Saving costs for restoration after flood
10/18/2017 at 5:08:44 PM
Hi all,
We had a flood in our apartment several weeks ago, and since then we are fighting with insurance on several items. One of them is a potential replacement of kitchen cabinets.
As part of the incident, the wall behind the kitchen cabinets got wet as well and the entire floor was pooling water for several hours. Everything was dried within several days and now we are trying to come to some sort of agreement what should be done.
The insurance company proposes to remove the cabinets dry or replace the damaged wall and floors. And reinstall the same cabinets back.
Given that these cabinets are almost 20 years old, what are the chances to have these cabinets installed back with the same quality they were originally? How are these cabinets affected structurally as part of this exercise? What kind of problems might I face in the future because of that?
On the same note, the insurance proposes to paint only the damaged walls corner to corner and match the color with the old one within the same visible space.
Is it even possible? We have fairly old paint but. Based on my experience, there is zero chance to make it match even if it's on different walls. The transition will be visible in the corner.
Thanks,
Alex
10/19/2017 at 5:25:18 PM
To answer your questions;
Insurance will not pay for anything that is better than what you had. That being said as for your cabinets a lot will depend on the material of the cabinets. If they are particle board boxes that were touching the floor they are most likely damaged. This might be able to cut the bottoms off at the toe-kick area and replace with legs or new platform and toe-kick and end panels. It the damage is higher than the toe-kick new cabinets are in order. If proper care is taken during the removal reinstalling to the level of cabinets before the flood should be attainable.
As for painting the wall, yes it is possible they can take a piece of the current paint and scan it for a virtually perfect match. Lighting of even the exact same paint from one wall to another can have a different degree of reflected light.
If you were looking to upgrade you might look for a cash settlement and then get a contractor to do all the work. You don't have to use the insurance company's contractor.
10/19/2017 at 7:15:28 PM
Thanks a lot for the adive.
9/1/2018 at 12:07:30 PM
Hi Alex;
First thing insurance will not pay out. They are required to bring the damage back to the original state. You can negotiate a cash settlement with them. Get three quotes for the damage. Present them to them and they will pay you out for the damage. Take the money and do what you need to fix your issue. For example, I was called in to quote a job for water damage. The insurance company offered $13K to do the restoration. I came in at $25K. The insurance offered the client a by out of $18K. Owner countered at $23K. Settled for $21K. I updated the entire kitchen fo r 25K. Fight them be a man!
Search the TrustedPros directory and discover the best contractors in your area.
Find your home service pro
