How will flood have affected under my floor?

[Pollyanna]

My bungalow was built circa 1990. Timber frame construction with floating chipboard floors, underneath which is a concrete sub-floor. A water pipe in the loft burst about 4 months ago, and gallons and gallons of water came down in my hall and flooded through into several other rooms. I had been away for a couple of days so heaven knows how long it had been pouring out. The house is now dry, but a main worry for me is what is going on underneath the chipboard floors. Some of the chipboard is going to be replaced at some point (if I can find suitable contractors to do the job, which is proving very difficult) but will the supporting timbers be OK, or are they likely to need attention too? Also a chap from the drying company drilled a hole in one of the worst affected floors (only after I expressed my concerns about what was going on underneath) and he reckoned the concrete underneath had got wet and that this might cause a problem with water condensing and dripping back down in a repetitive cycle. He did not suggest taking any action to rectify this - I have no idea why, but they have been pretty hopeless in general so I'd like to get further advice. I've tried contacting various firms of chartered surveyors if they can come out and give me a full assessment re the water damage, but no one seems to want to know. Could anyone offer any helpful comments or advice please?

[ProDave]

What does your house insurance say?  I have seen a couple of similar incidents and the usual remediation work es very extensive indeed.

[saveasteading]

It could be a long term problem, so does need looking into.

As PD says, the insurers should see this through.

 

I can sympathise with surveyors not being interested. Many wont have the skills for this.  They would probably only confirm that there is a concern.

Then the question is who will pay for their time.

And if you will, they may just think that this should be an insurers responsibility, and it is too messy to get involved in.

 

I suggest tell your insurers that you have taken advice, (you don't have to say where from) which is that the concrete needs to be tested for dampness and dried if necessary, as otherwise the chipboard is likely to rot again

[Pollyanna]

40 minutes ago, ProDave said:

What does your house insurance say?  I have seen a couple of similar incidents and the usual remediation work es very extensive indeed.

House insurance company only seems interested in a bish, bash, bosh approach ie replace a few of the floor panels and move on. 

 

[Pollyanna]

26 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

It could be a long term problem, so does need looking into.

As PD says, the insurers should see this through.

 

I can sympathise with surveyors not being interested. Many wont have the skills for this.  They would probably only confirm that there is a concern.

Then the question is who will pay for their time.

And if you will, they may just think that this should be an insurers responsibility, and it is too messy to get involved in.

 

I suggest tell your insurers that you have taken advice, (you don't have to say where from) which is that the concrete needs to be tested for dampness and dried if necessary, as otherwise the chipboard is likely to rot again

Yes, I definitely want it looked into. I told the insurers about the issue re water under the boards but they didn't seem to take it seriously or amend their scope to take account of it. After much persuasion, they agreed to allow for a chartered building surveyor to come in and have a look, but the one that was recommended to me has been giving me the brush-off and has told me to find someone else, so I'm back to square one.

[TonyT]

Get a joiner to cut some hatches in the floor, see what it’s like under the floor.

 

hatches should  be big enough to aid dehumidification and let you see nay mould growth.

 

drop a few temp/humidity sensors down there, Shelly do a good range that are Wi-Fi enabled 

[saveasteading]

On a positive note. Are you saying that there is a chipboard floor supported by a suspended concrete floor? Does that then have a void under it and air bricks in the wall? It might dry itself out.

 

[Pollyanna]

11 hours ago, saveasteading said:

On a positive note. Are you saying that there is a chipboard floor supported by a suspended concrete floor? Does that then have a void under it and air bricks in the wall? It might dry itself out.

 

Yes, exactly that. Not sure if the water in the enclosed space above the concrete will dry itself out though, as explained above. 

[Pollyanna]

Work began on my house this week and they started looking at the floors yesterday. They say that one section of chipboard in the worst affected part of the house (inner hallway) had black mould on the underside, but the rest looks OK. I asked a question about the sections of flooring underneath the partition walls on all sides of this hallway, but they say they can't remove these sections of the floor as (obviously) they're holding the walls up. I get that, but what if there is mould under there? What would the consequences be of not removing it?

[saveasteading]

Mould dies when the dampness is removed.

 

You still have to find the source of the water.

[Pollyanna]

16 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

Mould dies when the dampness is removed.

 

You still have to find the source of the water.

This is my own house, which was flooded by a burst pipe. That's all sorted now. 

OK, that makes sense. And as long as there's no water underneath there will be no condensation going forward so no further problems should arise?

[saveasteading]

So it has just never dried out. Fresh air should do that esp in summer. Open windows. remove a floor board or more.

[Temp]

Check any air bricks/vents for the underfloor area are clear. Perhaps even add some if there aren't enough.