Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
flashingproblem

Water Damage - how to pay for it?

flashingproblem
14 years ago

I purchased a five year old home from the original owner in September of 2008 - a year and half later I have discovered significant water damage that has gotten into the insulation on three sides of my home and under my hardwood floors in one section of the house. What would be the best way or approach to getting this fixed - should I hire an engineer to access the damage before going to the builder and insurance company? Thank you for your thoughts.

Comments (8)

  • texasredhead
    14 years ago

    Perhaps a litle more info. Is the insulation problem in the attic? How did you discover water damage under a hardwood floor? Does any of this damage appear to be recent? Not sure the builder would still be involved unless the original owner was the builder. The insurance company may have questions about from where the water came that caused the damage.

  • yborgal
    14 years ago

    Did you have a home inspection done before you purchased the home? No leakage or water damage showed up then?

  • sherwoodva
    14 years ago

    If you can prove that the home inspector missed obvious signs of water damage, the inspector can be liable. But that is hard to do 18 months later.

  • texasredhead
    14 years ago

    Let's not go jumping to conclusions. The OP signed on to Garden Web the same day the post appeared. They ask for advice with very limited information. If the OP offers no other information, let it die.

  • flashingproblem
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thank you for your response. It appears that the flashing around the windows were not properly installed? I have water coming in at the top of the windows where the molding and the window casing meets on the inside of the house. On the outside of the house I have mushrooms around the window casing and my cedar cladboards. We purchased our home from the original owners who had a local developer build the home we now own. I was told the insurance company would not offer assistance unless the damage was caused by a storm or pipe? This is our fourth home we've owned and never came a problem like this before and what troubles me is that I think I have several windows with the same problem. In one part of my home it has reached the basement and the insulation is wet.

  • texasredhead
    14 years ago

    I woundered about the insurance option. Obviously, the fix is going to involve installing flashing around the windows or the situation will only get worse. I would get some estimates on fixing the windows before more damage is done and mold becomes an issue. You might go to the contractor counter at your local big box store as a start. Since they sell window flashing they can probably give you references for contractors to install the proper flashing.

  • bmrbabe
    14 years ago

    The wet insulation has to come out. You really need to call someone who specializes in this kind of thing. Also, talk to your neighbors and see if anyone else has had the same problems. Is your house sided with synthetic stucco? That has been a huge headache for a lot of people because the windows haven't been flashed correctly. If you don't get it taken care of now, it will get worse.

  • FatHen
    14 years ago

    Wow, I've been visiting this home disaster forum for just a few minutes today and this is the second post that indicates windows could be missing flashing. I should not be surprised. Go to the homebuilding forum and ask about window flashing info that was originally provided by a 'suzie snowflake' (spelling?). Though I personally didn't have this problem I learned from her posts that it's a common omission in new houses. I started looking for it in new developments and lo and behold, there was no flashing in sight on hardly any new houses. According to sites like buildingscience.com and jlconline.com this is critical material. A shortcut like this can cost the homeowner many thousands later on, usually after the warranty is expired. And even if it hasn't expired it's very hard to get a warranty claim paid. Been there, done that, eventually settled but it took 5 yrs (for problems other than flashing).