Hello,

We have a little disagreement going on with our insurance claim that I need your help with.

In July, our refrigerator's water filter broke due to a malfunction & the entire first floor (all hardwood) was flooded. The fridge's maker agreed to take care of the damages.

I had the floor contractor (he is also the same contractor installing the original floors) come in & give us an estimate. His estimate is $49K+ to take out the old & install the new floors.

The fridge's maker had an adjuster come in. His estimate is $29K. Yesterday, they sent me a proposal, saying that their offer is $25K+, after factoring the depreciation (?), etc. Of course, we didn't take that offer because if we did, how could we have the floors replaced?

My question that I hope you can help me with is: Are they being reasonable? Let me give you the specs & see how much your estimate would be:
- Total sq. footage: 1,400+. Kitchen, LR, FR, DR, 1 bedroom, pantry, closets.
- Red oak, 4 in.-wide planks, tongue-n-groove, finish-in-place, 1st grade, 3/4"-thick.
- There's also the subfloor, which is plywood, also 3/4"-thick.
- The baseboards will also have to replaced.
- There's also furniture in the house that needs to be moved & stored.
- The floors are 4 years old. We originally paid almost $24,000 for them.

In our contractor's estimate, his price includes removal & disposal of the original floors, which he said is a major undertaking b/c of the high-grade tar/glue he used underneath the plywood subfloor. He also included furniture moving & storage, etc.

If I'd missed any other spec/detail, please let me know.

Thanks in advance for any help,
MB

why are you repalcing the subfloor as well as the finished flooring? It must have been one heck of a leek to damage the entire 1400 sf. Is it possible to resand the floors and replace just the damaged areas with new wood? If its a 3/4 ply thats been glued down to concrete then finished on site I would have to say paying double the cost is probally an acurate estimate on removal and replacement . btw solid wood floors dont depriciate if maintained properly, i would say they do just the oppisite.

Hi Kevin,

Yes, the leak was very bad & did affect the entire first floor. In many areas, the floors buckle. In others, there're gaps visible. For the rest, the planks cup. Anyway, the fridge's manufacturer agreed to pay to have the entire first floor replaced & that's what the estimate is based on.

And that's where my question comes in: Why the huge discrepancy between the adjuster's & the contractor's? If you were a contractor & given the scope of the job, what would you charge?

Subfloor is again 3/4" plywood, nailed to the concrete slab. The oak floor is tongue-n-groove (not sure if nailed or glued to the plywood subfloor).

Thanks,
MB

PS: IMO, I don't think that the "depreciation" factor they include in their offer is reasonable, if not ridiculous. We're talking about replacing the floor, right, so doesn't it mean whatever it takes to make that happen?

I agree with your contractor that a total removal is appropriate because you are on a concrete slab. That slab needs to be exposed to allow it to dry out completely. Removing the wood flooring isn't too difficult but that plywood glued to the concrete will be a major undertaking. Your contractor is just planning for the worst and that is wise of him to protect himself financially. When I do a solid finished in place over plywood over concrete, I charge $25.00 a ft. and that doesn't include demolition. If your contractor got $25 a ft plus $10 a ft for the demo ($35 a ft.) then his bid seems about right in my area. Many areas of the country are cheaper than mine. Your insurance is lowballing the job; that is their job. If you need to see if your contractor's estimate is in line, then get some other bids from reputable flooring companies. Make sure all the services are included so you can compare apples to apples. There isn't depreciation for wood floors that are in good to fair condition. You need to stand firm with the insurance. Have your contractor spell out everything he needs to do in detail and the costs associated with those items. I have had to do this before with insurance adjusters. Once the insurance company can see all the costs involved with the work/job, then they are a little easier to deal with. Often times, they are bargaining from a position of ignorance.

Gary sounds like he has been down this road before!


That was excellent.


I would stick firm to my guns. Also, as Gary suggested. Get some more bids, letting them know it is an insurance claim.

But it could be double edged sword. Insurance companies are good about writing checks with both the lowest bidder, and you on the payment line. It may not be the guy you really want in there to redo you investment.

Thank you for the reply, Gary. After a quick math, I think my contractor is charging exactly that, $35/ft. And that includes removal of furniture, replacing all the baseboards, puting up plastic throughout the house, etc.

I'll need to ask him re-do the estimate with more breakdowns/details.

In his original estimate, he only had the total sq. footage, the total price with only breakdowns of the cost of removal, furniture moving & storage, plastic covergins, price of the new floors, and est. time of completion.

They're also sending me the other adjuster's estimate so I can use that as guideline as well.

BTW, this is not our home owner's insurance that's paying for this, it's the fridge's manufacturerer's. However, if they keep playing hardball, my next course of action is to have our home owner's insurance step in as I heard that since they're not the one who's paying the claim, they won't raise our premium nor will they put anything against us in their records.