Fire and Water exposure

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

MSchadtle

New member
Location
Marlborough CT
I Have been asked to give a quote for a rewire of a single family house (cape style ) that had a fire on the 2nd floor rewiring the 2nd floor is a easy one however 1floor has only some smoke and water damage. My customer says the insurance company wants a quote for the rewire of the 2nd floor and only replace light fixtures on first floor of his house, the house was built in the early 1950s and has a mixed bag of wiring types from cloth , BX and some NM-B at least 3 of the 5 rooms on the first had extensive water damage. I feel I should do a omplete rewire and bring entire house up to code , I can not trust the wire integrity now that it has been exposed to water, is there anything in the code that would back me up in making this statement to the insurance company? or should I just put it in my quote with the statement?
 
MSchadtle said:
I Have been asked to give a quote for a rewire of a single family house (cape style ) that had a fire on the 2nd floor rewiring the 2nd floor is a easy one however 1floor has only some smoke and water damage. My customer says the insurance company wants a quote for the rewire of the 2nd floor and only replace light fixtures on first floor of his house, the house was built in the early 1950s and has a mixed bag of wiring types from cloth , BX and some NM-B at least 3 of the 5 rooms on the first had extensive water damage. I feel I should do a omplete rewire and bring entire house up to code , I can not trust the wire integrity now that it has been exposed to water, is there anything in the code that would back me up in making this statement to the insurance company? or should I just put it in my quote with the statement?
Click to expand...

From what you describe I wouldn't touch it without a total rewire. NEMA white papers on this subject would back this as well. From my experience I'd be surprised if the insurance company would not go for a total rewire with a little prodding.
 
I probably should have mentioned a few other details as well. Factors such as state insurance law provisions, the type of homeowners policy, etc. will come into play in situations like this . Also the AHJ might have some requirements.
In some cases the Homeowner may have to participate in some of the cost. The insurance industry has a term for this called "betterment" where it is recognized that the policy holder is left in a better position than before the loss.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top