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So....yeah. We (myself and my husband) installed bamboo click flooring (floating) last October ourselves. In doing so, we removed the toilet, vanity, yadda yadda...put floor down, put everything back (new vanity, toilet, etc.) We did it ourselves. No problem. It was easy.
Fast forward to last night: Water seeping under our bamboo floors upon being stepped on in our tiny half bath, floors buckling from moisture damage, HORRIBLE smell=Toilet leaked. Most likely, the bamboo expanded and contracted enough to bust the wax ring loose. Is that accurate sounding enough? That's the only thing I can think of. We didn't detect a leak because it was probably small and ongoing for months until the floor buckled so much we actually noticed it.
Question: Will the home owner insurance cover the floor damage even though we're the ones who installed it? Or are we screwed. The claims person said "any damage resulting from leaking toilet or condensate line (which, coincidentally enough, was also leaking at the same time as the toilet), is COVERED.
I didn't volunteer the information that "well, we installed everything."
Dear homeowners out there, how do we go about this so we are covered? What should I say? How do I word it so as to not shoot myself in the foot. Do they ask for receipts and business names of contractors who installed the toilet that ended up leaking?
My experience with insurance companies is they wont ask you "who did the work". You call and say you have a leak in your bathroom. They send out an adjustor and he looks over the damage. He then will ask you to get quotes or he will recommend someone to handle it. All you need to do is tell them that you had a leak and they take it from there. Do not offer any additional info unless they ask. They really don't care who caused the leak but what caused the leak. Most insurance companies will not pay to fix the leak only the damage caused by the leak. I have done lots of work in my house and have had leaks as well. Never a problem because it really doesn't matter but also they never ask and I don't offer information unless asked.
Insurance companies do not care who does the work.
I had a claim due to some storm damage, and the adjustor met my son who was in college at the time. The adjustor suggested I hire my son to do some of the basic work (painting); all I had to do was turn in receipts and some pictures to prove work had been completed, if I chose to go that route.
One thing to consider--not meant as heckling, just to bear in mind--is that unless you're a professional plumber, you might have caused the leak due to a mistake in installing the new toilet ring. I think that's likelier than that your flooring installation damaged the ring.
I had a leak just like yours, one week before I was set to list the house. Previous owner had put laminate in the bathroom, which I think was a bad idea, but it was what we had. Anyway, leak ruined floor, much hassle. But the plumber who pulled and reinstalled the toilet was very talkative, and I listened like he was E.F. Hutton (fiftysomethings will get the joke). He explained that most toilet rings that leak do so either due to old age (like ours), or failure to use extra wax and get what he called 'a really good smoosh.' I'm pretty sure the home buyers will be grateful to me for a long time for hiring that guy.
(Want to know what was worse? The laminate was made of unobtanium, so we went with tile instead. Only as I was packing to move did I learn that the previous owner had left us a spare box of laminate, easily enough to have redone that half-bathroom. Augh!)
So, when you replace the thing, that might be the time to use a pro, and ask him about those issues and see what he thinks of the best way to prevent this from happening again. I am sure that going through this once is quite enough (it sure was for me).
Well, the drywall to our bathroom got wet...so that's going to be ripped out. The water leaked under our moisture barrier out into the hallway and down into the living room, so all that floor is gone. It's definitely a claim. If it were confined to just the bathroom, no doubt we'd be doing this repair ourselves. And yes, it seems like our wax ring wasn't big and smushy enough to completely seal since bamboo expands and contracts. Oh well. You live you learn.
So....yeah. We (myself and my husband) installed bamboo click flooring (floating) last October ourselves. In doing so, we removed the toilet, vanity, yadda yadda...put floor down, put everything back (new vanity, toilet, etc.) We did it ourselves. No problem. It was easy.
Fast forward to last night: Water seeping under our bamboo floors upon being stepped on in our tiny half bath, floors buckling from moisture damage, HORRIBLE smell=Toilet leaked. Most likely, the bamboo expanded and contracted enough to bust the wax ring loose. Is that accurate sounding enough? That's the only thing I can think of. We didn't detect a leak because it was probably small and ongoing for months until the floor buckled so much we actually noticed it.
Question: Will the home owner insurance cover the floor damage even though we're the ones who installed it? Or are we screwed. The claims person said "any damage resulting from leaking toilet or condensate line (which, coincidentally enough, was also leaking at the same time as the toilet), is COVERED.
I didn't volunteer the information that "well, we installed everything."
Dear homeowners out there, how do we go about this so we are covered? What should I say? How do I word it so as to not shoot myself in the foot. Do they ask for receipts and business names of contractors who installed the toilet that ended up leaking?
Thanks!
E
They'll cover it regardless of who did the work. They probably will ask you whether the water is leaking at the base of the toilet or overflowing from the top. Overflow from the top could indicate a water/sewer backup problem and that's only covered if you added that coverage specifically to your policy. (And if not you should!)
Water damage is usually covered under flood insurance. So if the claim is paid you are lucky.
Not so. Water damage from a leaking roof/toilet/water heater/sink/dishwasher/washing machine or even a fish tank is covered under Schedule A. Flood damage from a lake or river overflowing is only covered if you are paying for a Flood Insurance policy.
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