Leaking roof causing joist to rot

[melodymaker]

I have just discovered that part of the roof off my semi victorian has been leaking as I found a puddle in the loft. I can't see any holes or even cracks but right above the puddle, the wooden frame has white mould growing and when I touched it the wood was getting crumbly and flaky.

Firstly, is this an emergency and secondly, would you claim it on your insurance?

 

[^woody^]

Urgent rather than emergency. But it wont get any better thats for sure.

If you have insurance that covers this eventuallity then its your decision whether its worth making a claim - in terms of overall costs

 

[chappers]

To be honest i doubt your insurance will cover this as it is a general maintenance issue and has not been caused by a specific incident. They nearly always send out a loss adjuster for leaking roofs and unless the damage has been caused by a falling object or specific storm they almost always won't pay out.