[1967Tempest]

So I was repainting my house, and I found that there was some water damage. The insurance company says no coverage.

I'm glad that I have never taken any money out of our house. The repair is large. Was gonna refi and finish repair, new kitchen new siding, etc.

Should I get a quote first?

[David Jones]

You need to know what you are dealing with.

[Chris65LeMans]

Need more info, but you should definitely start by getting a quote.

What caused the water damage? Insurance companies can get out of some claims from this, but not all - depending on the cause.

[Deadhead]

A quote from who? You should get at least 3 quotes for the work to be done unless you know EXACTLY what you are doing and understand all that is involved in the repair. That said, Most of the time on an existing house, there is no way to know what you are getting into until you tear it apart. The main thing is to find a contractor you know and trust. Get recommendations from people who are contractors or use them regularly. Don't just pick someone out of the phone book. At least 50% of them are hacks or crooks. At least.

[1967Tempest]

Originally Posted by Chris65LeMans

Need more info, but you should definitely start by getting a quote.

What caused the water damage? Insurance companies can get out of some claims from this, but not all - depending on the cause.

They denied claim. Although it was new to me damage, it was a slow cause. Looks like flashing was installed incorrectly or not at all and water crept in from between deck and house.

Originally Posted by Deadhead

A quote from who? You should get at least 3 quotes for the work to be done unless you know EXACTLY what you are doing and understand all that is involved in the repair. That said, Most of the time on an existing house, there is no way to know what you are getting into until you tear it apart. The main thing is to find a contractor you know and trust. Get recommendations from people who are contractors or use them regularly. Don't just pick someone out of the phone book. At least 50% of them are hacks or crooks. At least.

I have a guy that I trust. He has worked on a lot of houses in the area so I have seen him work and his work. Great guy. Agreed that most are hacks. He is gonna get me a quote, but to your point, he said the same. As far as I can tell it looks localized here. But I wont know till I get in there.

Im glad that I found it when I did. Yeah it sucks, but pay me now or pay me later, could have found it at sale time..

[Txbobcat]

It may be hard to get a real quote as they may not se the HIDDEN damage until they tear it apart.

[Deadhead]

With a known person I trust, I would do time and materials. It is the most fair for all, and nobody gets ripped off. I personally would never give a price for something like that.

Some stuff you just can not know about until it is bad. Water issues are often like that. On my places I am continuously looking for stuff that COULD happen like that to try to catch it early.

[The Boss]

From what I've understood, the insurance company won't pay for what caused it, but they will cover what results from it. For example, if your situation resulted from no flashing being installed behind the rim board of the deck, they will not pay to repair/install that flashing but if rot resulted from that & you got mold in your basement from it, they would pay for that.

Get a couple of quotes, each guy will find something the others did not.

[pugslyx234]

Yea I had a situation years ago in my bathroom where a shower valve was leaking for a long while inside the wall and they wouldnt cover it, but I had another pipe leak in the utility room under the floor and they covered that, they said it was leaking for a couple of months so mouths they cover and years they dont. They also look at the rot that is on the wood .

[salem1912]

Depending on cost of damage it may be worth getting a insurance adjuster.