Short story: investigated a water leak, found out my tub sits on bare earth, drain pipe has had a small leak for probably a year or two, found black mold. My hardwood floors have severe water damage throughout. Want to make sure I get everything covered and make the most of my claim.
Can skip these paragraphs if the background isn't important. My house was built in 1970. In 2012 my then wife and I started renting it from a lawyer. He handled our credit rehabilitation and by 2014 my credit was good enough to purchase the home. I am somewhat handy, and have done every major repair/remodel myself. I have never filed a HOI claim in the 3 years I've owned the house, or had a major major issue in the 5 years I've lived here.
I investigated a water leak post-bath time over the weekend, and found probably six inches of standing water behind my drywall. My house is on a slab, but found out my tub is sitting on bare earth, and parts of the drain pipe are under dirt. I literally had to dig about 2-4 inches of roots and dirt (and a bra? wtf) to get to some parts of my drain pipe to start checking it out. I can fit my finger through a hole in the pipe, and the pipe is completely disconnected from the flange (was in place, but I barely touched it and it moved). I started pulling drywall and the floor in adjacent bedrooms and found black mold. I've been having water damage issues with my hardwood floor for years, but I assumed it was either shittily installed (lots of poor repairs throughout the house) or it was my six year old and my roommate's seven year old spilling every liquid they touch. The water damage to the hardwood floors is throughout the house at this point, and necessitates a new floor in pretty much all of the house.
I've also been having health issues the last couple years with no one able to offer an explanation. I know google searching medical problems is a no no, but I'm now strongly suspecting the root is toxic black mold. I've had severe respiratory issues, up to the point they removed two lymph nodes to check for cancer. I've constantly been sick over the last couple years; bronchitis, pneumonia, strep, constant soar throats and difficulty breathing, etc. I did a sleep study, got a CPAP, and have been battling chronic fatigue. I'm on adderall and still am just exhausted most days, and even at this moment I have fluid behind my ear drum that's impairing my hearing (I was told to just wait 3 months and then see an ENT, but my ENT is the one who performed my lymph node removal, and I still owe on that and don't think they'll see me until I settle up). I'm wondering if the mold is part of this, and if it is, if my HOI would cover medical expenses I've accrued that have put me in medical doubt, even with my insurance.
My damage is as follows:
- Hardwood floors are buckling pretty much all overall my house
- My bathroom tile is buckling along the wall
- My tub is on bare earth, really worrying me about further damage
- My bathroom shares a wall with my kitchen sink, worrying me about kitchen damage
- Black mold was found, and when I started looking I can see it just out in the open on hardwood. Worried about where else it could be
My questions:
- My HOI is through State Farm. They advised me that the policy would cover the damage if it was caused by freezing pipe, act of God, etc. I'm assuming with my drain pipe being in/on dirt, at some point over the last few years, it froze, a small leak started, and it escalated from there. Should I be prepared for a fight on this? My HOI suggested three restoration companies, but are these companies that will side with the HOI? I called a friend who does flooring, and he was saying prolonged water damage can run along the foundation and cause issues all through the house, even if the water doesn't flow that direction. If I were to get my own official estimate, I'd need a plumber, mold company, flooring company, etc. Do I pay for the estimate out of pocket and get reimbursed later from my HOI? They advised me to contact a restoration company first, pay them, and then file the claim. Is this right?
- I need to make sure my home is safe for my occupants to even stay in ASAP. This kind of goes with one, but should I contact a mold company and get them to come tell me how much and if I'm in danger?
- Possible mold was never brought up as a possibility when I was visiting with doctors. Is this something that could be possible? And if so, would HOI help cover some of my medical bills?
- How do I make sure every possibly complication from this water damage is checked out? I don't want to still be finding issues three years down the line.
- This may sound greedy, but how do I make the most of this? I'm a fairly handy person, and have handy friends. I'm embarrassed it got to this point, but I'd like to see the bright side: I'm paying $1000 and possibly getting a new bathroom, floors, etc.
- I work on cars, and I've gotten money from a claim, done the work myself, and been able to pocket the extra. I wouldn't mind doing that here. I'm not talking insurance fraud, but for example I've already pulled the dry wall, removed the drain/flange, etc. If a plumber could just do the piping, I could install my tub and retile the bathroom myself, saving some cash.
I know this is a lot, and this is far from my only resource. I'm just trying to get as much information as I can, and figured I'd throw up a post to see if any of you guys had gone through something similar.
Thanks for all the financial advice over the years guys, really helped turn my life around!
Submitted May 23, 2017 at 08:58AM by talexsmith http://ift.tt/2qKYlD1
