Or architect. Structural engineer definitely a little off target but engineers are really smart so that may be enough
Help with rain damage and insurance claim
- Thread starter Frenzied Wombat
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Frenzied Wombat
Potato del Grande
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Update.. Engineer determined my leak is coming from some sort of failure in the gutter flashing at the far edge of the patio. Since my roof is basically a gaping wound, it was relatively easy to test using a water hose on the deck itself. He couldn't state exactly what the problem was on the flashing itself without excavating/removing it, but to give some history the flashing was actually installed by the builder after the house itself was purchased. Soon after moving in I complained of brown drips from the gutter on the stucco (even though they weren't overflowing) and basically water was dripping down the stucco and getting behind the gutter. He had the gutter company install rubber flap like flashing to ensure the water ran into the gutter and not behind it. I suspect that this "after the fact" install was shoddy.. For the other units that have smaller leaks towards the left side of the imaged patio, he surmises it's the seal between the wall and patio surface. A roofing/leak detecting company will be coming in the next few days to do actual leak testing/excavation for this other set of leaks... Now to deal with Insurance.. What a shitshow..
Gavinmad
Mr. Poopybutthole
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I would be shocked if every single unit doesn't have the exact same leak. You may have had a second one with the gutter flashing that was a lot worse than the others, but if everyone has a problem with leaks I would bet that every patio leaks in the same spot.
Chanur
Shit Posting Professional
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My grandfather owned a custom sheet metal shop for many decades. We did old school work soldered all our sheet metal. When we put it on it was a lifetime piece. That being said the work many other shops do are complete garbage such as after the fact flashing that leaks terribly. It's rea unfortunate how common shoddy work is. Contracting is the most corrupt profession since banking.
Scyfi
N00b
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In my experience insurance only covers the damage from the leak and not the repair to stop future leaks. Not sure what your deductible is inside, but the damage is not much even using Xactimate for pricing. Depending on your policy you are most likely going to have to go after the original builder if you want the leak fix covered. If you chose to pay for it yourself, I would post the bid here for review before you agree to any pricing.
Frenzied Wombat
Potato del Grande
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Yeah, the engineer said the same thing. Basically the design/construction of the patio is so shitty, he said there would be no permanent reprieve short of demolishing and rebuilding the whole thing. He said he's seen a number of these above ground patios that were popular around the time my place was built, and they all fucking leak and fail to adhere to some basic engineering principles. His suggestion for the cheapest and most effective solution/fix is to install wall to wall waterproof vinyl on the patio, essentially turning it into a 3 sided fishbowl. No idea what that will cost but will look into it after the repairs are conducted. Now waiting on insurance company decision based on engineer's and adjuster's report..
Big Phoenix
Pronouns: zie/zhem/zer
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Frenzied Wombat
Potato del Grande
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Insurance just came back and denied the claim. Surprise surprise.. They won't cover building defects, improper construction, or failed seals. Damage has to be "catastrophic" in the sense that the wind/rain ripped the gutter off the wall, not a scenario where wind/rain caused a failure in caulking or a seal.. Fuck me..
Cad
scientia potentia est
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Big Phoenix
Pronouns: zie/zhem/zer
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Kinda make sense? I mean this problem is entirely due to the builder being a fucking retard, not an act of god.
Though I also dont see how the builder can just write off any liability. Car makers have liability for shitty designs long after their car leaves the stealership lot.
Frenzied Wombat
Potato del Grande
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Do we have recourse 7 years post construction? We do have a library's worth of communication with the builder in the first four years trying to get him to fix it. Each time it was basically a random Mexican with a caulking gun basically throwing darts at the wall, until at year 4 we threatened legal action and he sent out a more advanced Mexican that traced out the actual leaks and caulked the places where the water was intruding. He gave us a year warranty on that work, and since it was a dry year we had no more leaks and the warranty expired. A year after that, the leaks started up again.
Frenzied Wombat
Potato del Grande
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Yeah, I get it. The builder is a psycho tranny (histrionic gay dude) that was hell to deal with, and again the lawyer we consulted years back said these type of cases are expensive to litigate and hard to extract payment for if you do win.
I'm sorry man but it is kind of expected after what you've said. Insurance isn't going to pay for shoddy workmanship or long term maintenance issues like that. Really sucks.
You can attempt to go after the builder. Depending on what is needed to fix the actual issue though it might be cheaper to just get it fixed by someone reputable. Legal battles like this don't usually end well for the injured party as your legal fees will add up fast and it can be a real bitch to ever collect anything. Short of the builder being some massive entity that has been around for 30 years under the same corporation I'd suggest thinking really hard and long about what you can expect to actually get out of a legal battle. Aside from the bills.
Good luck.
You can attempt to go after the builder. Depending on what is needed to fix the actual issue though it might be cheaper to just get it fixed by someone reputable. Legal battles like this don't usually end well for the injured party as your legal fees will add up fast and it can be a real bitch to ever collect anything. Short of the builder being some massive entity that has been around for 30 years under the same corporation I'd suggest thinking really hard and long about what you can expect to actually get out of a legal battle. Aside from the bills.
Good luck.
Cad
scientia potentia est
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Might be statute of limitations issue 7 years post, and if it's like less than 20k damages probably not worth it in any case.
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Don't give up.
I swear to god the only thing insurance companies buckle to is you wasting their time.
I used to work with medical insurance and I can tell you without blinking that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Think of it like this: Insurance companies use their income to produce excuses. They are excuse factories. They are so fucking good at coming up with excuses to not pay you, that they have made a business out of it. Just keep calling them on their bullshit. Call their excuses, excuses. That's the game. The gamble they take is that most people won't be willing to jump through all the hoops in order to call them on their bullshit. You paid premiums without complaint, they can and should pay damages without complaint.
Stick to your guns and be a dick.
It sucks to be a dick to some nice girl from Arizona, but that is what they are banking on.
Mist
REEEEeyore
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I agree with the AngryGerbil.
Though my case was very different. In my case, they didn't send a proper adjuster out for over 18 months and I told them that after that amount of negligence they were on the hook for not only the original damage, but all the mold damage in that period of time resulting from the original damage, and they had absolutely no way out of it.
Though my case was very different. In my case, they didn't send a proper adjuster out for over 18 months and I told them that after that amount of negligence they were on the hook for not only the original damage, but all the mold damage in that period of time resulting from the original damage, and they had absolutely no way out of it.