Arrg!! Water Damage! (1 Viewer)

[drobbins]

I started construction on my basement theater last October. By January it was completed. Today my under the sink water filter broke when nobody was home. My entire house is flooded. Pulling up the driveway, I could see water coming out of the house. Water has saturated all my carpets and my new sheet rock. The theater looks bizarre with 6" water filled paint bubbles hanging everywhere from the walls & ceiling. Could be a cool si-fi set. My 4805 is wet. The water came through the wiring located above it. My leather seats are drenched. The screen is wet. My equipment looks OK so far. I won't turn the power on until it is dry. Water World Basement Theater Gave me an idea on how to make the theater experience more realistic during rainy scenes in movies Anyone interested?

 

[Bryce_H]

Dude, that REALLY sucks. Good luck with everything.

 

[Brad E]

Hopefully you have insurance because that will be one heck of a bill.

 

[drobbins]

Yep I have insurance. They arraigned the clean up crew. All the padding will be replaced, but they think the carpet is OK. They are going to run de-humidifiers and fans for a minimum of 3 days. Much of the sheetrock will be replaced. I don't know if I will get the check and do the work myself or let a contractor do it. With the weather getting warm I would much rather be swimming in the pool than sweating in a dust filled room. I hate finishing sheetrock!

 

[Parker Clack]

I would let the contractors do it. It is already bad enough and you don't want to get even more pissed off if something goes wrong. Let someone else handle the stress of the labor and take the time to go swimming.

No need to stress yourself out twice. Let your insurance take care of it for you. I would also make sure that they get your carpet fully dried and if you aren't happy make them switch it out. You don't want to have a bunch of mold that comes and bites you in the ass years later because your insurance was to cheap to replace the carpet.

 

[Leo Kerr]

Based on our own water experience here at work,

1. Carpet goes, no question.

2. Find the border to any 'dry' sheet-rock, and cut away at least 12" into the 'dry' sheet-rock.

3. Try and see how much of the equipment you can get replaced; just because it got dried out doesn't mean it won't fail due to corrosion in fairly short (beyond extended warrantee) order.

I think I said earlier that the only thing worse than water is fire - 'cause you've got smoke, fire, and then water on top of it all... but water is really nasty.

Leo Kerr

 

[drobbins]

The clean up crew was here until 2:00am wet vacuuming. I examined things more carefully today and I think I will let the contractors do the work. The paint is peeling off the walls and taking the paper portion of the sheetrock with it. The joint compound has gone back to it's "clay" form. When I did the work originally, the basement was empty and I could do things in order so not to ruin each other. Now I would have to be more carefully not to damage things not needing repair. Plus heads are rolling at my work so I need to focus my energy there.
You both have stated that he carpet must go. The cleanup crew did not think so, but the adjuster will be here on Monday. They trashed the padding but said that if the backing is not pealing off, it is OK. My biggest fear is mold. They sprayed their "magic" spray and this is supposed to stop the mold. ?:frowning: ? They left with a dozen fans blowing under the carpets and 2 dehumidifiers running.
The other places I am worried about is under my floor. On top of the concrete I put plastic then treated 2x2s then OSB board. I think the water is now under the wood and on top of the plastic. Water also ran down the floor ducts and saturated the fiberglass duct work. They will be back on Monday to put holes in the ceiling, walls and floor.
As far as my equipment goes the 4805 got a decent shower. It still had water dripping out of it this morning. I turned it on and it worked fine. I agree that troubles could show up later though. This is one of those things that they will probably give me money for then I will decide what to do with it. My DYI blackout screen has a nice water stripe down it. I know that there are paints for screens, has anyone ever painted over the blackout cloth? My acoustic panels also have water discoloration.
Now I think I'll go home and rethink my home theater!:b

 

[Brad E]

Wow, that's a lot of damage.
Blackout cloth is cheap, just go buy some more.

 

[Parker Clack]

I still say they need to replace the carpet. No since in wondering after they have done everything. This way you can just leave the old carpet in place while the new drywall is being installed and then take it up and replace it with new. You can use the old carpet as a dropcloth. Also, I would get a screen this time. Might as well since you are doing it all over again anyway.

If you get another 4805 give the guys at TV Authority a ring and they will give you a great deal on the projector. They can beat about any price out there and they are authorized dealers. If you get a new screen give Dave a call at Carada and he will fix you up with a fantastic screen at a great price.

 

[drobbins]

Well the adjuster will be here tomorrow. We'll see what happens.
My wife has an idea to make the theater bigger this time Hmmm....

 

[KrisM]

I've done flood restoration in the past, and if the carpet got wet with clean water(as opposed to sewer or grey water), it can be saved as long as it is dried properly and quickly. It can't be left for any amount of time or else you can have mold problems. The underpad must be replaced.
I've saved alot of carpets with this method with no mold problems. However, they were all jobs where there was no damage to the drywall. I can't see how they can keep the carpet if there will be major drywalling going on.
Since insurance is paying for it, I would try and get new carpet. But don't be surprised if the adjuster tells you the carpet can be saved.

