Water damage in the basement in the insulation layer (cork granulate)

Hello,

we have water damage in the basement - the seal of a KG pipe had a leak and over months, if not years, individual drops kept leaking into the insulation layer :-(.

For insulation, we have cork granulate in the floor, it's that black stuff. The previous owner of the house referred to it as "Brandkork".

A construction drying company has already been here, who could theoretically dry the insulation layer - however, they waved it off, stating that it is an organic material and they don't know if there is mold or other germs in it. I am supposed to tear up the basement floor including the screed and remove the stuff.

That would be a massive effort and accordingly expensive :-(. When I search online for cork, I keep finding the advantage that it is resistant to mold.

Does anyone here have experience, especially with cork or construction drying? How should I evaluate the company's statement?

Thanks + regards,
Steven

I can only tell you about cork that it is actually completely resistant to mold/rot. I don't know brand cork - maybe it is mixed with other materials? I would also only dry pure cork - layman's opinion. If cork is mixed with other material = to be safe, tear it out.

P.S. Removing screed is one of the easiest tasks in the house. Upper arms and a sledgehammer or a small construction waste container are enough + a Saturday with one or two friends who help.

We have also dealt with water damage here several times. In the house that we currently (still) share with my parents, it is already the third water damage in the basement (each time for a different reason). The current one was probably caused by heavy rain; all the neighbors had water in their basements, but it only showed up in ours after some time with efflorescence on the walls.

The entire floor structure was disinfected by the drying company and dried for 4 weeks. Now the renovation is starting, we are currently still waiting for the offer.

A few years ago, my sister also had water damage in the ground floor of her house due to a leak at a pipe connector. The entire ground floor had to be stripped back to the shell, screed including underfloor heating, plaster from the walls up to one meter height – everything had to go. It was a huge effort, especially since they had only lived there for just over a year and everything was still new.

In both cases, it was/is handled by the same company.

I can’t say anything about cork, but in case of doubt, I would follow the company’s advice.