/g/56742/Warm-Air-Dryer-Dehumidifier.html depending upon how large the affected area is, and one / two of these http://www.hss.com/g/58382/Carpet-Turbo-Dryer.html good for drying out concrete floors and voids under floorboards.
Send the bill to the insurers along with the cost of electricity for using them.
I wouldnt bother with a small dehumidifier, with a large leak you will need a commercial / industrial version.

Thank you for taking the time and effort to post links. That has helped me. Now I just need to get quotes to submit to insurance company before getting the other contractors onboard (assuming all is ok after interim report submitted from loss adjusters to ins company).

Newbie2saving

I was wondering if anyone would know how long would the hire period need to be (is this severity dependant?) and also would I need 2? One for downstairs and one for the upstairs where water ran into bedroom adjoining bathroom?

Once again, this is really appreciated, thank you...

muckybutt

Newbie2saving wrote: »

I was wondering if anyone would know how long would the hire period need to be (is this severity dependant?) and also would I need 2? One for downstairs and one for the upstairs where water ran into bedroom adjoining bathroom?

Once again, this is really appreciated, thank you...

Hire period would depend on severity of dampness, with upstairs being affected then I would go for two maybe even three. How bad was the downstairs affected ? - how many rooms damaged ? you can also get a damp monitor from HSS to measure when the moisture is to a satisfactory level so that'll also tell you when to off hire, I would have thought 1 week should suffice but do the test before you off hire. http://www.hss.com/g/49420/Damp-Meter.html

phill99

Insurers normally send in Damage Limitration' Companies that put in dehulidifiers, heaters etc so that the situation doesn't escalate.

If they haven't then you have a right to get your contractor to do it or at leat hire them in and get the costs reimbursed.

However, if you are now 2 months down the line, the effect may be minimal.