Multi-Unit Water Loss Response in Milwaukee, WI

Tracing the water between units

The path is traced from the source unit through the shared structure to each affected unit.

Water between units follows the structure. It may run down a wall cavity, along a joist bay or through a shared drain. The crew traces the path with readings and by looking at the structure, and it records each step so the path can be shown.

The trace is important because it decides whose damage is whose. A unit that was not the source may still need drying, and the record shows why.

Drying each unit to its own readings

Each unit is dried to its own readings and has its own scope, even when the cause is shared.

Each affected unit is a separate job for drying purposes. The crew takes its own readings, sets its own target and writes its own scope. The shared cause is recorded once, and each unit's damage is recorded against it.

A unit that is dried to target is signed off separately, so the owner or tenant knows when their space is ready.

• Take separate readings in each unit
• Set a separate target for each unit
• Write a scope for each unit
• Record the shared cause once
• Sign off each unit separately

One building record for the owner and the insurer

The building record holds the cause, the path, the scope for each unit and the readings, so the facts are the same for everyone.

The building owner and the insurer need one record that covers all the units. The record holds the cause, the path of the water, a scope for each unit and the readings taken on each visit. Each occupant can ask for a copy of the part that concerns their unit.

A single record prevents different accounts of the same event from reaching different people.

• The shared cause and its path
• A scope for each unit
• Readings for each unit on each visit
• A copy for each occupant of their unit
• One record kept by the owner

Shared repairs and separate repairs

Shared structure and common lines are repaired by the owner, and each unit's finish is repaired by its occupant or their trade.

The crew does not decide who repairs what. It records the shared structure and the common lines, and it records the finishes in each unit. The owner decides the shared repairs with a plumber or builder, and the occupants decide their own finishes with their own trades.

A repair list is handed to each party, so each knows what is theirs to arrange.

• Shared structure listed for the owner
• Common lines listed for a plumber
• Each unit's finishes listed for its occupant
• A written list for each party
• Trades arranged by the party responsible

Notifying each unit and keeping the contacts

Each affected unit is contacted in writing, and the contact details are kept with the building record.

When a loss affects several units, each occupant or owner should receive a short written notice that says the unit is affected and how to get its own scope. The contacts are kept with the building record, so the crew and the owner can reach each party without delay.

Notices are dated, and each one is kept with the record.

A unit that is dried on its own schedule can be ready before the building's shared repairs are finished, and the record shows which unit was ready and when.

Where one unit is the source, the owner decides with the insurer how the other units are paid for. The crew's role is the record: the path, the scope for each unit and the readings, so that each decision rests on the same measured facts.

On arrival the crew checks the address, the power and the source against the notes from the call, then starts the readings. A homeowner who has the notes, the photographs and the shut-off location ready shortens the first visit and keeps the scope accurate.

• A written notice to each affected unit
• The notice names how to get the unit's scope
• Contacts are kept with the building record
• Each notice is dated and kept
• Changes to contacts are recorded