# Wet Insulation due to iIce dams



## colleen7560 (Apr 15, 2011)

We had an awful winter. Our house had alot of damage due to the ice dams. Multible rooms 3 floors. One particular section was in our kitchen. water came in through the ceiling and windows. The wood floor had water damage. We have pictures that show icsicles coming from behind the clapboard on the outside of the house ( inside behind kitchen cabnets). The water continued down to the basement. The isurance company finally came out and said that becasue a moisture light tool showed no moisture behind the walls all they have to do is fix the wall and paint. Our concern is mold and compromised insulation. Any thoughts????


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

colleen7560 said:


> We had an awful winter. Our house had alot of damage due to the ice dams. Multible rooms 3 floors. One particular section was in our kitchen. water came in through the ceiling and windows. The wood floor had water damage. We have pictures that show icsicles coming from behind the clapboard on the outside of the house ( inside behind kitchen cabnets). The water continued down to the basement. The isurance company finally came out and said that becasue a moisture light tool showed no moisture behind the walls all they have to do is fix the wall and paint. Our concern is mold and compromised insulation. Any thoughts????


If you disagree with the findings, open the walls where you think there's an issue and inspect them.
It's only sheetrock and paint.
Ron


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## oldfrt (Oct 18, 2007)

colleen7560 said:


> We had an awful winter. Our house had alot of damage due to the ice dams. Multible rooms 3 floors. One particular section was in our kitchen. water came in through the ceiling and windows. The wood floor had water damage. We have pictures that show icsicles coming from behind the clapboard on the outside of the house ( inside behind kitchen cabnets). The water continued down to the basement. *The isurance company finally came out and said that becasue a moisture light tool showed no moisture behind the walls all they have to do is fix the wall and paint. Our concern is mold and compromised insulation. Any thoughts????*


 *Bunk!!!*
There is no way they can determine the amount of moisture inside those walls
without cutting into it.

We are just finishing one of these projects up and a few things that we found
should make you press harder for some compensation.
The Ins.Co.'s Nationaly known remediation experts tried the same ploy on this HO.
They determined, by their moisture probe,that only a very small area of repairs
were needed.They did their testing weeks after the leaks occurred.
Once we opened the walls ,almost 2 months after the last leak, we found soaking wet
sheathing,and mold where they said it wouldn't be.

The laws in this state require any wallboard that has remained wet for 48hrs be
removed.If the wall wasn't opened immediately and the insulation pulled to dry
out the wall cavities your going to have mold.

Once the mold is present,it could spread to a point of rendering your home
unlivable.Then most Ins.Co.s won't cover your loses.

Good luck Colleen!


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## concretemasonry (Oct 10, 2006)

Very often, the surface scanner meters are used or in some cases the short probes are used if penetration is allowed. The only way to determine the moisture within the wall is to use the long probes (4"+) that are used with the better meters. Combined with experience and a good stud finder it is easy to give a preliminary determination of moisture in the wall (starting below the corner of a window to start looking upward). Obvious a positive indication warrants a tear off (external or internal) and a visual inspection of the interior of the wall. Usually fiberglass will hold (not absorb) the moisture so it can be transmitted to the wood and cellulose dry wall backing in the future.

Once the walls are opened up for reasonable cause, there is nothing to hide. Given a decent description and on site look, a good technician can find the main moisture problems, which lead to the adjacent problems. After that the next step is to determine the source of the moisture and the open wall reveals some of the actual construction, but water entering from above may be necessary to find the source of the moisture.

Moisture detection takes time and practical experience that insurance companies will not pay for.

Dick


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## mickey cassiba (Mar 17, 2011)

Being as most insurance companies are in business primarily to provide profits for the stockholders, this does not surprise me a bit. Take 'em to the mat...you've paid your premiums, don't let them steamroll you.


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## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

Welcome to the forum!

Fiberglass insulation? http://www.inspectapedia.com/sickhouse/FiberglassMold.htm

Gary


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