Water damage to my condo?
March 7, 2010 by
Filed under condo water damage
I had water damage to my condo and my 40+ year old hardwood maple floors had to be replaced in my dining room. The problem is that my dining room connects to my living room and the new floors don’t match the old floors. Is the insurance company required to replace my living room floors so they match the dining room?
They had to remove the floors because the leak happened in an upstairs bathroom while I was on vacation for 5 days. By the time I got home the bathroom was in my dining room. The water restoration people sent out by the insurance company were the ones who removed the floors
Nope. Not a chance. Sorry.
Unfortunately, the answer is no. They are responsible for repair or replacement of the damaged area. If they are unable to match the material exactly, they will replace the floor covering in that room, but not any similar floor coverings in adjoining rooms or elsewhere in the house unless they were also damaged.
I am presuming that you were unable to have the flooring restored due to an excessive amount of warping from the water damage. I have seen one instance where the flooring could be refinished to maintain a consistent appearance throughout the house while the damaged subfloor was replaced. In the example that I recall, the homeowner was responsible for the additional cost of the restoration over the cost of replacement, but the result was worth it.
If the two floors connect, in other words are a continuous installation, you should be able to insist on a good match which would normally require replacement of the entire contiguous area. I’m suprised that sanding and refinishing the floor wasn’t sufficient after drying it with an infrared heater. Is it possible the contractor rushed to replace for a higher profit?
If they are separate floors, divided by some other type of flooring inbetween, then no, you won’t get coverage for the other floor.