Back in July 2021, we had a flood in our condo caused by a sprinkler head in a neighbouring unit. Fun fact time! Did you know that one sprinkler head can dispense a bathtub full of water every 60-90 seconds? We’re talking like 75-150 litres per minute.

That’s a heck of a lotta watta! 

Let’s go back to last July and what happened and how the process went. Obviously, this information is specific to our situation and where we live. I feel like insurance is fairly similar across Canada, but would vary from province to province. And in the US it would be quite different (I presume). This is our experience and no two experiences are alike.

Grab a snack – this is a long one!

Setting The Scene – Flood Incoming

Around 4:30 pm on July 13th, 2021, the fire alarm went off. Knowing we’d have to wait for the fire dept to show up and turn the alarm off, I ran downstairs to flag Jason down as I knew he’d be close to home to tell him to wait in the lane. Plus, one should check the mail, and yes you should always leave if your fire alarm goes off. When I was dashing down the stairs, I saw Carlos going up the stairs, but I didn’t think anything of it.

A neighbour and his crew were down in the lobby and we were joking about how he had started the BBQ on the roof and as soon as he did that, the alarm went off. One of his window-washing crew noticed on the panel in the lobby that a sprinkler was going off on floor x (our floor) and I thought that was weird since I just came from there and didn’t see anything.

Faulty or Fo Real?

We waited for Carlos to come back down and meanwhile, I had mentioned to Jason who was sitting in the lane with Brie, that it showed a sprinkler active on our floor but I hadn’t seen anything so I thought it was false. When Carlos was back, I went and talked to him and he informed me that indeed there was an active sprinkler, and it was a neighbouring unit to me. Well, shit. I went out and chatted with Jason, and someone else on our floor had confirmed that indeed there was an active sprinkler. He had said it sounded like the person was using a torch and maybe too close to the sprinkler head or something. Again, it’s only been about 10 minutes so we know nothing.

The fire department shows up like 20 minutes after the alarm goes off, and of course, they need to do a search/sweep before they can turn the alarm and sprinkler off. Remember that fun fact earlier? That’s terrifying math, but it checks out.

Once the alarm was turned off, we were cleared to go back into the building, and we knew we could take the stairs as our floor was open so they could keep pushing water out of the causation suite. We couldn’t leave Brie in the car, so we brought her up and she was not happy with the water in the stairwell or the chaos for that matter. There was water pouring down the stairwell all the way down to the lobby. It was shocking.

We immediately picked up Brie once on our floor and brought her to the patio and then took photos and video of the damage for what we knew would be insurance purposes. We checked with other neighbours to make sure everyone was okay. The neighbour I’m on the strata council with and who I was chatting with in the lobby, lives on the other side of our floor, so he was spared but he came to see what the damage was and see if we needed anything. The fire department came in and helped push the flood water out of our suite so we weren’t destroying our shoes walking through. We knew our floors were wrecked and they’d have to be replaced.

Flood Waters; Now What?

We knew we were in for a long evening and we were worried about Brie being stuck on the patio. Bless my sister’s partner for working the closing shift, and offering to pick her up on his way home. We got her out of a situation she found stressful, and we could focus on noting immediately damaged items, and getting our claim started.

Once we called in and started our claim, we were told an emergency adjuster would be out to see us at some point that evening, and then we ordered some pizza and sat on the patio. Canstar who handled the emergency flood damage had been by to let us know that there’s a lot of damage to various suites, so they’re bringing in more manpower and dehumidifiers so they can start the drying process.

Canstar came in and installed the fans in our suite, and the noise and heat were absolutely unbearable. Not long after that, the emergency adjuster showed up and went over our insurance policy and claim with us. He did tell us that based on what he could see at that point, we were in for at least a few months of disruption as it would likely involve the building’s insurance. He cleared us to stay in a hotel, so once he left we packed up a few things and headed over to the JW Marriott; they accommodated us and our dog, and were willing to be flexible with how long we’d be there while we worked on finding a short-term rental.

As much as I’d happily stay there the entire duration, you can’t leave pets alone in the hotel room.

We woke up the next day to the real-life nightmare that is our flood-damaged home. Honestly, I think we both hoped we’d had a nightmare and it was not. Jason met my sister in our neighbourhood and gave Brie to Jason and he took the dog to work, while I attempted a run and then headed to the condo to see what was up.

Flood Damage; Time To Find Housing

We had our permanent adjuster assigned to us, and we set up a meeting to go over the damages in person. I met with people from Canstar about what was needing to be done, and how the process works.

Over the next couple of days, I worked on finding us a short-term rental solution. Keep in mind, that your insurance company needs to find you comparable/equivalent housing to what you currently live in. I was sent to one suite that was actually very close to our close friends, and that was a hard no. Nope, no way Jose. I had contact Level here in Vancouver as they do furnished rentals but they’re also a hotel, and I was able to schedule a couple of viewings at the two buildings to find an equitable space.

