COLD SUPPLY LEAK AND 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 Somerset West, 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

Damages:

As mentioned before in previous communications we were unable to provide a quotation for the resultant damages until the leak detection company had repaired the burst water supply pipe. Now that the repairs have been completed, I was able to see what the resultant damages included. I went to meet with the client on Monday, July 30th, 2018. I had a thorough look around the home focusing on the areas where the burst pipe had leaked. The leak originated from the 1st floor’s slab with the water running down along the ground floor walls (inner and outer walls of multiple rooms) and ending up damaging a large amount of paintwork, plastering and ceilings in the basement. Another heavily damaged item is the basement access door, which is a solid timber door. The door has swollen so much that it is unusable and cannot be opened. There are a couple of items I ‘m amazed that were not damaged including the bar room’s cupboards and the flooring boards.
The main area that needs the most repairs is the basement floor. This area is most certainly the worst hit by the leak. The client explained that they never realised how bad the leak was until they went down into the basement to prepare it for a guest. As you can imagine they (the client) could only tell that the pipe had burst by looking at the damages on the ground floor – this is where they spend most of their time (main living quarters).

The damages carry over 2 floors and include various areas that will need to be repaired. I’ve listed the damages as well as the corresponding areas below:

First-floor slab:
Pinpoint needed an access point to the leak and created an opening from the ground floor into the first floors slab. Currently, there is a gaping hole in the first-floor slab (see attached images). This will need to be filled with cement and plastered. Thereafter, skimmed and painted.

Ground floor:

Besides the repairs to the slab, many of the surrounding walls on the ground floor were affected. This includes the entrance way walls, the bar room walls and the outside/exterior walls of the ground floor.

Basement:

The basement has sustained the majority of the damages. The damages here include;

– Waterlogged, stained ceilings and cornices.

– Badly damaged access door. This door will need to be removed, shaved to fit the existing frame and repainted. Thereafter re-hung.

– Damaged interior and exterior walls. These walls will need to be filled, sanded and repainted.

SCOPE OF WORKS

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

EMERGENCY REPAIRS

Emergency call out and repairs to burst pipe:

A concealed leak on a cold water supply pipe running up into the living room wall below the basin cupboard unit in 2nd floor en-suite bathroom was detected.
This leak was affecting the surrounding area causing resultant damages. In order to prevent any further damages from occurring we proceeded with emergency repairs.
Expose affected area from entrance lobby by creating an opening to gain access to burst pipe.
Repair concealed burst/leaking supply pipe using Class 2 copper pipe.

GROUND FLOOR REPAIRS

Slab repairs and plastering:

Supply all required materials.
Remove curtain rails.
Set up scaffolding.
Set up work space to minimize mess occurring from the plaster work.
Apply plaster bond.
Apply bagging/filling to opening in the slab.
Allow cement to solidify.
Smoothen cement and prep for skimming plaster.
Ensure that the plaster is inline with the existing plaster to prevent any humps forming in plaster.

Skimming plaster work:

Supply all required materials.
Apply skimming plaster to previously patched area.
Smoothen plaster and ready for paint work.
Remove scaffolding from site.

Cornice repairs:

Remove and dispose of affected cornice lengths.
Supply and fit new rhino-cornice (half round).
Prep for paintwork.

Interior paintwork (Livingroom & bar area):

Supply all required materials.
Paint colour to be supplied by client.
Fill, sand and prep walls thoroughly for priming coat.
Apply primary/first coat to affected area.
Apply 2 coats to full walls in the affected area to ensure a thorough and uniform coat of paint.

Interior paintwork (Ceilings & cornices)

Fill, sand and prep all newly repaired areas thoroughly.
Apply primary/first coat to affected area.
Apply 2 coats to full walls in the affected area to ensure a thorough and uniform coat of paint.

Exterior paintwork:

Supply all required materials.
Set up scaffolding.
Paint colour to be supplied by client.
Mix/tint window/trim colour.
Mix/tint main building colour.
Fill, sand and prep all affected areas of exterior wall.
Repaint window sills, plaster bands, guest room area entranceway.

Rubble removal:

Remove all rubble originating from ground floor repairs.

BASEMENT FLOOR REPAIRS

Ceiling repairs:

Remove all damaged rhinoboard ceilings – ceilings in the basement area are part concrete and part rhinoboard.
Supply and fit new rhinoboard ceilings.
Apply skim-plaster to ceilings.

Cornice repairs:

Remove and dispose of affected cornice lengths.
Supply and fit new rhino-cornice (half round).
Prep for paintwork.

Door repairs:

Remove door.
Route existing door to fit doorframe.
Sand and prep for painting.
Re-fit door to existing frame.

Door and skirting paintwork:

Supply all required materials.
Paint re-fitted guestroom door and frame.
Paint skirting boards in affected area.
Use a drip

Interior paintwork (Guestroom interior walls):

Supply all required materials.
Paint colour to be supplied by client.
Fill, sand and prep walls thoroughly for priming coat.
Apply primary/first coat to affected area.
Apply 2 coats to full walls in the affected area to ensure a thorough and uniform coat of paint.

Interior paintwork (Ceilings & cornices)

Fill, sand and prep all newly repaired areas thoroughly.
Apply primary/first coat to affected area.
Apply 2 coats to full walls in the affected area to ensure a thorough and uniform coat of paint.

Rubble removal: