# Do you think I can get this covered on my home insurance?



## 1975 (21 Jul 2006)

Hi There,

I have a leak coming down through my ceiling into sitting room. It is coming from the shower up stairs. It is not coming from the inside of shower it is coming from the outside (floor). for eg if water comes out from shower by accident. The whole en suite is tiled so pretty worried that this could be major work.

Should I get a plumber to look at this..

Do you think I can get this covered on my home insurance ??

Really worried…

Thanks for advice all….


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## Squonk (21 Jul 2006)

*Re: Do you think I can get this covered on my home insurance ??*

Hi 1975......It seems like I've the exact same problem as you. Our leak comes from the shower but its not consistant i.e. happens only sometime when we shower. The ceilings downstairs is stained. I had a plumber look at it and he couldn't find the leak. The plumber was hesistant about pulling up tiles and stuff in the shower room until he was certain he knew where the problem lay. Thus, I've been keeping an eye on the shower since trying to find the problem, but to no avail.

Anyhow, if the tiles etc need to be pulled up that's a big job and I was also wondering if insurance would cover it.


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## 1975 (21 Jul 2006)

*Re: Do you think I can get this covered on my home insurance ??*

What can we do ??? It is really annoying me. The house is only 3 yeras old !!


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## SteelBlue05 (21 Jul 2006)

*Re: Do you think I can get this covered on my home insurance ??*

HOw does the water get out of the shower by accident? Can you not ensure this doesnt happen by checking the seals on the shower door etc?


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## 1975 (21 Jul 2006)

*Re: Do you think I can get this covered on my home insurance ??*

Basically if you have the shower on and leave the door open for a split second water may get out. Another way is if you have 2 showers one after another. The shower is well sealed etc...

I suppose what I really want to know is will the insurance pay for this as I expect it is going to be a big job............


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## SteelBlue05 (21 Jul 2006)

*Re: Do you think I can get this covered on my home insurance ??*



			
				1975 said:
			
		

> Basically if you have the shower on and leave the door open for a split second water may get out. Another way is if you have 2 showers one after another. The shower is well sealed etc...
> 
> I suppose what I really want to know is will the insurance pay for this as I expect it is going to be a big job............


 
There is no leak in any pipe so what are you trying to fix? If you pour water on any upstairs floor the water is only going to go one direction and that is down through the floor and through the ceiling of the room below.

Why take up the tiles in the en-suite, what are you going to after that?


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## 1975 (21 Jul 2006)

*Re: Do you think I can get this covered on my home insurance ??*

Steelblue 05 to be honest I do not think you understand what I am trying to describe. It doesn't matter. 
thanks for your advice


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## SteelBlue05 (21 Jul 2006)

*Re: Do you think I can get this covered on my home insurance ??*



			
				1975 said:
			
		

> Steelblue 05 to be honest I do not think you understand what I am trying to describe. It doesn't matter.
> thanks for your advice


 
If water gets onto the bathroom floor then it comes through to the ceiling in the room below? Is that not it?


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## 1975 (21 Jul 2006)

*Re: Do you think I can get this covered on my home insurance ??*

The bathroom floor is fully tiled. All the walls are tiled. It is only tiny amounts of water that fall to the floor. I have lived in a 2 story all my life and in the house I grew up in if water spilt on the floor it did not automatically fall through the ceiling and we had no tiles when growing up. 

My query was how can this happen. Our ceiling is ruined. I have checked every area and there is no physical evidence that water can get down yet it is ??? I need to know will insurance cover and would a plumber be able to advise..


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## SteelBlue05 (21 Jul 2006)

*Re: Do you think I can get this covered on my home insurance ??*

Your house insurance should cover that but it depends on the terms and conditions of your policy, did you get a handbook on your ploicy when you got your insurance? It should say whats covered in there.

The problem you need to solve at the moment before you pay for a plumber is to find out if there is a leak in a pipe or if its a case of water getting out of the shower somewhere and onto\under the tiles and down to the ceiling below.

Try pouring a bucket of water down the shower, at least you know that nothing leaked out onto the floor doing this, check if any water goes through to the ceiling below. If not then its likely you dont have any leak in a pipe.

Then try running the water along the inside of the shower and see if any leaks out anywhere outside.


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## 1975 (21 Jul 2006)

*Re: Do you think I can get this covered on my home insurance ??*

Thanks Steelblue  I will run some experiments later and get back to you...


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## Squonk (21 Jul 2006)

*Re: Do you think I can get this covered on my home insurance ??*

My advice is to try to find the source of the problem yourself. A plumber will only charge you to do the exact things that SteelBlue suggests. Once you have isolated the issue then call a plumber to fix it. If there's a leak in the pipe then the dripping will be constant (which doesn't seem to be your case). I would be surprised if a bit of water outseide the shower tray caused your problem; if it is then you have soime issue with your tiling.


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## michaelm (27 Jul 2006)

*Re: Do you think I can get this covered on my home insurance ??*

I had a similar problem with a leaking en suite shower that would sometimes leak during use. I got my brother to stand in it while I inspected the silicone and could see that it was stretched to the point where a hair kine gap appeared when his weight was shifted to a certain corner. Then it was just a matter of pulling off the skirting, packing some wood under the shower tray to eliminate any possible movement, then removing the old silicone and reapplying liberal quantities new silicone, then sticking the skirting back on. No leak since.  I suspect that your insurance company wont pay to have the shower fixed but will pay to have the ceiling fixed.  Unless the ceiling is at the point of collapse you could paint the stain with undercoat or maybe gloss and then cover that with ceiling paint, the stain should not then reappear.


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## Salem (28 Jul 2006)

*Re: Do you think I can get this covered on my home insurance ??*

Lads,
Had something similiar myself, water stains on sitting room ceiling ... I only had the floor boards sanded and varnished in the en-suite and a shower curtain on shower ... Put it down to not drying off the excess water before stepping out of shower ... I ran the shower for 15 min then felt drain pipes under tray, stayed dry ... Anyway to elliminate everything we got floor tiled over plywood, re-sealed shower tray (while standing in it ), fitted shower door ... All dry since ... 
I agree with michaelm about the insurance though ...


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## Ned_ie (28 Jul 2006)

*Re: Do you think I can get this covered on my home insurance ??*

We also have the same problem. However, it looks like our problem stemed frojm bad grouting on the tiles in the shower and thus the water seeped down that way. We had the insurance guy out to us the other day and he said to get a quote for the b uilding owrk to be done. THey won't however pay for the damage to the tiling which came loose as a result of the water damage. I think this is unfair and am questioning with the insurance company on the basis that the tiles are contents of the house damaged beyond repair.

Ned


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## bskinti (6 Aug 2006)

*Re: Do you think I can get this covered on my home insurance ??*

The answer to the insurance question is most home polices will cover a percentage of the cost of the repair, plumber and all,
Are the tiles mastic sealed around the edges at walls and corners and around the base of shower tray, this needs to be a mastic seal as grout don't expand and contract at corners or so my tiler told me.


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## Jellybear (6 Aug 2006)

*Re: Do you think I can get this covered on my home insurance ??*

Hi, to find out whether you are covered or not employ a loss adjuster to act on your behalf - he will deal with all the paper work - tell you whether you are covered or not - and trust me he will try to get as much cash out of the insurance company as he can - they are usually paid a % of the total amount that you get from the company.

You can negotiate the amount charged before appointing your own loss adjuster.

A friend of mine recently had a similiar problem - she ended up with loads of holes in the living room and tiles had to be taken up - all was covered - she used a loss adjuster and got €7K into her hand.  She ended up having more than enough to fix the damage and to repaint all downstairs.


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## harvey (8 Aug 2006)

*Re: Do you think I can get this covered on my home insurance ??*

In my experience, there would only be a portion of the claim paid but if the leak was behind the tiles as opposed to front that would be a different story. I have heard reliable stories where plumbers that have come out to have a look at a job are asked whether insurance will cover it and they are making sure that the insurance does cover it   as long as they get the full repair job.


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