DIY-ing after a boiler explosion of water 16 July 2022 at 7:41AM in In my home (includes DIY) MoneySaving 16 replies 751 views

74jax

I love decorating..... At my own pace 😂.
However, following a large boiler explosion which leaked water all over our study, down the stairs wall, staircase, ruined the carpets, wooden flooring, ruined the lounge carpet and soaked up the lounge wallpaper.... I'm overwhelmed.
Insurance will cover anything the escape of water has damaged (after agreement from them) however the Claim Adjuster is out on Wednesday and although they may say the carpets will eventually dry out, the smell is horrendous, and they will be rotten underneath (currently can't walk on them as it resembles a bog.... 🙈).
I'm going to have to strip the whole staircase, hall and lounge, some walls have the wallpaper pealing away from the water leak anyway, but other areas don't. 
It's just overwhelming 😔. I'm a practical person and quite methodical, so maybe it's just seeing my lovely house in this state? 
Would you recommend making a list, getting someone to do ceiling first, then me doing walls, followed by painting (I will have to strip the bannister too as right in the middle the water damage has bubbled the paint - hoping the wood is OK.....) then lastly wooden flooring and carpets, doors this sound the right way? 
The electric and water was originally off, but insurance sorted it so we now have water (no hot other than boiling some) and electric which is bypassing the cafunked boiler, so that's something.
Any help or guidance appreciated. 🙏 

ka7e

Goodness, what a nightmare! Do you have building AND contents insurance and does it cover new-for-old contents? Will you need  joint claims - one from your buildings insurance for repair to the main fabric of the house and another from contents for carpet etc?

I would expect the insurance company to pay for all damage to be repaired, but they need to see it all in situ so don't go ripping off any wallpaper or carpets. They may say the carpet can be dried but I would have expected they would have ordered in industrial driers to try and salvage it by now. It may be cheaper for them to write it off and pay for replacements though you will still need dehumidifiers or dryers to dry out the wood work and I would not want new carpets until I was sure the infrastructure of the stairs was OK (no warping etc). Decoration should be covered to return the plaster, paintwork and wallpapering to it's original state and the insurers will normally expect you to get quotes form tradesmen, even if you want to do the work yourself.

Keep/preserve everything that is damaged. We had  the overflow from our cold water tank knocked out (neighbour doing DIY roof repairs) and only discovered it when water started dripping through the lounge ceiling. The water had come through our airing cupboard, where a huge amount of stored bedding, duvets and towels had absorbed it for a couple of days before it showed downstairs. Everything was saturated, stained and smelly from the grime in the roof space. We put the bedding in bags in the garden and the loss adjuster refused our claim for replacement or dry cleaning, as he said it could have sustained the damage by being outside! All repairs and decoration were covered and they sent in their own approved tradesmen to do it.

74jax

ka7e said:

Goodness, what a nightmare! Do you have building AND contents insurance and does it cover new-for-old contents? Will you need  joint claims - one from your buildings insurance for repair to the main fabric of the house and another from contents for carpet etc? Yes we have both and it's 2 claims. We have gone through the excess etc with the insurers.  Been told anything the escape of water has damaged will be covered (obviously to be agreed on Wednesday). 

I would expect the insurance company to pay for all damage to be repaired, but they need to see it all in situ so don't go ripping off any wallpaper or carpets. They may say the carpet can be dried but I would have expected they would have ordered in industrial driers to try and salvage it by now. It may be cheaper for them to write it off and pay for replacements though you will still need dehumidifiers or dryers to dry out the wood work and I would not want new carpets until I was sure the infrastructure of the stairs was OK (no warping etc). Decoration should be covered to return the plaster, paintwork and wallpapering to it's original state and the insurers will normally expect you to get quotes form tradesmen, even if you want to do the work yourself.

We haven't lifted anything yet, other than the hall runner carpet as we couldn't get in the house and around the house - it was absolutely sodden and was dragging water throughout. 

Keep/preserve everything that is damaged. We had  the overflow from our cold water tank knocked out (neighbour doing DIY roof repairs) and only discovered it when water started dripping through the lounge ceiling. The water had come through our airing cupboard, where a huge amount of stored bedding, duvets and towels had absorbed it for a couple of days before it showed downstairs. Everything was saturated, stained and smelly from the grime in the roof space. We put the bedding in bags in the garden and the loss adjuster refused our claim for replacement or dry cleaning, as he said it could have sustained the damage by being outside! All repairs and decoration were covered and they sent in their own approved tradesmen to do it.

Thank you, @ka7e, it's so daunting. I'm not sure the insurance will cover other people doing the work, and as the damage covers so many rooms I'm wondering how to tackle it so it's least disruption.

I believe it is new for old, but for example one wall in the lounge has the water rising currently 1 ft up from the carpet which is still sodden, the other walls are OK. So I expect the insurance will cover 1 wall only and I'll want to do them all to match (I guess it is only a 'want' not a 'necessity) but all 4 currently match (if that makes sence). 

I think I do need to make a list and then it's out of my head and on paper. 

The staircase took the brunt, I didn't even think of the actual staircase damage until you mentioned it. I haven't lifted the carpet yet to look...... 🙈

Snuggles

This sounds horrendous. Out of interest, when you say boiler explosion, do you mean the actual boiler or the hot water cylinder? If it was the latter, was it an unvented cylinder?

74jax

Snuggles said:

This sounds horrendous. Out of interest, when you say boiler explosion, do you mean the actual boiler or the hot water cylinder? If it was the latter, was it an unvented cylinder?

