Water leak in my house w/damage. Any tips?

[VeteranMom]

I had a tile guy do some work to give me a new master shower and floor.  He did the work on the drain, but botched it- badly.  In addition to messing the master bath drain up, he broke the drain to our main bath's tub.  So, all the drainage water went directly into the walls of my 4 level house and the water ended up in the basement bedroom.  The water specialists removed the basement laminate flooring today and are moving onto the drywall/ceilings/main tomorrow.  I expect my main bathroom to have to be demolished, too.  Any tips on what to look for (during the cleanup process) and how best to advocate for myself?  So far, I am out over $1,000 in repairs and haven't even seen an insurance adjuster- his or mine.  I've documented things with a video camera and pictures.     

[ChocolateReignRemix]

I had a tile guy do some work to give me a new master shower and floor.  He did the work on the drain, but botched it- badly.  In addition to messing the master bath drain up, he broke the drain to our main bath's tub.  So, all the drainage water went directly into the walls of my 4 level house and the water ended up in the basement bedroom.  The water specialists removed the basement laminate flooring today and are moving onto the drywall/ceilings/main tomorrow.  I expect my main bathroom to have to be demolished, too.  Any tips on what to look for (during the cleanup process) and how best to advocate for myself?  So far, I am out over $1,000 in repairs and haven't even seen an insurance adjuster- his or mine.  I've documented things with a video camera and pictures.     

 

We just went through this with a plumber improperly repairing a leak just before we left for a trip.  We went ahead and brought in our home insurance and handled the claim through them, and they are pursuing the insurance of the plumber. If they are successful (and they should be) we will get our deductible back.  Otherwise we would have been out of pocket $18K while we attempted to collect from the plumber.

[fairfarmhand]

Yes, go through your insurance company and start ringing their phone off the hook. They need to get an adjuster out there PRONTO!

[Mom2pandc]

Lots of pictures and video as you said. We've had a few incidents like a tree limb through the roof followed by heavy rain, and a faulty pump in the basement that flooded the basement. We were told we are responsible for mitigating the damage. Like we hurried up and had the roof fixed, called the restoration company out right away, etc. you can always ask the professionals what else they think you should do since they are familiar with working with the insurance companies.

As others said, I would bring in your home owners policy right away as this is going to exceed your deductible fast if it's in the walls and floors.

[hjffkj]

You need to demaNd that your insurance company get a person out there today before even more is done. You don't want too much getting done before they can see the whole extent of the damage.p They should cover the costs and then go after the plumbers insurance. When we had water damage our adjuster was out within 24 hours and had the check to us within 5 days.

[gardenmom5]

they should have fans and close off the areas that got wet.  they should be checking humidity levels to make sure things are drying out.  they can also do puncture samples into the drywall to check for damage - it can actually dry and be ok if it wasn't completely soaked.

 

My insurance did pay for most of it when my dishwasher leaked and destroyed my wood kitchen floor, and water rushed down into the walls and ceiling below.