Hi all,
My house in New Zealand was flooded 2 years ago and I am still battling the insurance to accept that the subfloor was damaged during and after the event. My timber subfloor is made of joists sitting on bearers on top of jack-studs on concrete piles. A damp proof course exists between the concrete piles and the jack studs. The subfloor used to be a neat place before the flood in 2023 when a little lake of water formed around the house. The "lake" formed in a matter of minutes, stayed there for 8 hours and then disappeared in a matter of minutes again.
Unfortunately, the subfloor was not dried properly after the event. The Insurer removed wet underfloor insulation after 3 months only, and they did not put any drying equipment there at all. The plastic sheet that sits on the ground (water vapour barrier) was never removed. The subfloor is 120sqm (average height is about 60cm), but has only eight 40cm X 20cm grills for ventilation. That is normally OK during normal times, but not after flooding.
To cut a long story short, the bearers and jack studs started showing serious checks/cracks during the drying time that took months after the subfloor insulation was removed. The Insurer does not accept that the checks/cracks are caused by the flooding, and I know that they were not pre-existing (I know my subfloor), but I don't have photos from before the event. My engineer says that the cracks are structural and flooding related, but the Insurer's engineers (two) say that the cracks are not structural and not flooding related.
Can you please have a look at the PDF (attached) and let me know what your thoughts are? In particular, whether the damage that you see is structural and whether it could be flooding-related. The house is approximately 60 years old and has only one level above the subfloor. Normally, the house is dry and has never had any issues with moisture.
My house in New Zealand was flooded 2 years ago and I am still battling the insurance to accept that the subfloor was damaged during and after the event. My timber subfloor is made of joists sitting on bearers on top of jack-studs on concrete piles. A damp proof course exists between the concrete piles and the jack studs. The subfloor used to be a neat place before the flood in 2023 when a little lake of water formed around the house. The "lake" formed in a matter of minutes, stayed there for 8 hours and then disappeared in a matter of minutes again.
Unfortunately, the subfloor was not dried properly after the event. The Insurer removed wet underfloor insulation after 3 months only, and they did not put any drying equipment there at all. The plastic sheet that sits on the ground (water vapour barrier) was never removed. The subfloor is 120sqm (average height is about 60cm), but has only eight 40cm X 20cm grills for ventilation. That is normally OK during normal times, but not after flooding.
To cut a long story short, the bearers and jack studs started showing serious checks/cracks during the drying time that took months after the subfloor insulation was removed. The Insurer does not accept that the checks/cracks are caused by the flooding, and I know that they were not pre-existing (I know my subfloor), but I don't have photos from before the event. My engineer says that the cracks are structural and flooding related, but the Insurer's engineers (two) say that the cracks are not structural and not flooding related.
Can you please have a look at the PDF (attached) and let me know what your thoughts are? In particular, whether the damage that you see is structural and whether it could be flooding-related. The house is approximately 60 years old and has only one level above the subfloor. Normally, the house is dry and has never had any issues with moisture.
