Water leak under slab!

conlt · ‎03-16-2010

Wow, what a day, I have a water leak under my floor, in my slab. It will cost a lot to fix and a lot to re-plumb the house. I am thinking about re-plumbing because I have copper pipes and they leak from the chemicals in the water. I called the insurance company today, anyone have experience with water leaks and insurance? I am almost afraid to make a claim.

software · ‎06-08-2016

Depends on what caused the leak and if the leak damaged anything.

It may not be covered.

I have a high deductible, I've only used my insurance once, when a tree fell on my roof,

BirkiLady · ‎02-22-2015

@conlt Contact your insurance agent ASAP. Then get estimates from several plumbers to fix the leak. Have you shut off the water so it doesn't continue to leak under the slab? Please do so. You don't want mold growing under there (if it isn't already). Oh, what a horrible mess and expensive. I'm so sorry you are facing this.

Has it damaged your floors or contents of your home? Depending upon how your policy is written, it may cover water damage.

I'm currently looking at Farmer's Insurance since they have much better coverage for everything (like sump pumps overflowing - horrible thought) OR I'm able to pay my auto and home annually. Currently, I pay home annually; but auto semi-annually. My current insurance company won't let me pay annually for my vehicles. Lots of pluses about Farmer's that I really, really like . . . and renewal time is almost here!

Money screams; wealth whispers.

Nonametoday · ‎03-09-2010

I certianly hope it pays. You have my best wishes for that. I will say a prayer for you.

fthunt · ‎12-24-2010

It's good that you called your insurance company immediately.......but ...now get a professional licensed plumber who can evaluate the problem and tell YOU what exactly is going on - how best to correct it and get a price for fixing. Then make your decision to fix or replace and advise your insurance company of the facts. My insurance co was very helpful and paid for everything for my recent tenant fire. ($3,000)

conlt · ‎03-16-2010

I did have a professional plumber come today. It looks like the water was coming through the wall but he said there were not pipes in the wall but it is under the slab. So I called the insurance because I know how costly and what a mess this is. No telling what is under the floor. I have a marble floor that me and my ex put in together. I hate to see it go but then again it may be good to start fresh with new flooring. They are going to have to break the floor to get through to the slab. It is very sad really.

Nightowlz · ‎03-11-2010

So sorry. What a mess.

I thought they normally re-plumbed thru the attic instead of tearing up the slab. Guess it's probably your choice.

How old is your house?

Our neighbor said he had a leak in his slab but he did not. The plumbing in the wall was leaking & had been for a long time. Since the carpet & slab was all wet he assumed he had a leak in the slab.

The plumber found the leak & fixed it.

The problem with this guy is he has no common sense so I'm sure their home is full of mold by now. He has had several leaks & does not know how to properly take care of that. Some people know you need to remove wet sheetrock ASAP. We never saw anyone there to make repairs, replace carpet etc.???

He told DH once a person cannot stand on the ceiling in the attic. Duh!!! He said I fell thru the ceiling in 2 places in the house & was wondering how to fix it.

gtx · ‎08-15-2010

We had this happen recently and the plumbers re-routed the water line through the attic rather than dig up the floor. It saved a lot of the cost and was not so traumatic.

Tyak · ‎01-26-2013

@conlt wrote:
Wow, what a day, I have a water leak under my floor, in my slab. It will cost a lot to fix and a lot to re-plumb the house. I am thinking about re-plumbing because I have copper pipes and they leak from the chemicals in the water. I called the insurance company today, anyone have experience with water leaks and insurance? I am almost afraid to make a claim.

We had to have our house re-plumbed 10 years ago because of the faulty plumbing that was used. We were part of a class action suit and we recouped the cost of the re-plumb when it was settled. Good luck with insurance, I don't have any idea if it would be covered by insurance. The pipes were plumbed through the attic and we had at least 50 holes in our walls throughout the house during the work.

conlt · ‎03-16-2010

Yes, if the plumber re-plumbs the house, he will go up with the piping. My house was built in 1982. I live in Florida so no cellar, all of the housed built around that time have copper pipes. Many have leaks. My brother had a leak that he did not know about and there was mold in the walls. I am afraid of that to. If the insurance pays for anything it will only be to fix the leak and probably the floor but not to re-plumb.