HELP!! water line ruptured flooding our manufactured home

[michelledure]

We have a vacation manufactured home and while we were away a water line going to our toilet tank ruptured. It had been spraying our bathroom wall for probably 3 weeks. We got the water shut off but we have mold 4 feet up the walls in some places. It went more than half way thru our 3 bedroom home. Water was leaking to the outside thru a wall. A restoration co. pulled out most of the padding & carpet and half of the drywall. The barrier underneath was full of water. There is mold behind our tub & shower & all bathroom cabinets need to be replaced. The adjuster is coming out today. We want everything done properly so we wont have future problems. Does anyone have any advise.

[Greg]

Hi & welcome. First plan on replacing the sub floors in the effected areas (with plywood). the sub floors in most homes are made of Partical board, GLUED SAWDUST. When it gets soaked and dries out it turns back into sawdust (without the glue).

Cabinets will have to be new ones for a stick built home, manufactured home cabinets are built in and you can not separate them. Greg

[bobfather99]

Definitely replace any particle board that even looks like it got wet.
Don't be afraid to ask questions when the adjuster is there, that's his/her job.
Make sure the mold is fully taken care of before occupying it again, it can be very unhealthy!!
Have the plumbing checked to ensure you don't have a leak again!!

[Brenda (OH)]

make sure the adjuster has a plan for paying for pulling down the underbelly wrap, drying out, and reinsulating and reinstalling a belly wrap... .expensive, unpleasant repair job...

Brenda

[michelledure]

Thanks so much for the help! This is my new favorite website! I can't believe all the helpful information that is on here! They ended up taking out more than half of the insulation & underbelly. They removed 4 feet of drywall in Master bed/bath/closet, hallway, additional bedroom, & other bathroom. All the bathroom cabinets are pulled out & need to be replaced. I am really worried about the underbelly being done right. Our master tub/shower had to be taken out & was ruined in process. They would have to cut out a wall to replace it with the same type. I am wondering what they are going to use to replace it since thay can't fit in a new 1 piece replacement. Our tub drain was in the middle which will make it interesting finding a new one to fit.

[Dean3]

Maybe have a whole house shutoff valve that's easy to get at installed. It may have been a single event or there could be more problems if the rest of plumbing is similar material. You could shut the water off when gone for extended time,lots less damage that way.

Dean

[Greg]

Inside shutoff valve, GREAT idea!!

Pictures, pictures & more pictures!!! Get everything documented and keep logs of who you talked to about what & when. Names & Dates will get blurry over time and add a frustration factor in and you can end up totally confused.

You may want to buy a copy of Mark's book to use a reference guide for proper repairs. It's in the "Books & Parts" section of the site. Greg

[Groo]

sounds like a ton of damage. Have they decided not to "total it" yet, or are you still waiting for that decision?

I wouldn't leave any house for 3 weeks without shutting off the water.

[joedirt63]

only 4 feet of dry wall? that from the floor up right? heck the wall is only about 7 feet, i'd just do the all the way up less seams that way and with the walls opened up you may find some other issue that can be resolved, and yeah i've got a indoor main shut off right next to my water heater . goint to put a shut off by the water heater in my kids trailer too. oh yeah the floors are done kitchen reconstruction next, along with the bed room and main bath. Thanks brenda for that info on the zimmer stuff. funny my kid has a cadillac and i got a neon

[michelledure]

They did not total it. The insurance adjuster sent a check to our home(It's a vacation home) for 14k. We are pretty far away from big cities so it is hard to get people to come out. We have got a few estimates and they have been for over 20,000. I have not been able to see the estimate from the adjuster because we have not been able to get to our vacation home yet. They have already paid over 10,000 to the restoration emergency people who took care of the immediate water damage. I wonder at what point would they consider it total loss. I am going to contact them & let them know our quotes are way higher than theirs. I offered to let them have someone they recommend come out to give us a quote but they said they don't have anyone in the area.

[Greg]

Just remember not to cash their check until you are satisfied. Many companies feel that once the check is cashed the claim is closed. Greg