Prevent damage to your home from a frozen water pipe by flipping off the breaker to your water pump when you leave for a length of time. Over the last several years, I have been hired to do post-construction cleaning due to frozen water pipes in which the homes were damaged from $10,000 to $150,000. In one case, the homeowner was consumed in a fight of over two years with the insurance company to pay for the damage. In the meantime, the house was unlivable with the homeowner in limbo, renting, with most of their belongings in storage.
The obvious damage of water is to your flooring but sheetrock wicks the moisture, it can also condense in the vents, damage ceilings and, in some states’ re-construction codes, require replacement of electrical wiring in the entire structure. In the home above, water flowed out under four patio doors, trapping moisture under the sills, swelling the doors and forcing their replacement at the cost of over $10,000.
Keeping detailed records in any insurance claim is a must. Photograph everything. Any meeting with an insurance rep ~ by phone or in person ~ should be followed with a certified letter to the company documenting it. You have up to two years (Minnesota) to make additional claims under the file for newly discovered damage. For example, water damage does not make itself evident on the finish of furniture as the wood takes its time to dry and contract.
