Make sure you insist on appointing your own surveyor who understands damp problems – most do not.
The single most important thing is to ensure your own safety. I’m going to make some assumptions here – that you and your family, and pets are safe. Your home has been flooded, and now you are on the road to recovery.
If you are insured, you will have reported the flooding, and a Loss Adjuster will come out to look at the damage. He or she will make a report, and usually will appoint a survey company to prepare a report on the state of the building, and recommend a strategy for sorting out the damage. This is where things start to go badly wrong, and hopefully, by following the steps here, you can manage the process with a greater degree of control, and understanding.
The most important thing to remember is this: You have a right to appoint your OWN surveyor, to assess and prepare a damage report, and recommendations for repairs. You must insist that you appoint your own – or that you are fully involved in approving any works that are proposed – it is YOUR home, and any works done must be to your satisfaction.
Where, and why do things go wrong?
Put very simply, the vast majority (over 90%) of surveyors do NOT understand moisture, and how it moves, and what it does. I’m a member of a group of senior surveyors within the RICS that is working to address this, by producing a new methodology that deals with how surveys should be conducted. Very few surveyors yet are aware of this, and for the forseeable future, we have to assume an almost total lack of understanding of moisture, dampness, and the way in which building fabric is affected by moisture – whether from flooding, or secondary sources – living in the home, roof leaks, drainage problems and so on. The methodology, in draft form, can be found here: RICS damp methodology
Quite apart from this, the environment agency is issuing totally incorrect advice to homeowners to waterproof and damp proof your home. This doesnt work. Water will get into your home whatever you do to it. The simple solution is to allow it to dry out quickly. Waterproofing something doesnt stop it getting wet – you cannot fight water, as it will ALWAYS find a way around whatever you do. Let it get wet, and let it dry out naturally and quickly. Buildings that are flooded will dry very repidly – IF YOU LET THEM. Dont use waterproofing, which doesnt work anyway – dont paint your brickwork with anything – and especially don’t cover cellars and basements with concrete or cement. Accept that flooding will happen, but that it will dry out just as quickly with good ventilation and airflow. Remember it takes a long time for brick and concrete to become saturated, and even longer for it to dry out. Paint stops that drying process. Dont believe the rubbish you are told about ‘breathable paints’ – they don’t exist. Its just marketing bulldust from the vendors. As for damp proofing, or spraying your walls with Stormguard chemicals – forget it – please DONT try and block the ability of the walls to dry out. Moist advice about storm and flood remediation is from people with no technical knowledge about water. They THINK they know, but in reality they havent a clue. Leave your house alone, or make it breathable – lime plaster dried out in a day or two – gypsum plaster has to be hacked off and replaced, again and again. Lime will stand any number of floods and still be good as new.