Should You Remodel After Water Damage?
Flood or water damage to your home is not a license to remodel. It might be a trigger to remodel or upgrade your space, but the insurance covers only putting your home back together the way it was – not upgrading. However, making sure you are whole after a flood or water damage is not as easy as it sounds. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- First, don’t just take a check from the insurance company based on their estimate. They won’t be doing the renovation. Get a few bids from builders and restoration companies.
- Flood restoration companies clean up the water. They don’t rebuild. The builder rebuilds. You’ll be paying the builder, and he knows what the job will cost, so doesn’t it make sense to get his estimate?
- You have a right to restore your home to what it was prior to the damage. That’s why you buy insurance in the first place. Don’t be bulldozed by the insurance company. It might be hard to stand your ground, but you’re the customer. Don’t lose money on the deal.
- If you want to remodel or upgrade as part of the plan, then get a separate estimate for the upgrades, so that it’s clear what you should be getting from the insurance company and what you’ll need to cover on your own.
- Make sure the builder knows the cause of the water damage so he can address and fix the problem, preventing a recurrence.