I found a unit that would work, had it approved through our insurance adjuster, and we moved on Friday afternoon. That same day, we found out that Canstar wanted to come on Monday and pack up our belongings and move them out and into storage so they could begin the demo. They’d completed all the water mapping and had spots marked where they needed to remove drywall, and all the hardwood flooring.

They told us to be prepared to be out for FOUR WEEKS.

Packing Up For Flood Repairs

We rushed to get everything packed that we needed for the next 4-6 weeks. I handled moving stuff on Friday as Jason had his scheduled 2nd vaccination after work that day. My sister came over after work and hung out with Brie as we were worried about her being stressed in a new space. She actually adjusted so well, it was shocking. Jason went to pack more stuff we needed on Saturday, and we were busy with family stuff on Sunday.

Packing in a hurry is not a good idea. Trust me.

Jason dropped me off at the condo Monday morning and did a once over to make sure we had what we needed, and met the Canstar packing team. They packed our belongings that day and they moved them out the next day. Demo then began, and that went very quickly. The reasoning behind getting packed up and moved out quickly was because of the order in which they’d demo, they would do the repairs.

I promise you, this is where all the “good” stops.

Personal Insurance vs Strata Insurance – Flood Damage

Due to the amount of damage caused, this was a strata insurance claim. So, for those not familiar, you hold your personal homeowner’s insurance and if you live in a condo as we do, your homeowner’s insurance should also cover your strata’s deductibles.

Say for all risks, your strata holds an insurance policy that has a $25,000 deductible. If the damage caused exceeds $25k, then the strata’s insurance kicks in. If it is under that amount, then your insurance covers all the repairs. If over $25k amount and your personal insurance policy does not cover that amount, you’ll pay that $25k deductible out of pocket.

In this situation, the strata’s insurance kicks in, and they cover any original items in your suite. If you had done a renovation and upgraded from the original content, you’ll still go through your own insurance policy. We haven’t done any renovations, so our flooring was original from the builder which means the strata’s insurance covers our suite repairs. I’ve since learned that even though we’ve now changed our flooring, it isn’t considered an upgrade. So, if this happens to us again, it’s the same situation.

They sent out for an additional bid, which takes an immense amount of time to get. The flood happened on July 13th; Canstar won the bid at the beginning of September. For those of you doing the math, that’s 6 weeks and we haven’t even picked materials out.

The worst part of insurance; trying to get out of paying

I dreaded dealing with insurance companies as soon as this flood happened. The strata insurance adjuster was a right pain in my ass. When our building was constructed, there were two finish options. This building was built in 2010/2011 and espresso finishes were very popular. They offered a dark and light option – dark being espresso and light being white oak. This was for the floors and cabinets.

He basically decided upon me returning from my road trip to Alberta in mid-September, that our flooring was not original and was upgraded so they wouldn’t be paying. Okay, sure there buddy. We provided documentation from the homeowner’s manual with the options. We sent an image of the original flooring we still had in our storage locker.

I asked my fellow council members if any of them had the light finishes and bless our upstairs neighbour does indeed have the light finishes. He sent me photos of his floors/cabinets and we included a note that said the adjuster or Canstar was free to arrange a time to come over to his suite and confirm the flooring is in fact the same. All of a sudden we’re approved. He did this based on the fact that every other unit had dark finish options. That’s not how one should dictate what’s original vs upgraded. If I could have gone through my own insurance, I absolutely would. I’d have been home already if that were the case.

Now our flooring and paint were ordered. Legitimately unreal seeing as it is now nearly the end of September. Guess what that means? It’s chilly and Autumn and we still have just summer stuff, plus the jacket I had to buy in Calgary because it was bloody cold. We had to beg to get a few items out of storage; I had to keep sending Brie to Jason’s office because I had no rain boots.

Nearing The End – Flood Repairs & Moving Back

Bless Level so much for being so flexible with our constant unknowingness of when we’d be moving back. It was frustrating for us, and I can only imagine it was for them as well. We asked for a final schedule of the repairs so we could advise Level when we would be moving out. Reasonable request in my opinion. They gave us a date of October 20th or something like that.

They gave us a revised date after their painters just up and decided based on a random paint swatch, to paint our entire condo teal instead of grey. I was adamant that this didn’t affect or push back our completion date because they’re idiots.

Canstar gave us a final completion date of October 29th. Jason booked the day off to help move as I was in a car accident in September so wasn’t able to lift much. October 29th would be the move-back in date. No one said we’d schedule a walk-through, which seems pretty important when you’re repairing our condo. Jason, Brie and I came to the condo on the evening of the 28th. The master closet was still apart and in the middle of the living room. Base plates and moulding were still missing and it hadn’t been cleaned. I have some serious allergies and asthma, so like clean up your mess thank you very much.

