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[conlt]

Yes, they have to knock many holes in the walls then I will have to get them re-fixed and painted. My brother has a friend who installs tile showers and I will probably have him do the work. I need paint, a new kitchen, and I wanted to do the showers so I will probably re-plumb now and maybe do that after the first of the year. 

[Kachina624]

I had to have my entire house replumbed due to a leak from polybutylene pipe, which I bet is what @Tyak had.  The dates required for the lawsuit did not fit my situation nor did insurance (USAA) cover it.  There are companies that specialize in locating leaks but I found them to be mostly ineffective.  They never found mine after drilling two holes in the slab, at which point I said stop.

So the plumber and crew replaced all my pipe, I had many holes that had to repaired, taped and floated and painted.  I had to pay for a lot of excess water that ran through my meter (water is very expensive here).  Sometime later, I discovered water bubbling up in the front yard, so I had to have the pipe from the house to the meter replaced.  I figure the whole job plus water, sheetrock repair cost me about $25,000.

[Mominohio]

This sounds like quite an unexpected and terrible mess. I'm very sorry you have to deal with this. Having such destructive work is unsettling and expensive. I'd be in a panic right now, if I were you, for the mess and for the cost.

Not sure if your insurance will cover it, but I do know they will try to pay as little as they can. It just seems like everyone we have known who really needed their insurance (several friends had fires) had to fight tooth and nail to get what they had coming to them.

I wish you luck in this journey. The best thing you can do is really read your policy and be prepared to fight for things to be done correctly if you are covered for this. 

You will have a two pronged battle with this. Contractors to be watched and held accountable and the insurance company as well.

[Kachina624]

@conlt.  My advice:  Hire a professional bona fide plumbing company established in the community.  There are a million things that could go wrong with a job like this and you want to be able to find your plumber after the job is finished.  The pros would also be able to arrange for wall repair.  Replumbing is a complex job.  No way would I hire the friend of a relative who installs showers.  He may not even be a licensed, insured plumber.  You need people who know what they're doing.  I know of what I speak.  You pay no more for the best.

[SilleeMee]

My homeowners ins paid for the damages done from one of my leaking pipes, for example things on the floor that got wet from the leak (carpet). The ins did not pay for the pipe itself, or the cost to repair that pipe and the hole in the wall made to access that broken pipe.

[conlt]

Yes, that is how it goes, it will pay for the damage caused byt he water but not the pipe or to fix the drywall holes that the plumber has to make. . 

[Allegheny]

Off topic:  I find this such an interesting thread.  Living my entire life in the North, (we have foundations/basements) I do not know much about home construction in the South and issues people may encounter with their homes.

OP I am sorry this has occurred, never a fun thing to discover something is amiss with one's home.  Sounds like you have everything under control though.

[Mom2Dogs]

This type of situation scares me --as we are also on a slab.....we had one leak but it was in the wall so it was an easy fix....sometimes I have visions of our main floor being jackhammerred to find a leak..

[Icegoddess]

I am so sorry.  That type of thing is the reason I have always been afraid of buying a house on a slab.  Hope all goes well.

[Lipstickdiva]

Having a basement can be a very costly expense to if you have a leak.

I have 2 rental houses and both of them ended up with several feet of water in the basement that was coming up through the floor drain.  The cause was tree roots and other debris in the pipes that ran through the front yard.  We had to have a company come out and clean out those pipes plus the basements needed to be cleaned up and dried out. 

Someone I know recently got major water in her basement during a heavy rain.  It was coming in through her basement walls around the foundation.  It cost her over $1,500.00 for the company to come out and take care of the mess and dry everything out plus she needs something done to her basement walls to the tune of $25,000.00.  None of that $25,000 will be covered by insurance.  

Eventually basement walls often crack and cave in and it's not cheap to fix and it's not covered by insurance.