Water damage insurance

[JJWalecka]

Morning I supposed to look at a job this morning that apparently has severe water damage. What are some of the things that could be an issue? Does everything generally get gutted? Appreciate your time

 

[kwired]

Flooding generally gets looked at differently than other wet issues. Main thing is whether an item remained submerged in water for an extended time vs getting wet but then dried off in rather short time.

 

[marmathsen]

Washington State has a code on the books that states:

"(2) Electrical equipment and wiring that has been submerged or exposed to water must comply with the following:

(a) All breakers, fuses, controllers, receptacles, lighting switches/dimmers, electric heaters, and any sealed device/equipment (e.g., relays, contactors, etc.) must be replaced.

(b) All other electrical equipment (e.g., wiring, breaker panelboards, disconnect switches, switchgear, motor control centers, boiler controls, HVAC/R equipment, electric motors, transformers, appliances, water heaters, and similar appliances) must be replaced or reconditioned by the original manufacturer or by its approved representative.

I suspect other states have similar rules

Rob G - Seattle

 

[kwired]

Washington State has a code on the books that states:

"(2) Electrical equipment and wiring that has been submerged or exposed to water must comply with the following:

Me thinks this needs better clarification. "exposed to water" can be anything from a brief misting to total submersion for days or weeks. Can be a huge difference in performance issues or hazards those two extremes possibly introduce.

 

[gadfly56]

Me thinks this needs better clarification. "exposed to water" can be anything from a brief misting to total submersion for days or weeks. Can be a huge difference in performance issues or hazards those two extremes possibly introduce.

I would suggest that the adjacent condition of "submerged" indicates the intent. A similar condition might be if the equipment got hit by a hose stream, incidental to fire suppression where the electrical items were not right in the area of the fire.

 

[marmathsen]

Me thinks this needs better clarification. "exposed to water" can be anything from a brief misting to total submersion for days or weeks. Can be a huge difference in performance issues or hazards those two extremes possibly introduce.

I would suggest that the adjacent condition of "submerged" indicates the intent. A similar condition might be if the equipment got hit by a hose stream, incidental to fire suppression where the electrical items were not right in the area of the fire.

I agree it could be worded better. If THWN is submerged because conduit is letting water, does that then need to be replaced?

Rob G - Seattle

 

[augie47]

TVA has a publication addressing the issue:

https://www.tvec.com/download/after_the_storm_water_damaged_equipment.pdf

If it's flood damage here is U:Ls input:

https://code-authorities.ul.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/UL_Flood_Electrical_Equipment_WP_V4.pdf

 

[JJWalecka]

Appreciate everyones insight.