Hi there, friends. Caleb here. Keith Cook, the General Contractor of Cook Construction & Renovation, walks through the first hours after a leak, how to work with an insurance company, and what the rebuild looks like after a flood. He covers the mistakes homeowners make and what to ask before you accept a payout.
Keith is a General Contractor with a number of basements, whole-home remodels, and interior re-design projects under his belt. He’s a certified general contractor with dozens of thrilled customers and an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. But, in our eyes, his most important “certification” is that he’s a loving dad of three kiddos, a family man, and a beloved member of his community . It gives him a grounded perspective of home renovation that, our clients say, helps them feel understood. Check out his perspective on bringing in-laws in for the holiday season:
Part 1: The Story
Caleb: Let's start with the feeling. Someone is googling "what do I do right now" with water in the kitchen. What is that moment like for them?
Keith: It's rough. You're relaxing, enjoying your day, and all of a sudden you have a water leak. Water is the most common problem I see. Nobody has ever told me, "I flooded my house yesterday, and it was taken care of this morning." That lifestyle doesn't exist with flooding. When someone says, "My basement's flooded," or "My main floor's flooded," everybody gets the same pit in their stomach. It's never, "Oh, nice, it's a little flood." It's always, "What did you have to end up doing to fix this?"
Water goes to its lowest point, and it damages everything on the way down. So it's multiple trades and multiple people. Then insurance adds another layer, with paperwork and back-and-forth like buying a house. Keeping the house put back together is one task. Keeping it organized and financially sound is another.
Caleb: A lot of the fear comes from what else gets destroyed. The house is almost the easy part. What would you tell someone who's afraid it's going to be okay?
Keith: Find someone who highlights the reality without spiraling. It might be your whole house, and sometimes the whole house is unlivable. The person you want says something like, "I know it's going to suck. Your kitchen and your main floor and your bedroom got trashed, and you won't be able to use them for a couple of months. But at the end, it's going to be back to where you want it. It's an inconvenience." That person reminds you constantly that you're thankful you have a roof to repair.
The person you want is not the one who rides the doom and gloom with you. Find the even-keel person. They'll tell you this isn't their first time, and your thoughts are normal. This is an average response.
Part 2: The First Hours
Caleb: What should someone do right now, if the water is still coming in?
Keith: First, shut off your main water. If the water won't stop, run and shut off the main. If the main itself is broken and leaking, call a plumber and wait. Go sit outside and enjoy the day. Don't try to get into the city shutoff. In most municipalities it's illegal for homeowners to touch it, so check locally. Search for "my main shutoff is broken and leaking." You'll find plenty of plumbers who built their marketing around that phrase.
If the leak is on your main floor and you have a basement, go downstairs and open the basement drains and faucets. Water in the lines then drains there instead of out of the leak.
For anything electrical or gas related, get out of the house and call your utility provider. If you can, shut off the electrical on your way out. In Colorado, most houses have the electrical box outside, so you can walk around and shut it off from there. For gas, get away from the house and call as quickly as you can.
Caleb: What causes most of these leaks in Colorado?
Keith: Three things come up most. The first is pinhole leaks in copper pipes. Copper seems to corrode from the inside out faster out here. My best guess is the hard, mineral-heavy water. A pinhole leak starts slow, but it keeps going because the water is under pressure, until it soaks the drywall and the drywall fails. By then you need drywall repair too.
The second is a broken sewer line. Bentonite in our soil makes foundations shift and settle. I've had clients whose foundations shifted enough to break their sewer lines. Run a shower or flush a toilet, and the area floods.
The third is less common. A toilet flushes and keeps running because the flapper fails. It overflows. But anytime water is involved and left unattended, it causes damage.
Part 3: Insurance and the Rebuild
Caleb: What's the best first step with insurance?
Keith: It's no different than working with a contractor. Ask questions, and then ask extra ones. Make sure you're talking to your insurance company, and make sure you know your policy and your riders. Find out what your money is covering. I can't tell you how many people don't know what their insurance does or doesn't cover.
Ask the specific "what if" questions. Ask, "If my three-year-old puts a bottle in the toilet, and we flush it, and I don't catch it because we went away overnight, am I covered?" Insurance may say no, that's not an accidental flood. Ask those questions before the loss, so you're not finding out after it.
Caleb: Then what about after the claim?
Keith: Ask again. "What do you cover? How do I cover it? Is it like for like?" Understand that insurance companies rarely give you a better house than the one you had. If you had a bathroom barely holding together with caulk and epoxy and a prayer, they'll get you as close to that as they can. Don't be upset when they nickel and dime the project. Then find a contractor who will say, "Fair is fair. We can't salvage that vanity. It's 20 years old, and you got your use out of it. You're the one who buys the new one."
Ask whether they replace like for like or match the quality. If you had a good vanity, they should give you a good vanity. If you had a great one, they should give you a great one. Find out if the policy distinguishes between them.
Caleb: How does the payout connect to the contractor?
Keith: Know the difference between the insurance paying out and the contractor doing the work. If insurance pays $2.50 a square foot for tile, the contractor's price has to stay at $2.50, or they'll issue a change order and charge you more. The numbers will be off.