It is what it is... We weren't in the property at the time thankfully. I don't mind doing the work normally, I love decorating, but in my own time.... 😂

I think I'm making more of it than it is, and if I tackle an area/room I should be OK and just focus on that one room. 

Re boiler... I'm not sure sorry 🙈. The boiler guy just came out, re-routed sone electric and cut off the water to it. We need a new boiler obviously but right now that's not a priority. Had a few quotes but we need to know our insurance figure first and then do a full inventory of what we can spend where. 

Bendy_House

74jax. This is exactly what insurance is for, and sounds a completely valid claim to make. And you simply leave it all to them - they should find the tradesfolk to sort it all out. You should have to do nothing. And that will almost certainly include the carpets - they will either bring it back to new condition (unlikely), or replace them (provided that's what your cover includes).

I'd therefore suggest, don't do ANYTHING without running it past them first - and get it in writing (email, for example); you don't want to jeopardise your claim in any way. If they say it's ok to remove the carpets because they appreciate the unpleasantness it's causing, then fine. But get their agreement.

I'd also take lots of photos, including close-ups. Even video clips of the squelching carpets. 

This should not require any DIY input.

74jax

Bendy_House said:

74jax. This is exactly what insurance is for, and sounds a completely valid claim to make. And you simply leave it all to them - they should find the tradesfolk to sort it all out. You should have to do nothing. And that will almost certainly include the carpets - they will either bring it back to new condition (unlikely), or replace them (provided that's what your cover includes).

I'd therefore suggest, don't do ANYTHING without running it past them first - and get it in writing (email, for example); you don't want to jeopardise your claim in any way. If they say it's ok to remove the carpets because they appreciate the unpleasantness it's causing, then fine. But get their agreement.

I'd also take lots of photos, including close-ups. Even video clips of the squelching carpets. 

This should not require any DIY input.

@Bendy_House
 We aren't there at the moment mainly as the stairs and hall mean we are trampling stuff through the rest of house and the lounge isn't liveable with the current bog.... 😂 

I don't mind DIY, just never on this scale and never claimed for something so excessive so I don't even know if it includes trades people..... Considering I feel I'm a pretty clued up person, all of a sudden I've gone very nieve and just thought the wallpaper needs removing and redoing, my insurance will pay for the wallpaper etc..... I didn't even consider the plaster underneath.... Yet I bet if a friend mentioned it to me, I'd be all over her policy and more knowledgeable....  I didn't even think I could maybe claim for the freezer food as we had to turn electric off until a friend mentioned it. 

Hopefully on Wednesday I'll know more with the adjuster guy, maybe right now I just need a drink and know the water is now turned off as we aren't there so it's all secure.

I'm feeling very blonde and out of control at the shear scale of what we need to do. 

Bendy_House

Two sensible things in your reply - the water is turned off, and have a drink

Even before the assessor comes out, you should clarify - for your own peace of mind - what is covered. Almost certainly it'll be everything. You literally let them get on with it; they should sort it all, carpets, sub floor (if needed), drying out, replacing any damaged plaster, and quite possibly the painting and decorating.

I'd leave all the windows on vent setting.

If you don't have anywhere to take the freezer food, that is usually covered too, up to a certain level. But obviously it's best to reduce any losses that you easily can.

On that note, removing the carpets would help the situation, coupled with having all the doors and windows open as much as possible, and this would likely speed up the return to normality. But, get the go-ahead first. 

Phone them up! Ask what's covered. Ask if you can remove the carpets (assuming you are happy to do so).

ormonde

Our daughter had a similar escape of water claim.  The insurance company sorted everything. They found the tradesmen, bought all the materials, organised the order of work etc., all our daughter had to do was choose carpets, paint colours etc. 

You might find it is some time before work can start because the house needs to dry out completely first. Our daughter had to live with dehumidifiers for nearly 2 months before work started. People came around ever week to take damp readings until they were satisfied that the property was dry enough for work to start. The insurance company even paid for the electricity to run the dehumidifiers.

Do not do anything yourself just leave it to the insurance company.

GDB2222

Why is the loss adjuster not coming until Wednesday?

 You need to have the soaking carpet removed now, and commercial dehumidifiers. I’d get this all done tomorrow.  

You can get a lot of warping of wood as this all dries out, so you may find that you need to replace far more than you expect.

Your insurance covers alternative accommodation, and if it’s as bad as you say you maybe should move into a hotel until it is all dried out.

Coming on Wednesday! Ridiculous!

74jax

GDB2222 said:

Why is the loss adjuster not coming until Wednesday?

 You need to have the soaking carpet removed now, and commercial dehumidifiers. I’d get this all done tomorrow.  

You can get a lot of warping of wood as this all dries out, so you may find that you need to replace far more than you expect.

Your insurance covers alternative accommodation, and if it’s as bad as you say you maybe should move into a hotel until it is all dried out.

Coming on Wednesday! Ridiculous!

@GDB2222
We were asked if we wanted a hotel arranging but we are sorted so didn't need to take them up on that.  My husband works from home so it was easier for us to sort somewhere for him to continue to work, rather than a hotel. 

I'm not sure on why Wednesday, to be honest I have never had to go through this before so just thought he was coming to look and list what needed replacing cosmetically.... I didn't even think they'd lift carpets etc..... It wasn't really explained what the adjuster would do, I might do a bit of go ogling on it thank you for your help, it's really helpful - at least showing I need to be more clued up!