We said to each other there is no way, and we’re likely going to have to extend our rental.

On the 27th, I had been walking back to the rental from physio and I had a phone call from Canstar. At this point, I was constantly rolling my eyes when they called/emailed. I answer and basically the conversation is that yes Friday is completion day, but that our closets were damaged and would need to be replaced. OK so you were reinstalling the closets and they broke; seems weird but reasonable.

No; they broke on demolition …IN JULY. Both the master closet and laundry room. I was livi

d and fully enraged and immediately called Jason. I know I’m allowed to be mad when Jason is also ticked. They were refusing to accept responsibility and called it “cheap Ikea shit”. Y’all – Cressey put in a ton of high-end finishes in our condo and you think they put in Ikea closets? Sure. I called our insurance adjuster, and he too got mad and said leave it with me, I’ll handle it. We live in 700 square feet – no closets isn’t exactly ideal.

Our insurance company wound up covering the closets. He knew the importance of storage so he had us get a couple of quotes and then approved it right away. It took THREE months to get the closets installed. As someone who hates clutter, it was a very long 3 months. But now they’re better, so those are definitely an upgrade!

Completion and move-in day

Finally; we get to move back home. Jason had to rush over to the condo to let the cleaners in – they were there before our concierge who holds our key so they can have access. He came back, we packed some more and then I walked over to the condo late morning to go oversee the unpacking.

Imagine my surprise when I get there and find out from the team that the belongings would be delivered today and they’d be back on Monday to unpack. I lost it. Look, I was calm throughout this process because it was all out of my control. But this lack of communication and lies were becoming too much. We live in 700 square feet – how the hell am I supposed to live in a sea of boxes with a dog, all weekend?! Oh, and the closet was still sitting in the middle of the living room.

They left, and Jason and I began to unpack. I was livid because I knew that all of this unpacking was going to take a toll on me and I was still recovering from a car accident. I obviously stuck to doing things that didn’t involve me lifting my arm over my head very much, but Brie was stressed upon coming home and seeing the boxes. It was insanity. Canstar popped by that evening and seemed to be confused as to why both of us were upset. Clearly, our definitions of completion are very different.

Our insurance policy covers Canstar unpacking our belongings. They billed for it, but we unpacked. I was mad and so was our insurance adjuster. I don’t know what wound up happening, and honestly, I just want these people to disappear and never step foot in our house again.

Best Advice We Can Offer

Pay attention to your insurance policy and it’s not worth skimping on anything to save a few bucks. We had the addition on our policy that covered the packing, unpacking and storing of our contents while our condo was repaired. That was around $15,000. Sure, you can pack up your belongings and store them yourself, but you still have to find somewhere to store them, and a company to move your belongings to and from. Time is money.

Your housing allotment. There are two levels of housing on our policy and on most policies [from what I have seen]. You have the lower end which I think is $16,000 and the upper end which is $42,000 if I am remembering properly. Go with the higher amount. Furnished rentals are not inexpensive at all. Our suite was $5,500 per month. So over 3.5 months, we’re talking about $20,000. That’s insanity!

Don’t skimp to save money. I hope you never have to use it. But if for any reason you do, you’ll be very thankful you paid a little extra. My step-cousin had a flood and they were out for around a year. You should really be thinking about the worst-case scenario because especially if you live in a condo dwelling, things like fire and flood aren’t within your control.

And for the love of God, make sure your insurance policy covers any strata deductibles you may have to cover. We now have to insure up to $250k for water, and it involves a special secondary policy that basically costs the same as the initial policy we have. It’s outrageous, but I don’t just have $250k sitting in a bank account to hand over to my building if I ever caused $250k+ worth of water damage to the building.

Keep records of everything. Where your floors, cabinets, appliances etc. come from, what they’re worth and when they were installed. Our insurance company was a dream to work with, but that’s not always the case. Our experience with the strata adjuster was the opposite of our own insurance company.

Final Notes

At the time of writing this, it is June 2022 and we still have outstanding issues. I don’t know when they’ll be completed, and as we get closer to the one-year mark, my anxiety gets a little worse. Typically our fire alarm goes off in the winter when we get a cold spell, and we didn’t this past winter. I was hoping to have the first fire alarm out of the way before the year mark.

I always worry when we leave the dog at home to run errands, attend a function or go for a run. I know the sprinklers did their job and put out the fire, but I can’t imagine Brie being inside with water flowing and the fire alarm going off. I grew up in condos and I’ve never been concerned. Until this person chooses to sell and move out, I don’t think my anxiety from this will dissipate.