Water damage from slow leak (Kitchen)

triage999

Good afternoon all, 

I have just had the surveyor out after discovering a leak on Sunday, at the time I called out a plumber who repaired the issue and I’ve had a dehumidifier on since.  The leak was coming from the stopcock which was situated under the sink with cabinets built around only exposing the head of the tap and not the connecting pipe work from where the leak was occurring.  

The flooring is wall to wall padded vinyl with underlay and sealed around the units which is why I have not been aware of what has been going on underneath.  It was only when a huge stain started to appear on the dining room carpet at the entrance to the kitchen where the water had eventually found an escape after saturating the entire kitchen flooring underneath and behind all the unit baseboards.  Also, Friday night the built under oven started cutting out but I just put it down to a power surge, the bottom oven is now not working at all.   

The units themselves are made of compressed chipboard, which has soaked up the water gradually and wasn’t evident until exploration was carried out.  

The surveyor has been up front and stated the insurers are likely to say that due to it being a slow leak I won’t be covered, however, how on earth would I have known this was going on when the pipe work was clearly not visible in a built in unit?  Do insurers expect you to dismantle your kitchen yearly to check pipe work? With the vinyl being sealed all around and padded it did not feel any different underfoot and it was only when the stain appeared I thought something may be wrong, I even blamed my granddaughter  for spilling something before cleaning it only for it to reappear the following day.  The carpet was laid 4 months ago.  

Now that the leak has been fixed and the dehumidifier has been on I have noticed all the base unit kick boards are starting to draw out a white film which I presume is mould/salts? 

The surveyor was really sympathetic and he said he is already going to state customer not happy with likely outcome as leak was not visible until patch on carpet occurred.  

It looks like I’m up for a fight, can anyone give me some advice as all the base units are waterlogged underneath, the flooring is wrecked and the dining carpet now has a huge black patch on it.  

Many thanks

TELLIT01

A slow leak from the stop tap could certainly go unnoticed for a time, but for the water to spread as far as it did without being noticed is surprising, unless the stoptap was close to the dining room door.  Water spreading that distance would normally lead to the flooring feeling spongy due to ingress between vinyl and floor beneath.  I tend to agree with the surveyor that you may have an uphill battle with the insurers.

csgohan4

This happened over time and anything over time won't be covered by insurance

Sandtree

Who are your insurers and what does the policybook state? Was the surveyor appointed by your insurers or someone else?

If the matter was slightly different... eg the grout around your bath had failed and water had penetrated and caused the damage over a long period of time I would certainly agree that the claim will be declined.  Escape of Water from Fixed Water Systems (such a catchy head of claim title) however tends to be more lenient in terms of slow acting effects but it varies between insurers and policies.

Once thing that may be questioned is how you didn't notice it for so long , chipboard soaks up water like a sponge but gets bloated  and so seems split and doors don't close properly etc