BURST SUPPLY LINE RESULTANT DAMAGES CLAIM

ASSESSMENT

Black Bird Construction was contacted by the client’s insurance company to assess and conduct repair work. An assessment took place at the client’s property in Sunset Links, where various items were inspected and a quotation was then generated and accepted by the insurer and client. Below is a breakdown of what transpired during the claim and excerpts of the assessor’s findings have been included as a means to explain the various building work required to repair the damages. The scope of work has also been included along with photos of the damages before and after the repairs were completed. We hope you enjoy the post and if you would like to learn more about Black Bird Construction please feel free to contact us.

REPORT

Damage Report: Original Report: 2021.11.11 Our leak detection technician attended to the above-mentioned property on the 8th of November in order to conduct a leak detection test. After extensive correlation test were conducted, our team traced and located the following issues in two separate areas in the home:

En-suite 1 – A burst on the cold-water supply pipe in the master en-suite bathroom downstairs. The burst was indicated on the T in the floor between the shower and the toilet. We recommend the hot and cold-water supply pipes be opened and exposed and then replaced from the shower floor to behind the toilet.

En-suite 2 – A leak / potential burst on the water supply pipes at the shower mixer in the 2nd en-suite bathroom.

The two affected areas will both need a significant number of repairs once the plumbing work has been completed. The reason for this, is due to the need to create an access point to the affected pipework and possible fittings needing repairs. This will involve the removal and dismantling of the tiling work, knocking into the screed and the walls of the bathroom. The above repairs will need to be conducted and finalized first before we are able to provide a full breakdown of the required repairs to the resultant damages. We have in the interim provided a list of the areas that will need to be attended to, as well as what type of repairs will need to be conducted. We have since only provided for the required repairs needed at the property in relation to the plumbing work. A further update will be provided at a later stage. Updated Report: 2021.12.01 The repairs to the burst pipes have been completed and the affected pipelines secured. Due to these repairs being conducted, resultant damages have occurred to the tiling works in both bathrooms. Thankfully the bathrooms are both tiled using Travertine tiles which are fairly easy to come by. A more thorough breakdown of the resultant damages has been listed below. I have also provided a report from the plumbing team regarding the affected pipes they identified at the client’s home. Please see the below update details below: Plumbers Report: Bathroom 1:

Our team was on site and located the burst pipe near the mixer. A small pinhole burst was located, and a section of replacement pipe was supplied and fitted. The supply line in the affected bathroom has now been secured.

Bathroom 2:

A very badly cracked pipe was identified in the second bedroom en-suite with our plumbing team having to demolish and gain access to the supply line running in the bathroom’s slab and the shower base. The pipe supplying water to the bathroom was ultimately replaced and secured using new materials.
In order to gain access to this area, the toilet pan had to be removed and the tiling broken open. An opening into the concrete slab was made and the pipe was accessible.
A considerable amount of the repairs have already been completed to the bathroom already and the work quoted for completed.

NOTE:

It should be brought up that the most probably cause for the affected pipes has to be in connection with the cutting of the water supply to the area where the affected property is based. The Sunset Links Estate had issues with their water supply line and was cut-off numerous times and reconnected due to maintenance related issues within the area.
WE noticed that another client suffered the similar issues in the Estate due to the same problems.

Resultant Damages: With the plumbing work repairs to the affected pipework being completed the full extent of the resultant damages has been determined. The resultant damages include the following: Laminated flooring boards:

The laminate boards have been affected by the moisture that has seeped from the pipework bleeding under the flooring boards.
The laminate flooring boards in the bedroom have raised and will need to be replaced in order to rectify the issue.
The boards will need to be lifted, removed, and replaced with new boards.

Skirting boards – remove and re-fit/paint:

The skirting boards will need to be removed and re-fitted once the flooring has been repaired.

Walls (Prep and paintwork):

The walls have been damaged and will need to be attended to.
The paint has saturated and peeled off from the walls plaster.
This existing paintwork will need to be stripped and reapplied to bring the home’s paintwork back to its former condition.

Tiling repairs

Some of the tiling work repairs have already been completed. This includes the repairs to the shower base and the behind the toilet.
Plastering and patchwork was conducted in order to seal the pipework and prep the area for the needed tiling repairs.
The repairs needed in connection to the tiling works include, the waterproofing and prep of all the surfaces, supply and fit of the new tiles.
Supplying matching tiles should not be too difficult as Travertine is an easy tile to get a hold of.
Once completed, the bathrooms will be back to their original condition.

Update: 2022.01.22 Additional repairs: Skimming plaster:

Once our building team had begun with the repair works at the property, it was more than apparent that the lower section of the walls in the affected area needed to be patched/re-skimmed using cretestone.
I have included the skimming plaster repair work into the below SOW.

Additional paintwork:

The passageway walls that are common with the affected bedroom were affected by rising damp. We only discovered this area being affected once we were finalizing the repair work.
These walls were then prepped and repainted.

SCOPE OF WORKS

BELOW IS A BREAKDOWN OF THE REPAIR WORK CONDUCTED TO THE RESULTANT DAMAGES AT THE AFFECTED PROPERTY:

Laminated flooring repairs:

Move all furniture out of workspace and prep the area thoroughly for sanding works where necessary.
Lift all existing flooring boards in the affected area.
Remove underlay.
Check and repair screed where necessary.
Supply and fit new underlay and new laminated boards.
Replacement laminated boards to be selected by the client – colour, design, etc.
Skirting boards to be repainted when flooring repairs have been completed – materials and labour included in costing.

Dehumidifier allowance:

A dehumidifier has been costed for to dry out the area at a faster pace, once the old flooring has been removed our team will be placing dehumidifiers in the affected spaces.

Carpentry works (Skirting boards – Walk-in closet and bedroom):

Remove damaged skirting boards and dispose (where necessary).
Supply and fit matching skirting boards as per existing.
Fit the skirting boards after the new laminated flooring has been fitted/installed.
Prep skirting boards for paintwork.
Supply and apply enamel paint as per the existing.

Skimming plaster work to walls:

Prep walls for plaster work.
Supply and apply cretestone skimming plaster to all affected walls base.
Allow to dry and prep for paint application.

Paintworks (Interior and exterior walls – in all affected areas):

Fill, sand and prep walls for paint application.
Apply high-quality wall paint to all affected walls in the area.
Paint to be applied from corner to corner.
Surrounding walls are to be painted with a single coat to ensure uniformity in appearance.
Match paint colour as per existing.

Patch and plaster:

Supply and apply cement plaster to openings in both bathrooms.
Patch and smoothen plaster, prep for tile application.

Waterproofing repairs:

Supply and apply waterproofing to plastered surface of shower base and walls.

Tiling (Both bathrooms): Mosaic shower base:

Remove existing mosaic tiles.
Conduct all plumbing repairs.
Patch and plaster shower base.
Supply and apply waterproofing to plastered surfaces.
Fit mosaic tiles as per existing.

Tiled walls:

Remove existing Tavertine tiles.
Conduct all plumbing repairs to affected pipework.
Patch and plaster shower walls.
Supply and apply waterproofing to plastered surfaces.
Supply and fit new Travertine tiles as per existing tile to all affected areas in both bathrooms.

NOTE: