If you’re claiming on your insurance for floor joist repairs following an escape of water, IC Assist are here to help. When dealing with water damaged joists, it’s important to act quickly. This is because significant damage can occur to your joists, which can lead to structural damage. As, under the right conditions, rot and mould can spread rapidly across joists and floorboards. (This can be seen in the pictures taken on a bathroom claim we were managing for a hidden leak.)
To avoid significant damage to your joists, it’s important to choose a water damage restoration company like IC Assist. This not only ensures you’ll get a professional joist assessment and repair. But it also means we’ll take care of any other resulting damage too. This saves you the time and hassle of dealing with multiple tradesmen.
Since 2011, IC Assist have managed countless water damage property claims involving the treatment and restoration of ceiling and floor joists. Usually, the damage is as a result of a leaking pipe in the bathroom. In most cases repairs were necessary to the bathroom floor, floorboards, joists and kitchen ceiling below.
The successful outcome of a joist repair claim is usually dependent on two key things:
- Your specific policy wording and policy exclusions.
- The circumstances and events leading to the damage.
Joist claims aren’t always straight forward and it can often take a lot of justification to get the repairs approved. But don’t worry, that’s what IC Assist are here for!
Assessing the damage to establish what joist repairs are necessary.
If you don’t know how to repair joists with water damage, don’t worry just leave everything to us. We’ll take a look at your joists and advise what type of repair will be necessary. Please note, that we will need access to your joists in order to check their condition and determine what repairs we will need to carry out. So, if a section of your ceiling has fallen down or your flooring has already been taken up, it’s much easier to assess them.
Please note, if there is no access to the joists, will not be able to make a full assessment during our initial visit. (This is because we need your insurer’s permission to remove any damaged materials to allow us to carry out an inspection). In these circumstances, we will submit a detailed schedule of works to your insurer for their approval. This will outline all other necessary repairs and will also let them know that we will need to check the condition of the joists. Once your insurer instructs to us proceed, we will carry out a thorough inspection of your joists. This will be done as soon as our contractors remove the damaged flooring or ceiling. If there is any damage, we’ll notify your insurer immediately. We will also send them high-quality pictures of the water damaged joists and a cost to repair them.
Water stained joists usually only require drying and treating.
If you’ve got water stains on your joists following a small leak then don’t worry. Thankfully, this type of damage is easy to fix, as it doesn’t affect the structural safety of the joist. Therefore, we can simply dry and treat any affected beams.
In order to do this, we will remove a section of the damaged ceiling beneath the affected joists. Then we can install our equipment to target dry any wet timber. Once dry, we will apply a specialist timber treatment to prevent rot developing in future. After this is complete, re-decoration can begin.
We deal with ceiling restoration all the time. Firstly, our plasterer will fit new plasterboard and re-plaster the entire ceiling. Once the plaster has thoroughly dried out, our decorators will re-paint the entire ceiling. When re-plastering a ceiling, most insurers usually allow to re-decorate your coving and walls too.
Rotten joists require replacement.
If you’ve had a hidden leak that you didn’t notice for a long time, you may have rotten joists. As a result, drying and treating them may not be sufficient. Sodden and saturated timbers become weak and crumble which can significantly affect their structural integrity. In these circumstances, we’ll need to carry out more substantial joist repairs.
The photo shows an example of substantially water damaged timber. Our Claims Manager took this photograph during the removal of a kitchen ceiling. On this particular escape of water claim, major repairs were necessary to the bathroom floor joists and floorboards. The damage was caused by a leak from a toilet that the client did not notice for a long time.
Initially, the insurer refused to cover the cost of the floor joist repairs. However, IC Assist got their decision overturned and the insurer paid for all the necessary reinstatement work.
Our contractors had to remove and replace 9 joists and all floorboards. The remaining beams were dried and treated. (After pictures of the work we carried out can be seen at the top of this page. Or you can see before, during and after pictures of this joist repair claim on our Facebook page.)
Feel free to take a look at the video we recorded at this property on our Facebook page. It shows shocking hidden damage to the floorboards, floor joists and joist ends.
Beware – some insurance policy’s exclude rot even when it’s the result of an insured event!
Exclusion for rot can vary from one policy to the other. Some insurance companies exclude dry/wet rot however it has arisen. Others will cover the cost of joist repairs, if the rot was as a result of an event that your policy covers you for i.e. a leak or burst pipe. If your joists are affected, we’ll check your policy to see if your insurer should cover this and advise you accordingly.
Building Control may need to be notified when replacing and renewing joists.
If we need to replace your joists, we will liaise with Building Control to determine if the work is notifiable. Replacing and repairing joists can be classed as structural work. As a result, Building Control may need to oversee and sign off the work. This is a cost that insurers, Loss Adjusters and general builders can overlook. This can have serious implications when selling your home in the future.
But don’t worry, IC Assist will handle everything. From completing the paperwork to notify Building Control of the proposed works, to liaising with their officer. This usually involves arranging site visits before, during and after the works are complete. This gives you peace of mind that any joists we renew are in accordance with current building regulations. You will also receive a completion certificate, which is issued by Building Control once they sign off the work.
Dealing with a joist repair claim can be complicated – let us take care of everything for you!
Carrying out joist repairs can involve a lot more work than you may think. For instance, if the joists are on the first floor of the property, it might be necessary to remove the ceiling below and/or the sub floor above the damaged area. As a result, ceilings and floors will require renewal. This usually involves plastering, re-decorating and plumbing. As insurance claim builders, we provide a wide range of property repair services. We have a professional team of plasters, painters & decorators, tilers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, flooring fitters etc. So, why not let IC Assist handle your claim and all associated re-reinstatement works required? (There is no charge for managing your claim, providing our contractors carry out the repairs.) You can see more pictures of floor joist restoration and all other associated repairs on our Facebook page.
Call 0800 4337 290 to book a FREE assessment of your water damaged joists.