My advice, if you're in that deer-in-the-headlights place: don't take the payout until you have a contractor committed to the work. Then the contractor can confirm the adjuster didn't miss anything. Once you take the payout, it's harder to get supplements or change orders approved.
Caleb: When you work with an insurance claim, what's the first thing you ask?
Keith: "Who do I talk to at the insurance company?" I want to know the communication path between them and me, because that's the key. A good insurance company will likely give you a bare-bones minimum. They'll ask you to get three quotes, and then the contractor tells them what they missed or what needs to be added. I'm starting to see more insurers handle larger floods this way. They'll say the damage is remediated, then ask for quotes just for the rebuild. That leaves too much room for the homeowner to miss things. I've walked in with homeowners who said, "That's everything." Then the insurance proposal leaves out three closet doors and a toilet.
Caleb: Why hire a general contractor, instead of getting quotes from a bunch of trades?
Keith: Ask yourself how much scheduling and vetting you want to do. If you're a deer in the headlights after an insurance flood, you need a general contractor. You're vetting the people you'll pay, making sure they fit a reasonable budget, have integrity, and show up on schedule. That's what the GC gets paid for. When a project takes two and a half months, it's because the contractor scheduled the work in the right order.
Without one, chaos takes over. Your painter says one thing, your millwork person overrides it, and your drywall person says something else. You miss things, pay twice, and lengthen the schedule. The general contractor carries the big stick. Their job is to keep order. Insurance usually holds back the last 15 to 20 percent until the city approves the work. The general contractor is the confidence that the project goes well from start to finish.
Caleb: What does the rebuild look like for the family?
Keith: Once demo is done, I plan how they'll live in the space. I look for the biggest pinch point, then work backward from it. I'll say, "I'm going to be in and out of your kitchen for three weeks." Or, "You won't have a kitchen for six to eight weeks, because we have to order cabinets, then do countertops." On a kitchen project recently, I waited until the last minute to pull the countertops and sink, so they could still wash dishes.
Caleb: How should a homeowner protect the rest of the house?
Keith: Some contractors won't put down Ram Board or rosin paper unless you ask. Ask them how they'll protect the areas you walk through. If the work happens off the garage, you may not need much protection. If the crew has to walk through the front room, the living room, and up the stairs, they should protect those areas.
Insurance usually won't pay to protect the rest of the house, so some contractors charge for it as a line item. Ask, "Do you protect the house?" and make sure protection is in the bid. If it isn't, it won't get done.
Caleb: How should someone plan for the cost and the stress?
Keith: You have the power to prevent extra costs by getting information up front. On a claim, the walls are already open, so you have more to go on. Get the adjuster out, get three quotes, and ask as many questions as you can. Look at all the information together and find the missing pieces. Demolition often reveals problems that were going to fail anyway, like a worn shower valve. That's not bad luck. It's the job.
Expect construction fatigue to set in quickly on an insurance claim. Insurance companies want the cheapest price to put things back the way they were. Be open about it, and over-communicate. Tell your contractor when you need a day off. Insurance schedules are also uneven. You might get three hard weeks of crews, then two weeks of nothing, then a month of waiting on materials. That's the reality, not a sign something went wrong.
Plan a reward for when you finish. Go out for sushi, have a movie night, or enjoy having your house back without a construction site.
Caleb: What do you hope people say about working with you after a flood?
Keith: I'd love for my clients to say the process was wonderful from start to finish. One homeowner's basement flooded while they were in the mountains. They came home, panicked, and I said, "We'll call Cook Construction." Three months later, the wife said, "You weren't kidding." That's the goal.
Caleb: Thank you, Keith.
Key Takeaways for Homeowners
Shut off your main water first. If electrical or gas is involved, get out of the house and call your utility provider.
Ask your insurance company specific "what if" questions before a loss, and ask again after the claim.
Ask whether the policy replaces like for like. Insurance rarely returns you to a better house than before.
Don't accept the payout until a contractor is committed and has confirmed nothing was missed.
Ask how the crew will protect the rest of your home, and whether that protection is in the bid.
Expect construction fatigue, communicate openly, and plan a reward for the finish line.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do first if my house is flooding?
Shut off the main water right away. If the main is broken and leaking, call a plumber and wait. If electrical or gas is involved, leave the house and call your utility provider.
What causes water leaks in Colorado homes?
Keith sees three common causes: pinhole leaks in copper pipes, sewer lines broken by foundation movement in bentonite soil, and running toilets with failed flappers.
Should I accept my insurance payout right away?
Wait until a contractor is committed to the work. The contractor can confirm the adjuster didn't miss anything. Supplements and change orders are harder to get after you take the payout.
Does homeowners insurance replace items like for like?
Often, insurance aims to return your home to its pre-loss condition, not upgrade it. Ask your insurer how the policy handles quality levels for items like vanities and cabinets.
Do I need a general contractor for an insurance claim?
If you don't want to vet, schedule, and coordinate several trades yourself, a general contractor keeps the project organized, works with your insurance company, and helps prevent costly delays.