Regards
KrisM

 

[drobbins]

Well the room is not drying out as fast as they expected. The adjuster will not come out until all has dried out. The main issue with all the equipment, seating and carpet is all the warranties are now void. :frowning: So far it looks like they will replace all carpet through out the house, linoleum in the kitchen and bath, new sheetrock in the theater, and new equipment also. Today they came through and cut the bottom 2' form all the walls and removed a section of the kitchen floor. I added more pictures
More Pics
The adjuster should be out tomorrow if all is dry. I think they would like to get us back into the house and out of the hotel. I would too
KrisM - Is there anything else I should be looking for but missed?
Thanks,
Dave

 

[KrisM]

It looks like you have everything covered. I would make sure they look at the ductwork and furnace if any water got in there.

Regards
KrisM

 

[Kevin Magee]

I'm happy to see your insurance company is covering you. What I want to know is what kind of water filer it was and how it broke so that I can avoid the same kind of problem?

 

[Jack Ferry]

Getting everything done properly is definitely a squeeky wheel gets the grease situation. If the adjuster gives you a hard time about replacing carpet or doing anything else that you believe is necessary, don't let it end there. You (and the rest of us) have been paying plenty for insurance over the years and they should pay your claims in full. If you're not fully satisfied, keep demanding that they make it right. Better yet, get a lawyer on board at the first sign of trouble. And don't sign a release unless your lawyer has reviewed it first.

(Can you guess what my profession is?)

 

[drobbins]

Kevin, It was an under the sink Omnifilter. Looks like a ultrasonic weld on a seam was no good.
Jack, Are you a lawyer by any chance? The adjuster was out yesterday. She was more than generous with the construction (I had the contractor here at the same time) needs but stingy with the carpet and equipment.
She does not want to replace the carpet yet. She is going to investigate further
She wants me to send the electric equipment out to be checked. Usually once opened the warranty is voided, isn't it?
She was going to research the leather furniture also.
All this stuff was less than 4 months old. I think it should be replaced. All the warranties are voided. the carpet has a 25 year warranty. Even if it looks great when they are finished, what happens if it wears out in 3 years?
Anyway she has not made her final decision yet and has been helpful. We will see.

 

[Parker Clack]

If your adjuster gives you a bunch of grief over replacing items, especially if you have direct replacement coverage, then I would call up you State's Insurance Division and talk to them about it. They will need to have a copy of your policy but they can look it over for you and tell you what they have to pay for. Then if they still are giving you grief then have the Insurance Division give them a call. Insurance companies don't like the State's Insurance Division calling them because this will flag them for a consumer complaint and show's up if other potential customers call and ask if any complaints have been filed against them.

As Jack says. Don't let them off with just saying they aren't going to pay for it. Have them show you specially where in your policy it says that they don't.

 

[Leo Kerr]

We had a bunch of equipment get wet, and the insurance people sent it out to have it checked and evaluated.

Granted, we were in an odd situation, but they hadn't a clue what half of the stuff even was, much less how it worked.

On the other hand, what they didn't recognize they said was junk, so we came out (sort of) okay.

In our case, we took the list from the evaluation/rehabilitation company, filled in the blanks and/or made corrections in a seperate column, and then sent the whole mess to the insuance people. They were pretty good about making sure that our needs were met...

Now, I'll grant a difference: you had fresh tap-water. I have no idea what the water in our sprinkler pipes looked like.

Leo

 

[drobbins]

I have tried notifying all the equipment manufacturers and either got stuck in an useless automated system that I don't have the patience for, or they have given me the "hands off" approach. Guess they don't want to make a commitment. In all honesty, the 4805 is the only unit that I feel got drenched. The other units, I did not see any water on them, but it did run next to them and I wanted to be cautious. The shelves were dry.
Dr. Anthony at Plasma Docs answered my e-mail very quickly at 10:00pm Friday night. He instructed me to open it up and look for water or problems. I have opened many electronic devices so I don't have an issue with doing that. Most of the unit is solid state and when dry shouldn't be a problem. I agree with that. If the motors and fan are wet that is a different story. If they are wet, I am sure the insurance will cover a new one. I am curious to see the insides and plan on taking pictures.
This morning I disassembled the whole theater and pulled up the carpet. It is falling apart. The insurance Rep. said that they would replace it if that was the case. I Think that she has been fair so far. She agreed with me that all the sheetrock needs to come down and be replaced. We are getting new linoleum in both the kitchen and bath rooms. The main floor carpet is still open for discussion.
Being as I have to tear down all the walls, I am going to make it bigger this time. I will skip the spare room and open it up for the whole theater. This way I can have 2 rows of seats. 4 seats was not good when we had company. All those items that I wished I did differently, now I can.
Dave

 

[Jack Ferry]

Dave,
Good to hear that they've been fair so far. Keep taking lots of pics and keep records of everything. If you have your original (pre-flood) receipts, that's a big help. Parker's post had some good ideas if things don't go well, but the responsiveness of the state insurance departments varies greatly depending on the state. He's exactly right: the language of the policy is controlling. The problem is how do you interpret the language. Again, it's usually worth paying a lawyer a few bucks if you run into problems. (And yes, I'm a lawyer.)
Jack