The Rig

iTrader: (13)

moved into a new house about 2 mths ago, transferred my 4 yr policy from old house to this house,have ll the cover, accident damage etc etc.

Now, the upstairs bay window is damp damp damp, the wall in the bedroom oosed moisture so i removed the rendor to reveal the wooden frame, or,well,the wooden frame which now resembled polystyrene in strength, i removed the wood so now have the brick suspended in mid air being held on by the outside mortar/combination of mortar between the bricks etc.

now,its been airing for about a week, but is still wet all the time, the rads are on etc but it seems its the outside rendor causing issues as far as i can see, i removed the floorboard closest to the window as this was rotten too and the brick undeneath the floor boards are damp too.


so,can i claim on my buildings insurance ?

i reckon the whole bay windows needs replacing,as in the bricks/mortar/wood frame and rendor, i have just had brand new upvc windows fitted which borught the state of the bay window to light,when he removed the old wooden frame of the window,was greeted with a wooden frame that a sneeze could destroy

cheers

what would scooby do

Sorry to state the obvious but you need to speak with your insurer to work out if you have a claim.

RON

Did you have a survey??? if yes, what type..??? something like this should be reasonably obvious....

PaulC72

I also thought about the survey route and would be interested to know too.

Also only the insurance assessor would probably tell you if you can claim.

The Rig

iTrader: (13)

i had a suvey done, i pointed out my concerns on the area of damp on the bay window,with the wallpaper on etc it wasnt as bad as it is now,the wallpaper hid alot but you could see it wasnt right,the surveyor said it was surface condensation from the property being vacant for 1 yr.

it obviously isnt but i know i prob cant take it further with them as they didnt do a structural survey,it was a home buyers survey.

i dont want to call my insurance just yet incase what i say is a no, i need to know the right "wording" an insurance company will like,if ya get me.

PaulC72

I would have thought if he was doing the survey a moisture tester would have highlighted the problem.
maybe speak to the surverying company again and gain some professional advice from them?

andythejock01wrx

Speaking as an insurance advisor, you have two potential issues in pursuing a claim :

1) Was the damage caused by an insured event ? Your policy will cover a list of "insured perils", such as fire flood, storm etc. This damage may not fall under any of them - "Storm" is the closest, from what you have said.

2) Did the damage occur when your insurer covered your new house, or was it before ? If the damage was present when you moved in, you can't claim on your insurance.

Sorry if this sounds pessimistic - hope it helps any way.

Andy Mc

richardg

a standard homebuyers report will have qualifications (ie it will say, floorboards not checked as carpets not lifted, walls not checked as plaster and decoration not removed etc etc - make sure you read the small print. speak to your surveyor - if you;re unhappy with their response, speak to the RICS (if they;re chartered).

The Rig

iTrader: (13)

well,this is it,its prob been rotten for 10 yrs or more.

but the structure now is dangerous,hence the wonder of claiming on the buildings insurance,like when the p.c breaks and people drop them in the bath (i didnt say that did i)

hee hee

cheers aanyway

richardg

preparation of a homebuyer report will not include use of a protimeter. another thought - re-read the section referring to the condensation and you;ll probably see reference to a recommendation for further investigation. i know that doesn't help you, but it;s well worth making sure you cover all the angles before trying to take this further in case your argument doesn't stack up (ie do your homework and you should be able to answer any queries thrown at you)

The Rig

iTrader: (13)

yeah,it says all that,drains not checked as man hole covered,carpets laid so nothing under there checked etc etc its a good get out clause really,wiring not checked as powers off ha ha ha

girl-in-a-scoob

Sound advice here.... We're roofers and its increasingly hard now to claim on insurance for buildings cover. Any roof damage must be storm damage and even then the insurance company will get another opinion and also check the past forecasts

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

When we bought our house we had the survey done, and it had the line about the floor in the living room saying something like "living room floor not checked as carpet laid" - nice surprise when we pulled it up to put down the new carpet, about £6K's worth of as new ( even though it was laid when the house was built in the 60's, it must have been carpeted over straight away and never exposed ) solid oak block flooring !

andythejock01wrx

Cheers girl-in-a-scoob.

It's nice to be able to post on a thread and not receive a daft infraction !

al4x1

Don't bother claiming this is a maintenance issue as said and not one arising from a specific event.

David Lock

Sorry to say this but I don't think you have a cat in hell's chance of getting a cent out of your home insurance. Clearly this problem has been there for years, slowly getting worse.

And I would be 99.9% sure that your home survey would have enough small print to get them off the hook as well.

I'd love to be proved wrong dl