A Dreadful lesson

[alcanadakid]

We had a dreadful lesson recently.

We went on holiday to Laos and Cambodia and while we were away the temperature in the UK plunged to minus 12. When we returned we found that 2 pipes had burst in the loft and gushed for about 10 days. The net result is that 80% of our house and contents have been destroyed and we have had to move into rented accomodation while the house is dried and repaired, which will take about 6 months. It is unbelievable what a water leak can do. All the ceilings were down, which pulled down the electrics and the ground floor was covered in plasterboard and was awash. Fortunately it is all covered by insurance and they (Liverpool Victoria) have been brilliant.

Not looking for sympathy, just reminding everyone to turn off the water when you go away AND to drain the tank. It sounds like a pain, but it is nothing compared to what can happen

 

[Belladonna]

Oh ak, how absolutely dreadful for you to come home to such a disaster. Having to deal with washing machine leaks etc which shows up only a after a few days is bad enough, yours sounds horrendous. So sorry to hear about it and I am glad you are getting it sorted out. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Sparky]

Oh No!! so sorry for you . Thankfully the temps don't go that low here, i think the pipes are more likely to melt in the heat of summer .

 

[tibbles]

Sorry to read your story and do hope you are soon sorted! Thank goodness the insurance company have been good! Last year had very bad leak from bathroom into brandnew kitchen, so I can imagine how dreadful the results of burst pipes left running must have been

It started about midnight and we were still mopping up around 4am with the water turned off! Took weeks to dry out upstairs and ruined bedroom carpets etc etc. Can really sympathise good luck to you both!
PS did you enjoy the holiday?

 

[Mark]

That's terrible.

Cant imagine what it was like when you opened the front door to see that.

The same thing happened to a friend who went away for two weeks last winter and didn't leave the central heating turned on and the weather was the coldest it had been for years....
Their house had concrete floors and there was no where for water to go, just trickling through gaps around doors.

It wont help now, but there are devices you can have fitted that will monitor the water and cut it off if none is used for say 24 hours ( such as when you go away and forget to turn it off) or if there is excessive use.

hope the links are OK:

AquaGuard Flow-based Water Leak Detector

Water Leak Detection Equipment, Water Management Systems - Waterguard Services

there are a lot of makes of such devices available, they are the first two I found with google.
Also good for holiday home owners as a burst pipe could be a problem even in Spain.

 

[car77]

Oh, feel so sorry for you. Thats awful. Thanks for reminding us about this.

Car 77

 

[gers1873]

we always leave heating on the timer when away over winter, all this rubbish we're told to switch everything off when on holiday heating, leccy, gas, tv, water etc etc, i'd rather pay the bills than come back to a big mess tbh

 

[alcanadakid]

we always leave heating on the timer when away over winter, all this rubbish we're told to switch everything off when on holiday heating, leccy, gas, tv, water etc etc, i'd rather pay the bills than come back to a big mess tbh

Our heating was on - thermostat at 10C, but we had good loft insulation which means the loft is cold. Next time we will install loft heaters on a frost stat

 

[cherylbb]

Oh no, what a nightmare! Hope you get it all sorted out soon.

 

[alcanadakid]

That's terrible.

Cant imagine what it was like when you opened the front door to see that.

The same thing happened to a friend who went away for two weeks last winter and didn't leave the central heating turned on and the weather was the coldest it had been for years....
Their house had concrete floors and there was no where for water to go, just trickling through gaps around doors.

It wont help now, but there are devices you can have fitted that will monitor the water and cut it off if none is used for say 24 hours ( such as when you go away and forget to turn it off) or if there is excessive use.

hope the links are OK:

AquaGuard Flow-based Water Leak Detector

Water Leak Detection Equipment, Water Management Systems - Waterguard Services

there are a lot of makes of such devices available, they are the first two I found with google.
Also good for holiday home owners as a burst pipe could be a problem even in Spain.

Thanks for this - I will definately get one

 

[JMD40]

My goodness, how awfal and all the good work of a fantastic holiday undone within 2mins of opening your front door! Sorry to hear your awfal news and I hope it all sorts itself out as best as possible.

 

[alcanadakid]

Update

Our house is now just a brick shell, with all the internals removed. We have just received a schedule of works from the surveyor who is overseeing the works on behalf of the insurance company and we are pleasantly surprised in what is suggested. They are cutting no corners and the rebuild will be of a very high quality. Work so far has been co-ordinated and quick, although the rebuild will take another 5 months.

I guess the purpose of this post is to recommend the insurance company which is LV or Liverpool Victoria as they have been fantastic. The only reason I used them was because they were the cheapest on a price comparison website. ( I have no affiliations to them)

 

[Sparky]

I am so pleased everything is getting sorted out for you, the last thing you need is for the insurance company to be awkward at a time like this .

 

[alcanadakid]

We are now back in house house after 7 months.

The house has been rebuilt by the insurers. Liverpool Victoria, to a very high standard. We could not be happier. Mrs A has got her new dream kitchen and the electrics and insulation are to the latest standards. Every room has been redecorated and re-carpeted/re-floored so it is like a new house.

All the way through LV have been brilliant, I am now their best salesman. We originally used them because they were the cheapest. The premium was £148 for the buildings insurance and it cost them £186K to repair. We recently had a renewal which was £203 - much less than we were expecting.

Contents insurance was with Marks and Spencer which is Axa. They too were good but a bit slow.

Looking back it was almost worth it.

We are in Mallorca now and the water is definitely turned off back home and the tanks are drained!

 

[Sparky]

Wonderful news Alcanadakid i am so pleased it all turned out well .