moneypit04
New Member
Hi - thanks in advance to anyone who offers input and suggestions. This is an awesome forum and l'm so glad I stumbled on it!
Husband and I noticed bubbling paint and damp carpet in our basement. We cut out a piece of drywall and sure enough there was a leak. And mold.
We called a plumber. He cut drywall out from floor to ceiling and then delivered the bad news. The leak is coming from a pipe connecting to the sink and dishwasher drain, but the broken part is behind our kitchen cabinet. To repair the pipe, the cabinet must be removed. If we had siding on the back of the house we could have gone in that way, but alas, we have brick.
Our plumber was very empathetic but said he was not equipped to pull out the cabinets and advised us to call a contractor. The trouble is the cabinets are old and not in good shape, and I don't think they can be removed without extensive damage.
We have yet to get a response from our homeowners insurance regarding how to proceed.
I guess my question is - is there any way we could have known or prevented this given how difficult it is to access the pipe? I'm worried it won't be covered bc we have no idea how long it was going on, though we did call as soon as we realized there was a problem.
What would you advise a homeowner to do in this situation, and have you ever seen something similar?
Husband and I noticed bubbling paint and damp carpet in our basement. We cut out a piece of drywall and sure enough there was a leak. And mold.
We called a plumber. He cut drywall out from floor to ceiling and then delivered the bad news. The leak is coming from a pipe connecting to the sink and dishwasher drain, but the broken part is behind our kitchen cabinet. To repair the pipe, the cabinet must be removed. If we had siding on the back of the house we could have gone in that way, but alas, we have brick.
Our plumber was very empathetic but said he was not equipped to pull out the cabinets and advised us to call a contractor. The trouble is the cabinets are old and not in good shape, and I don't think they can be removed without extensive damage.
We have yet to get a response from our homeowners insurance regarding how to proceed.
I guess my question is - is there any way we could have known or prevented this given how difficult it is to access the pipe? I'm worried it won't be covered bc we have no idea how long it was going on, though we did call as soon as we realized there was a problem.
What would you advise a homeowner to do in this situation, and have you ever seen something similar?