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  1. #1
    JustMe is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    Default Update: leak -call insurance or not -Squishy flooring and contracting help

    Update - I had my pest control guy go under my house and he found an active significant leak that is causing the flooring problems. He sent me a video. This is such a mess, as I had a plumber here yesterday and he could not get to the leak, as I guess the crawl space is tight..so I have to find a smaller plumber or open up the flooring and go from there. I know this is urgent and am doing everything to get it repaired asap. Question - do I call insurance? I have read that you should make sure you would get enough reimbursement to make it worth it and that they sometimes dont pay for leaks and still raise rates. I have my policy in front of me and dont see anything specifically about leaks. For deductible is says "other loses" and lists 1/2% with an amount of about $1200. Any help is appreciated. thank you
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    So, my kitchen floor is vinyl and a part of it has become very squishy. I thought I had posted at the beginning of this dilemma, but I searched and couldnt find it. Major pandemic brain fog must be happening Anyway, I was concerned about what was happening, so have had a couple of contractors look at it. )t is located near a sliding door, but the squishy part is a few feet away from the sliding door. We did pull up some of the flooring right near the door and there does seem to be dry rot (ugh). For anyone following my I-want-to-sell-my-house saga, I did talk to a real estate agent/mortgage broker and it does not seem like it going to work for me to do that right now (mostly b/c the inventory is too low in terms of me being able to afford something that would work better and I would need to sell my house first to make this work financially).

    Contractor 1 was recommended by a friend who used to do construction. Although she did not have direct knowledge of his work. She has a friend who used him recently for some minor projects and was very happy. He mostly looked at it, felt it, declared it a joist issue and said he would charge me about $800, plus the cost of flooring and having someone else putting that in. What bothered me about him is that I was not sure he really *knew* it was a joist issue. I also asked about asbestos concerns (house is from 1975 and has asbestos in ceilings) and he said he did not think there was asbestos and would proceed as such.

    Contractor 2 -recommended by a friend who is a plumber but has an injury so she cant help me as much as she normally would. He thinks that my sliding doors must have had caulk wear away and rain/wind blowing the rain) caused the damage. He thinks it would be $7000, but of course does not know for sure until he opens it. He collected a sample for asbestos testing (I agreed to this and he charged for that piece, but we agreed that is all I am agreeing to for now). Have not heard back yet

    Contractor 3- recommended by a friend who had some mildew/mold bathroom issues. He thinks there was a leak from my outside faucet. Pretty much same story as contractor 2 from there, except did not give any idea of cost. Allowed him to do asbestos sample too as I wanted the option to use him. Waiting to hear back

    Contractor 4- His former work partner was recommended to me as someone very honest by a friend, who acknowledged he may be retired. He was retired, but referred me to this guy, his former partner. He came over, basically said he could not determine a cause, but we need to do that. Said he might be willing to go under the house (he is 60 and not sure if he can do it). Said he would come back this week to try that. I am hoping he will do that as I am thinking that will be helpful?

    So, any ideas on determining what may be going on or who to work with? Any advice at all? I don't know if I should have someone open it up without knowing how much they would charge...but also this seems like it is something that needs to be taken care of. Also, I had no one in the house before this happened (Covid wise), but again it seems important. Thanks!
    Last edited by JustMe; 04-08-2021 at 11:02 AM.
    lucky single mom to 20 yr old dd and 17 yr old ds through 2 very different adoption routes

  2. #2
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    Did we all advise you to sell the house and move before more problems cropped up


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
    DD (3/06)
    DS1 (7/09)
    DS2 (8/13)

  3. #3
    JustMe is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by georgiegirl View Post
    Did we all advise you to sell the house and move before more problems cropped up


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
    Yes, and I mentioned in my post that I talked to a real estate agent and mortgage broker and that is just not possible for me with the way the housing market is here. Your posts really convinced me to do that, but like I said it really was not possible.
    lucky single mom to 20 yr old dd and 17 yr old ds through 2 very different adoption routes

  4. #4
    SnuggleBuggles is online now Black Diamond level (25,000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by JustMe View Post
    Yes, and I mentioned in my post that I talked to a real estate agent and mortgage broker and that is just not possible for me with the way the housing market is here. Your posts really convinced me to do that, but like I said it really was not possible.
    Maybe a total location change is in order. Pocket the $$ from the seller's market and buy something straight up in a more affordable area.
    You can also always rent while you house hunt in your city. Lots of people do that when inventory is crazy!

    it does seem like a water leak somewhere. I would just pick the person you like the best and go with whatever they recommend. Or maybe you want to check Home Advisor or Angie's List for one more well reviewed contractor?

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    How frustrating and alarming that all the contractors identify different causes.

    I can’t believe how many issues you’ve had with this house. I’d be tempted to sell it now and deal with finding something later (and even rent for a while if necessary.). This house is a money pit and it’s sucking away your sanity!
    DD (3/06)
    DS1 (7/09)
    DS2 (8/13)

  6. #6
    bisous is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    This may sound weird but can you live with it for a bit? I think fixing it might undercover major problems that you might not be poised to fix. If selling is in the future (hopefully not too distant?) is this something that you can ignore to let the next owners handle? They might be in a better position to really right what is going wrong with the house--or they might be able to buy it to tear it down? Is that terrible advice? Having lived in some doozy rentals before (albeit dealing with cosmetic rather than functional issues!) I've put my fair share of patience and longsuffering into some of the places we've lived! Especially since you think that you'd like to leave, I feel like this could potentially be very expensive!

