re: Advice for flooded home due to pipe burst

My advice would be that next time you lose power in a deep freeze, you shut off the water and drain your pipes before you leave the house.

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That's not how it works. You chose to come from out of state to work. That's not a justification to screw someone over and then when they or their insurance refuse to pay your bill you lien the property.

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Except that it is...and you gave examples of it...I never said it was right or I agreed. No ones going to travel from multiple states away for 10% extra when the local companies are making the same amount.

Mitigation is by and large a scam in itself. The charges for it even at the best of times is laughable for very basic equipment and essentially unskilled labor.

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No ones going to travel from multiple states away for 10% extra

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They are allowed 20% overhead and profit on top of Xactimate pricing if the job justifies it. That is more than fair. If you can't make it on that, then just stay home.

The real reason people chase storms is to make a big lick and usually because they don't have enough work at home. All of the Houston people still working in Lake Charles aren't here because they were so swamped with jobs there. So with that being said, live with what is allowed or don't come IMO. Some of the pricing in Xactimate is way MORE than generous if you know how to bid properly.

Do you really need $30 per LF to put up a treated privacy fence when pre-storm it was $19? Sure material and labor went up but Xactimate allowed for storm surge pricing to account for that yet some people are out there trying to bill $38. Just greedy.

1) After you shut water off to the house take pics and videos of the damage.
2) Call a water restoration company and have them come out. They won’t start immediately, but will get you scheduled. The clean-up and drying is considered an Emergency action to prevent further damage and is covered by your insurance (if you have the right policy(ies) like I write

). If you do not have a restoration action then you risk the insurance company not paying on the claim because you did not act in preventing further damage.
3) File the claim as soon as you hang up with restoration company. I know this sounds backwards, but in an event like this you want to hurry and get on the schedule of a restoration company. With the claim and policy number, give it to the restoration company so that they can bill accordingly with your carriers coding system so that it gets paid faster.
4) If you can pay for the down payment to get the restoration process going.. do so, your carrier has like 14 days or so to reimburse you.. otherwise they may take up to 90 days to pay the restoration company.
5) Hire a plumber if they are not already associated with your restoration company. Typically they do the work together.
6) Meet with the adjuster at your house from the insurance company
7) Once you have the response from the adjuster share it with the plumber, Contractor you hire for floors ceiling walls etc, and restoration company. They will work within the parameters of what was approved by your carrier, and even negotiate more funds if needed.
NOTE: INSURANCE COMPANIES DO NOT PAY TO FIX YOUR PIPES, ONLY THE DAMAGE TO THE HOME. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR FIXING YOUR PIPES. However, most restoration companies that partner with plumbers will eat the cost of the plumbing work...

Greatly appreciate the advice everyone.

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My advice would be that next time you lose power in a deep freeze, you shut off the water and drain your pipes before you leave the house.

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This is extremely helpful, I really appreciate your advice. I will keep this in mind in 100 years when Texas has another artic blast.

GFY

You’re welcome. It gets below 20 degrees in Dallas every single year. The year of the super bowl, it was frozen here for a week too. Not this cold, but definitely cold enough to freeze plumbing in a poorly insulated 1930s house.

Depends on the kind of floors and walls, but
Turn off water, call plumber
Wet vac dry all the floors you can
Mix baking soda and carpet cleaning powder and spread around wetter areas
if sheetrock is wet it is recommended you remove to a few inches above the water marks as quickly as possible.
Keep your HVAC on

Why the hell would you not cut off water at the street and drain the pipes in the house if you were not going to be home??

Document with a lot of photos.
The insurance may have cleanup companies they could recommend or on contract.
I used my own as was not happy with them, but the equipment will be needed to dry out stuff. Insurance paid it.
I used my own contractor to replace/repair drywall, baseboards, paint, etc. The cleanup company was outrageous with their estimate and I did not know the quality of their work. Insurance paid it.
Check you plumbing carefully because you do not want it to happen again.
I went with re-routing hot and cold to PEX in the attic as opposed to remaining with the original copper pipe in the slab. I paid it.
It was a hot water line that burst last summer and did not want it to happen again with that or the cold line.
My house is over 50 yrs old.

Personally, I would make that asbestos disappear before the cleanup folks arrive. Their report will include that information and your insurance company could non renew because of it.