Super disaster - water pipe burst, screed damp

Hi,

in our new building a fresh water pipe burst today, presumably the supply line to the bathtub. As a result, water suddenly came out of the ventilation openings on the floor below, from sockets in the kitchen, and from the ceiling in the basement next to a downpipe.

Without going into the detailed plans: it is certain that the bathroom screed and insulation are completely wet, the bathtub is at one end of the room, the ventilation openings in the ceiling, through which it then rained down, are at two other ends of the room.

The question now is how can we _reliably_ determine how far it has spread?

The kitchen below will have also taken quite a bit, the sockets are next to a downpipe and the water ran along it into the basement.

The hallway upstairs and an adjacent study might also have been affected, is there any other chance than tearing out the parquet and breaking up the screed?

This is probably going to get pretty ugly. Our site manager will try to downplay everything and said we should call our insurance... (he once tried to motivate me to insurance fraud in a clear warranty case so that he wouldn't have to cancel it himself) (I am happy to share the company and the site manager's name via PM).

Really great, one of those complete idiots from the plumbing guys screwed up again. This is now the third leaking pipe in the house, happy to share the company name via PM, they are urgently to be warned against...!

I could puke...

Best regards,

Andreas

Hello Andreas,

We also had water damage and are currently in the process of building drying. Building drying usually involves drilling holes in the ceilings and floors and drying the screed through exhaust air. According to and annoying. If the parquet is soaked through, it gets expensive and messy.

The insurance situation was the same for us. Just tell them the truth and wait to see what happens. Nobody pays out of kindness nowadays.

Good luck.

Really great, another one of those complete idiots from the plumbing guys messed up. This is now the third leaking pipe in the house, company name gladly via private message, those should be urgently warned against...!

Why don’t you do what is obvious? Hire an expert!

And quite shamelessly curious – why don’t you name names, instead hiding behind a private message? It can’t be that difficult to tell the truth?

Revealing names only causes trouble here. Report it to the insurance, but of course truthfully. An insurance can be a strong ally. If they later recover the money from [Sanitär] or [GU], that's their problem.

Man, I’m so sorry that you have to go through this now!

I think an expert is not a bad idea for the documentation, yes.

But for the practical side, I would also contact the insurance and ask if I may send out a leak detector myself right away. They also document, the insurance believes them, and it doesn’t cost you anything. Usually, the insurance pays for them even if it wasn’t an insured damage. The costs of the expert should be certain for you, on the other hand.

But if the damage is insured, most insurance companies nowadays organize drying and repair themselves because they prefer partner companies. Often you only take charge yourself if there’s nothing quick to trigger with the insurance at the moment.

If you want or have to take charge yourself and maybe are not quite familiar with who performs what recommendably, then you could call a large property management company nearby and ask them whom you can ask. Just not on Monday morning. It’s billing season and besides, all the grumblers show up on Mondays.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you, you’ve already laid floors after all.

Best regards, Gabriele

If you want or have to direct yourself and are perhaps not quite familiar with who performs what recommendably, then you might consider a large property management company ....

Sorry, but that is certainly not the right way. The contact person will still be the general contractor / developer. The building is probably not yet accepted.