Day 4 - 12th October 2010

The surveyor from Asprea visits to assess the damage.

At this meeting the Surveyor tells me that I should be able to get the repair work done to the shower without causing any further damage to the stud wall and that all the wet will dry out using industrial driers.  I express my concern that the shower tray and more of the stud wall is not removed to assess the damage. I am concerned that there could be damage to the joists underneath. The Surveyor tells me that this shouldn’t be an issue.  I also express concern that the stud wall beneath the tiles might be in very poor condition.  Again the Surveyor tells me that this won’t be a problem.  The driers will make sure everything is ok.  I’m told I should go ahead and get the shower repaired from the front and get in touch with Asprea once this has been done.  After persistent questioning I manage to get the Surveyor to admit that if further damage does have to be done to the stud wall in order to carry out the repair, the policy covers me for this.  He warns me though that the full cost of replacing the undamaged tiling outside of the shower cubicle area will not be covered under the policy should it be necessary to replace it in the event that the tiles can no longer be obtained.   He tells me that the Insurance Company will only cover 50% of the cost of the tiles that have to be replaced outside of the shower cubicle area.  I express deep concern. I do not remember seeing anything in the exclusions section of the policy telling me that undamaged tiling wouldn’t be fully covered.  I am not rich. I am reluctant to have to find the money to pay for the tiles myself and I am not at all keen on the thought of having to have tiles that don’t match.  The Surveyor tells me not to worry and that if in the unlikely event the stud wall does have to be rebuilt, the company doing the stripping out work can take the tiles off carefully and save them to be put back later. I tell him that I think I have a box of tiles left over from when the bathroom was done 4 years ago that can be used in the event that one or two tiles get damaged.

The Surveyor asks if there is somewhere he can sit and do his report so that he can leave it with me.  Feeling rude refusing, I allow him to plug in his laptop and sit in my dining room for 30 minutes using my electricity to type up his report. I, meanwhile have to hang around not really knowing what to do with myself.

When the report is finished, the surveyor gives me a sweeping glance of his laptop screen showing what he has typed up and asks me to sign it off to say that I agree with what he has written and that I understand it. I point out that I feel a bit uncomfortable signing something that I haven’t been able to read properly as I don’t actually know what it contains. Having been assured that it’s just all the things we have talked about I feel foolish insisting on reading it properly and do what is required to “sign it.

Later that night, my father in law calls round to see how things went.  He is shocked that the surveyor has not insisted on removing the shower tray to check the condition of the floorboards and joists underneath.  He is a retired professional builder and knows what he is talking about.  He is adamant that it all needs checking out properly before going ahead with repair work and feeling inclined to believe what he says I ring the surveyor up to tell him yet again of my concerns.  The Surveyor is insistent that there will be no problem and that I should be able to get the shower fixed without any further damage being done.