  7. #7
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    The thing with water damage is it is often very difficult to pinpoint the cause even with the most honest and skilled person so there being lack of agreement doesn’t surprise me. It is out of sight so everyone is guessing. I do think you need someone to crawl under to eliminate anything that would be obvious if seen such as obvious wetness caused by an leak. The squishy part being feet away from the sliding doors makes me think it’s not the caulking issue. That may need to be fixed anyway, but I’ve had that and there was damage right at the connection, not feet away.

  8. #8
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    We had 4 plumbers and a leak detection specialist all NOT find the source of a leak in our home earlier this year. We had soggy, moldy engineered hardwoods in the master about 2-3 feet away from an exterior wall with a window. No evidence of leaking from the wall, window, siding, plumbing, ceiling, roof, fireplace, or anywhere else. We ended up just pulling all of the hardwoods up and replacing with vinyl plank, so that it will be easy to replace if it ever happens again.

    That all to reiterate what pp said, you may never find the cause. I would find the least expensive fix for now, and sell ASAP.

  9. #9
    JustMe is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by bisous View Post
    This may sound weird but can you live with it for a bit? I think fixing it might undercover major problems that you might not be poised to fix. If selling is in the future (hopefully not too distant?) is this something that you can ignore to let the next owners handle? They might be in a better position to really right what is going wrong with the house--or they might be able to buy it to tear it down? Is that terrible advice? Having lived in some doozy rentals before (albeit dealing with cosmetic rather than functional issues!) I've put my fair share of patience and longsuffering into some of the places we've lived! Especially since you think that you'd like to leave, I feel like this could potentially be very expensive!
    Yes, I do wonder about this myself! The answer is that I don't know! I am worried it is something that could get bad really quickly and then I would need to have emergency work done. It seems to me that the squishyness has increased in the last 3 weeks, but it could totally be my imagination as well. Also, I would think it might be important to determine the cause?


    Snugglebuggles, I considered the idea of pocketing money from a sale and doing something very different. Rent here is totally through the roof right now and I would worry about being completely priced out of the housing market and stuck with high rent (my mortgage is about 3-4x less than rent at this point)....not sure if that is a reasonable fear, but I think it is based on what I have seen housing costs do. In general, housing costs (rent and ownership) completely unbelievable here..and I guess its important to say that part of that is b/c of the very limited inventory. I have been watching rentals and houses available and there is so little that would work for me (as far as houses to buy there have been none in my workable range).

    As far as another location that is something I have strongly considered as well. Within my state, there is really not a good alternative. Out of my state, I have thought of different options, looked at zillow, etc,and it is so complicated for reasons I am not sure I can fully explain here...but one quick thing is that my Therapist/social work license would not necessarily transfer to other states. I am not closed to anything, but have not found the solution. Oh, and I do not think I am willingly about to get on a plane right now just to check something out either.
    lucky single mom to 20 yr old dd and 17 yr old ds through 2 very different adoption routes

  10. #10
    NCGrandma is offline Emerald level (3000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by JustMe View Post
    Yes, I do wonder about this myself! The answer is that I don't know! I am worried it is something that could get bad really quickly and then I would need to have emergency work done. It seems to me that the squishyness has increased in the last 3 weeks, but it could totally be my imagination as well. Also, I would think it might be important to determine the cause?


    Snugglebuggles, I considered the idea of pocketing money from a sale and doing something very different. Rent here is totally through the roof right now and I would worry about being completely priced out of the housing market and stuck with high rent (my mortgage is about 3-4x less than rent at this point)....not sure if that is a reasonable fear, but I think it is based on what I have seen housing costs do. In general, housing costs (rent and ownership) completely unbelievable here..and I guess its important to say that part of that is b/c of the very limited inventory. I have been watching rentals and houses available and there is so little that would work for me (as far as houses to buy there have been none in my workable range).

    As far as another location that is something I have strongly considered as well. Within my state, there is really not a good alternative. Out of my state, I have thought of different options, looked at zillow, etc,and it is so complicated for reasons I am not sure I can fully explain here...but one quick thing is that my Therapist/social work license would not necessarily transfer to other states. I am not closed to anything, but have not found the solution. Oh, and I do not think I am willingly about to get on a plane right now just to check something out either.
    One concrete suggestion while you’re trying to decide whether to ignore or fix squishy floors: if you haven’t already done so, it could be useful to research the licensure issue in a variety of places you might be interested in. These days, you should be able to get most of the specifics about various relevant types of licenses, what is required to qualify for each, whether there is any sort of reciprocity etc from the licensing board websites. As you know, different states define therapist and other related terms very differently, have differing scopes of practice, and make it harder or easier for someone new to the state to get licensed. Depending on how recently you completed your training, you might get useful tips from your grad school.

    I’m sure this is only one of numerous complications that affect possible relocation, but this is one for which you should be able to get actual answers.


    Sent from my iPad using Baby Bargains

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