water leak

[chunky7123]

hello

ive had a water leak at my house and ive been told by my insurance company that its a invalid claim, because they say its graduall.

can someone answer me this question.....

is it possible to have a leak and not notice until the leak gets bigger or bursts and causes damage .
thanks chunky

 

[easyt]

Where about are the leaking pipes - are they under floor boards, behind units, in a concrete floor ?? Is it mains water or central heating or tank fed hot or cold?

 

[HoodedClaw]

Yep, its quite reasonable for a slow drip to be absorbed by a ceiling until fully loaded before being noticed. I personally find it depends on the plasterboard/paint on how long its concealed.

the last leak I fixed was just like that one, from the stain patterns in the loft/airing cupboard/kitchen ceiling and the amount of water in the wood, I'd say it had been slowly dripping on and off for a good 4/5 months. The owner didn't realise the kitchen ceiling staining until I pointed it out.

 

[PlumbBobBob]

i went to a leak once where it had been happening for quite a while and had only just appeared through the kitchen ceiling, but had soaked the outside wall above the back door right through the brickwork! turns out it was a very slow leak from the toilet cistern.

 

[chunky7123]

does this mean that its possible that a leak could be hidden and not noticable just by looking at it if your not trained to see such things

 

[chunky7123]

the leak happened in the bathroom under the bath.

we have a artexed ceileing and walls , we where out on the saturday morning and got back saturday night, my daughter told me she heard water in the bath but no taps runing , my wife went in the kitchen and i went in front room the walls where running and the cupboard and floor was flooded. we had no heating or hot water for 7 days after the flood , it took the insurance company 12 days to send out a surveyor to my property . in the meantime my walls in the front room started to blister and fill with water . they said this was graduall damage but it took them 12 days to come out no-one looked at the damage , didnt have no advice or help from the insurance company to help stop any fiurther damage from the leak , stains only appeared after the leak ?

anyone got any advice ??

 

[Gray0689]

Take the insurance company to court

 

[dontknowitall]

Obviously it depends on what the policy says and while it's not TLO* or caused by SRCC* it's seems as if it's a perfectly normal claim. Whether it's worth claiming and losing your no claims bonus is a very different matter.

* I'm getting carried away there !!

 

[turnpin]

ask insurance co[in writing] to send you a letter explaining in detail why they think its right
not to compensate you and then go to the insurance ombudsman best of luck and dont take no for an answerregards turnpin

 

[HoodedClaw]

Sounds like an insurance claim to me, did you think to take photos? Could be useful later. I take it the leak source is fixed now and it supplementary damage to finish?