FLOOD 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 Camps Bay, 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: The damaged property includes affected flooring boards, interior walls, skirting boards, and paintwork. These damages are a direct result of water entering into the property via a cavity channel running adjacent to the living room area where the above-mentioned flooring, skirting boards, etc. are fitted. I have provided a scope of work (SOW) below which covers the repairs to these damages, please refer to the SOW for further details regarding the required repair work needed at the property.

Cause of Damage:

As mentioned above, the area that was affected is a living room/lounge that is also used as an office space.
The client became aware of the damages one evening when she went to look at the living room area during a hard rain and did her best to ensure the water did not spread/bleed over the floors.
We experienced very hard rains in Cape Town during July/August, and it was during this time the issues occurred. Rainwater had found its way into the property via a cavity channel positioned adjacent to the living room wall. This is a direct result of how the structure was built.
After a long discussion, the client had mentioned that this flooding issue had occurred before and that the resultant damages were far worse previously. It was because of that incident that she decided to have amendments made to the property to ensure that the flooding did not occur again.
Unfortunately, although not as bad, water is still able to bleed into the living room area via the cavity channel positioned adjacent to the living room space.
The client had extensive renovation work done to the house and stated there was a history of issues within the area due to problems identified during the construction phase of the property. This current issue that is being addressed is a direct result of poor design and planning during the building works of the living room space.
Even though the client went through the process and expense of amending the problems affecting the property, it is obvious that there is still a major issue with water entering into the property via this cavity channel during a hard rain.
To fully understand the problems with the construction of the affected section of the property, we would need to pull back the landscaping work, lift the paving and retaining blocks positioned against the property and assess the issues causing the leak to occur at the lower levels where rainwater is entering. Once identified we would then be able to determine a way forward in resolving the issues.
The client would need to have these construction defects addressed before we could conduct any repairs inside the property. This is necessary to avoid any further problems or resultant damages from occurring.
The client discussed the placement of a submersible pump in the area where the water pools to draw it out and avoid a flood to which I said this would only prove to be a quick fix and not address the core underlying issue of the construction defects allowing rainwater to enter inside the property. The other issue with this solution is where would the pumped water go and how would you get it there? This is not a straightforward solution.
Another quick solution that was brought up was to create a drainage channel to run from the area where the water pools and have it drain away to the outside of the living room to the garden. Again, this would not be addressing the main issue relating to the construction work defects and, in some ways, I feel this could lead to further issues in the future.

Resultant Damages:

The resultant damages are due to the rainwater entering the property via the cavity channel and subsequently into the living room.
This water subsequently pooled and flowed along the outer rim of the room along the skirting boards and edges of the floor. This is due to the light fall of the flooring which is obviously higher in the center of the room.
The flooring seems to have been unaffected, but the skirting boards were badly damaged.
The wallpaper making up the feature wall in the living room has been damaged at its base and cannot be repaired. It would have to be replaced.
An SOW has been provided below along with pricing to repair these damages.

SCOPE OF WORKS

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

Repairs to bathroom door:

Remove bathroom door, plane down base.
Prep with filler and primer.
Apply multiple coats of white enamel to the door thereafter.
Fit door as per existing.

Repairs to wallpaper:

Remove existing wallpaper.
Supply and fit new wallpaper as per existing.
NOTE: An estimate has been provided by a reliable and trusted service provider based on the scope of work.
This amount may differ upon acceptance and a re-assessment of the affected wall.

Paintwork to walls:

Fill, sand and prep walls for paint application.
Apply high-quality wall paint to all 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.
Note: Daily rate along with material costs used due to size of the affected area vs costs.

Dryer and dehumidifier: