ᐅ Water damage in the basement during the construction phase – what to do?
Created on: 21 Sep 2024 14:55
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NilsHolgersson
Hello everyone,
We are building a semi-detached house with a solid waterproof concrete basement (WU-basement). The shell was completely finished by March. We are currently in the interior finishing phase: the screed was poured in mid-July, before that the underfloor heating was installed, and the interior plaster is already done.
In August, we used two dehumidifiers for two weeks each.
One week ago, my neighbor discovered water damage in his basement (see photo). Visually, it affects the stairwell area (so no exterior walls). On my side, nothing is visually noticeable. The water is rising from the floor; in the photo, the plaster has already softened. Last week, my neighbor’s basement floor was fully tiled. According to the tiler, the CM-value (moisture content) was okay for tiling.
We have hired a water damage expert. Initial findings are: detailed exceeded moisture values (aw over 0.9) on both of our sides. The expert also took samples to determine the water source. However, the costs for this are considerable.
The builder is currently denying responsibility. A meeting on-site with a TÜV inspector, arranged by the builder, is scheduled for Monday.
Questions so far:
1. Can the costs (expert report, samples, etc.) be covered by insurance? If so, which one (homeowner’s insurance, construction all-risk insurance – we have both)?
2. It is strange that the water appeared late and almost in the middle – could it be a floor slab crack? If yes, what consequences would this have? Complete removal of the screed? Could this be caused by tiling?
3. How does the root cause investigation typically proceed?
Any tips or advice would be appreciated.
Thank you very much!
Best regards
Nils
We are building a semi-detached house with a solid waterproof concrete basement (WU-basement). The shell was completely finished by March. We are currently in the interior finishing phase: the screed was poured in mid-July, before that the underfloor heating was installed, and the interior plaster is already done.
In August, we used two dehumidifiers for two weeks each.
One week ago, my neighbor discovered water damage in his basement (see photo). Visually, it affects the stairwell area (so no exterior walls). On my side, nothing is visually noticeable. The water is rising from the floor; in the photo, the plaster has already softened. Last week, my neighbor’s basement floor was fully tiled. According to the tiler, the CM-value (moisture content) was okay for tiling.
We have hired a water damage expert. Initial findings are: detailed exceeded moisture values (aw over 0.9) on both of our sides. The expert also took samples to determine the water source. However, the costs for this are considerable.
The builder is currently denying responsibility. A meeting on-site with a TÜV inspector, arranged by the builder, is scheduled for Monday.
Questions so far:
1. Can the costs (expert report, samples, etc.) be covered by insurance? If so, which one (homeowner’s insurance, construction all-risk insurance – we have both)?
2. It is strange that the water appeared late and almost in the middle – could it be a floor slab crack? If yes, what consequences would this have? Complete removal of the screed? Could this be caused by tiling?
3. How does the root cause investigation typically proceed?
Any tips or advice would be appreciated.
Thank you very much!
Best regards
Nils
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NilsHolgersson23 Sep 2024 00:46andimann schrieb:
Then this is not your problem, but the general contractor’s (GC) responsibility... Or did you subcontract parts of the work, and now the GC wants to claim that someone else did a poor job?No, everything was built by the GC. However, they are trying to deny it: a week ago there was a dehumidifier nearby with the drain hose in a bucket – the water was leaking out of the bucket.