What happens after you report an oil leak
Enviroleak’s 24 hour help line is always at the ready for that all important first call from a home owner with a suspected oil leak. There is no charge for the initial call out.
One recent call out came from the owner of a semi-detached suburban home where the resident was getting a strong smell of kerosene around their oil tank and noticed some staining and dark patches in the surrounding grass and soil. Once all the initial information was gathered, it was passed to our emergency call out team to visit the house.
Once on site our team were able to assess where the leak was coming from and contain it. They transferred the remining oil from the client’s tank into a temporary tank and connected the heating back up. Once the initial assessment was complete by our emergency call out team, it was explained to the home owners what the next steps would be.
In this instance the home owner engaged a loss assessor who in turn liaised with their insurance company on their behalf. (If an insurance assessor is required to process any home insurance claim, we provide all evidence and reports needed to complete this. ). Once their insurance company was notified a full site investigation of their property took place to assess the full extent of the damage. Soil samples were also taken (these can determine the extent of contamination to soil and nearby water sources) and sent off to the lab and a report was compiled which outlined what remediation works were recommended and then what reinstatement works were needed. Once agreed with the client, remediation works commenced to restore the home owner’s property to its original state.
For this particular homeowner was process was relatively straightforward. Sometimes, when a leak has been undetected for some time, the remediation work is much more complex. On occasion, the leak may come from the boiler itself and over time, finds its way under the very foundations of the house. A tell-tale sign for this is the smell of oil in the house itself. Again our team will liaise with environmental experts to assess the full impact to the buildings and surrounding area. The ground and water contamination are classified and a report sent to a quantity surveyor who will price the remediation works. If this scenario sounds more serious, it is because it can be a very serious matter indeed . However, we at Enviroleak will inform and direct the homeowner through this process, each step of the way.
