With contractors swamped, Montreal area homeowners prepare for long construction delays

The water poured into Joby Laflamme's basement in Pierrefonds like a waterfall.

It was Aug. 9, just after 6:30 p.m. on Montreal's West Island.

"Everything was floating, like freezers were floating, fridge was floating off, the couches were floating; everything was floating. It was nuts," Laflamme said.

In the minutes that followed, it was a mad dash to save anything he could.

"We were just trying to grab all personal effects to bring it upstairs and get it upstairs and get it out of here," he said.

Since then, he's been dealing with his insurance company, often waiting days for a callback.

If you're hoping that your insurer will find you a contractor, you might be out of luck.

CTV News has learned that insurance companies are telling flood victims to find their own workers, and those workers are already bogged down.

Many homeowners may not be able to have a contractor to renovate their basements until 2025.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada told CTV that insurance companies are not legally obligated to find you a contractor.

"You can't keep up. Not with the volume that's out there," contractor Mike Senecal said.

Senecal said he's been working non-stop this month.

He said insurance companies are giving their clients cheques to pay for the work, but the problem is the money doesn't come quickly.

"They're not getting the $20,000 right away," he said. "That's why the retainer comes in. I have no choice. I can't work and not be able to pay my staff."

Renovco president Walter Assi said his teams have not taken a day off since the flood.

"We've received something close to 3,000 calls. That's how busy we are. We're trying to get to as many people as possible," Assi said.

He said people should not wait until 2025 to demolish and decontaminate their basements.

"At least from a demolition, decontamination, clean up, drying perspective, you shouldn't even wait days, let alone weeks and months," he said.

He pointed out there was a miscommunication between some insurance companies and their clients.

"We got a second wave now of calls, of people that are fed up with waiting, of people that finally heard back from the insurance companies, and now they're in panic mode," he said.  "Because, they have mold and they have all kinds of damages in their homes."