heritage floor replaced while a family of four take a holiday

Your Claim were contacted by an insurance broker to assist the leaseholder of a basement flat which had been severely water damaged. From the initial appointment it became clear that water had been leaking into and underneath a heritage parquet floor for a while. Each footstep on the floor was met with an audible squelch, which brings a new meaning to “floating floor”!

The family of four that occupied the property – which included two young children and pets – were clear about their intention to stay whilst repairs went on for some considerable time. However, due to the nature of the water damage, the kitchen had to be removed and the parquet flooring stripped out and disposed of before any structural drying of the concrete floor could commence. This kind of project was estimated to take weeks, not days – and so would cause a great deal of disruption.

With this in mind, we programmed the works in line with the family’s holiday, giving the team two weeks to carry out the most destructive elements of the work. After this initial period, our tradespeople were able to reconnect the sink and the cooker at the end of each day so cooking facilities could be maintained.

Your Claim contracted a specialist heritage floor layer, who installed a new tumbled parquet flooring with a nine-inch architectural skirting. We also arranged the rebuilding and reinstatement of the kitchen units, along with redecoration throughout the damaged area.

The damaged fabric from the parquet floor needed to be taken to a licensed transfer station. As the property was situated on a red route (no parking zone) in London, rubbish removal was particularly challenging; materials had to be collected by hand and carried to a licensed waste carrying vehicle that was parked over 400 yards away.