Update on wet floor
Well, the radiant heating guy came over several days ago with our hardwood floor contractor. After an extensive review, he determined our old radiant heating system WAS shut down correctly. It is not the source of our wet slab. He did, however, get up on our roof and make a discovery. It appears that there was a standing puddle of water at a joint area on our roof. This happens to be right over the most wet area of our floor. The new assumption is that the roof (which was replaced about 3 years ago) is leaking in this joint area, and running a trickle of water down BETWEEN the walls where it hits the slab and fans out. Interestingly enough, the percentage of water under our floor increases when it rains...lending credibility to the roof hypothesis. Next step is to have a roofer come over and inspect.
Questions: I looked into my homeowners insurance policy. Turns out water damage is difficult to claim. How can I position this to get it covered? Secondly, any ideas if roofers guarantee their work? We're having our real estate agent contact the sellers to see if we can learn more about the roofer and who's responsibility this is. Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Thanks/Russell
I would surprised if the roof contractor did not have a guarantee/warranty against leaks. We are having a new roof put down and it has a 12 year warranty against leaks. However, depending on the type of roof (and type of leak) the warranty could be under the manufacturer, not the roofer.
I would also suggest avoiding the homeowner insurance at all possible costs. There have been extreme problems with claims (especially with mold) in the last few years so many companies are unwilling to write up new claims. if you make a claim, your insurance company could drop you. it's sucks and isn't fair at all, but lately that's how it's been working!!!
wish you the best of luck!!!
Is the leaking area in any way related to the chimney ? I remember you saying that the water damage was close to the fireplace.
The water damage is in the center of the room where our chimney is. The water source appears to be against the wall directly opposite of our chimney. That is where the water % levels are in the 20% which is really high. (this is during rain). The water tends to channel underneath the hard wood floors due to the gaps between plywood subflooring.
sigh
Well, all of this BS has been caused by a leak in our supposedly "new" roof. Well, the roof that the previous owners had installed. Unbelievable all the directions we went prior to discovering the roof issue. Accoring to our purchase agreement for the house, the sellers were responsible for delivering a house that was roof leak free. We'll see what they cover. Insurance apparently wont cover it ...thanks Farmer's Insurance. Although once I mentioned that we were talking with a real estate attorney they suggested that maybe they would if we "strong armed" them. Sigh...all the people pointing the finger at other people. Hopefully our sellers will step up to the plate and cover all the related damage. It's about $8000 now.
Ill keep you all in the loop
Russell
Glad to hear you've found the source of the water entry, sorry my original question (re: radiant pipes being shut down) was one of the many deadends you went down first.
An earlier post asked if you had checked with the roofer re: a warranty. I'd think that was a good suggestion. If the previous owners won't or can't say who did the work, you might try contacting your local city building department. I'm guessing there should have been a building permit for the re-roof and it might list the roofing company's name.
Good luck.
Jake
Hi--I realize that this is off topic slightly, but it's a roof question for Cindy. I'm in the ugly process of selecting a roofing contractor, and I'd like to ask who you picked, and what type of roof you're going with. Your guarantee sounds much better than the ones quoted to me so far. I also am in the TO Eichler tract.
Thanks,
Kevin
