Remodeling Question??????

[Tony Bilello]

I only work indoors and mostly in my shop. An aquaintance of mine had a flooding problem and I think I know what I would do, but not sure enough to offer any advise. I told him to find a remodeler but he should have some knowledge so he will know if the job is somewhat correctly handled.

Here is the situation. Overhead pipes froze and split in his ceiling. This sent torents of water flowing down his doors on both inside and outside. He was not home at the time and this went on for several days.

The doors are still obviously very wet near the bottoms and most of the existing finish is gone. The double doors are also swollen shut.
He wants to salvage the doors if economically reasonable. They cost about $900 each.

He already knows how to repair the interior ceilings and walls.

Where and how should he start?

[Glen Butler]

With an insurance adjuster. His insurance company should have people available to asses the damage and the experience to know areas of unseen or invisible damage. He should start there before he does anything himself on the structure. Flooding to that extent could be catastrophic.

[Dave Gaul]

With an insurance adjuster. His insurance company should have people available to asses the damage and the experience to know areas of unseen or invisible damage. He should start there before he does anything himself on the structure. Flooding to that extent could be catastrophic.


Exactly my first thought Glen!!!

Until then, I would probably try to keep the area very dry and ventilated... dehumidifier and some fans... not to hot, creating a hot/humid condition would worsen the problem...

[Erik Christensen]

had that happen to me a few months ago - if the structure is insured call the insurance co. most policies cover flood damage and what you really need are flood control pros - i had a crew of 5-6 with trucks of equipment for 18 hours demo'ing my ground floor & removing water from a 1/4" line break to a water filter that only ran for 4 hours or less

you don't get it dry ASAP - you will most likely get mold that can make the place uninhabitable and unsellable. the only way to get it dry fast enough is have a flood mitigation company do it - i had about 75,000$ worth of fans and de-humidifiers running for days (and a 800$ spike in the power bill) to dry up a much smaller flod that what you described

[Steve Kohn]

Some friends of mine went on vacation for 2 weeks during the winter. During that time the hose to their ice maker broke. They returned to a flooded house with an advanced case of mold throughout the house. It seems like the heat stayed on the entire time and caused enough water vapor to saturate the inside of the entire house.

They ended up moving to a rental for 3 months while the insurance company paid for the entire house to be gutted and rebuilt with all new insulation, drywall, carpets, etc. That was only after several weeks of mold mitigation.

Needless to say, it is now very difficult to get flood insurance in our area anymore.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Some friends of mine went on vacation for 2 weeks during the winter. During that time the hose to their ice maker broke. They returned to a flooded house with an advanced case of mold throughout the house. It seems like the heat stayed on the entire time and caused enough water vapor to saturate the inside of the entire house.

They ended up moving to a rental for 3 months while the insurance company paid for the entire house to be gutted and rebuilt with all new insulation, drywall, carpets, etc. That was only after several weeks of mold mitigation.

Needless to say, it is now very difficult to get flood insurance in our area anymore.

One caution - I would NOT use the word 'flood' at ALL in a conversation with an insurance person. An internal leak/broken pipe should not be characterized as a 'flood', because that sends you down a whole different path with the insurance folks.

[michael case]

The first thing is to call the insurance folks. I've seen this happen at my moms. They did not mess around. They jumped on the mold control right away, fans, mops, etc. They peeled up the sheet rock to above flood height and evidently took the mold issue very seriously. They did this before sending an adjuster and there was no back and forth about getting the mold under control. When it comes to the actual remodeling that will take negotiation. But by all means get them on the mold.

[Paul Atkins]

Not answering your question, but why would anyone put water pipes in the ceiling? Just asking for trouble. Seems like the contractor would be liable.

[Jim Rimmer]

Not answering your question, but why would anyone put water pipes in the ceiling? Just asking for trouble. Seems like the contractor would be liable.
Unfortunately, Paul, that has been common practice in Texas for the last 20+ years. I don't like it but you can't find a house here that is not built that way.

[Peter Quinn]

Not answering your question, but why would anyone put water pipes in the ceiling? Just asking for trouble. Seems like the contractor would be liable.

My parents new house in FLA has the water lines in the ceiling. It seems a logical choice in a place where it never freezes, until it freezes. When the construction is slab on grade, masonry block wall, trussed roof, its real hard to get the water lines from one end of the house to the other through interior walls otherwise.

Ditto the insurance call. My parents had their main water line break and flood one end of their house recently (not in the ceiling and not due to frost). They had to move into a hotel while the clean up crew ripped up the floors, tore up the sheet rock at the floor and dried the place out. It seems that mold issue is not a joke.

As far as a french pair if it can't be replaced via insurance or has great sentimental value, I'd let it dry out completely and slowly, see if it remains flat enough to be useful, and consider refinishing.

[Roger Bullock]

First let me say I am a catastrophe adjuster. The water damage you described is not flood damage. It is the sudden or accidental discharge of water from an interior plumbing line that caused water damage to you residence. This condition is covered as such by most insurance companies.

Flood damage as defined by NFIP is described as the overflow of a lake or stream. So yes, as someone mentioned, your friend should call his insurance company describing exactly what happened and follow their guidelines.

As for the doors they (insurance companies) usually pay to repair or replace but not more than the cost of replacement. Talk to the water remediation company, they have the experience.