Possible water leak under kitchen floor?

[simonneilsbeautifulhair]

The house was newly renovated just before I bought it, 2 years ago. Over the last year the laminate floor in the kitchen has started dip in places and the kitchen looks generally a bit warped, floor unit cupboards don't close properly and they look like they have shifted, eg leaning and uneven. I suspect there may be a leak under the kitchen floor but it wasn't picked up in the survey when I bought the house.

A) how can I get this diagnosed cheaply?
B) will my house insurance likely cover the cost of repairs including new flooring and kitchen?

Things are incredibly tight due to Covid/furlough but I think this is quite urgent as it's visibly worse than a couple of months ago

You cannot get it diagnosed cheaply. You will need a surveyor. Someone who can detect leaks and understands their effect on buildings. The leak could be under the floor. That’s possible. Do you know where the water pipes go under the floor? The excess water could be undermining your foundations. It could also be pushing up the soil under the floor to make it uneven.

Yes. Your house insurance should cover pretty much everything. We had a water leak from our underfloor heating in a lounge. We got new flooring, new skirting boards and redecoration. It would have covered damaged units if there had been any. I’m not sure if you could expect the whole kitchen to be replaced. I assume not all of it is affected but you need to discuss this with the loss adjustor and stand your ground.

we had an escape of water from an underground pipe in the garden. the excess for escape of water is can be higher than the standard excess (in our case I think it was the first £350 of any claim), and also the actual repair of the leak - new pipes or whatever's needed - isn't usually covered.

they will however pay for the damage done, which is most of the cost, and I think they covered tracing as well.

If you are on a meter then turn the internal stop tap off. Go out to the meter. If there's the slightest leak there will be movement on the dials.