I've been absent a bit lately, here's why

[Gofirstclass]

I haven't been able to spend as much time on here as I used to but it's because of a bit of turmoil in our house. In September we took a couple of days and went to my wife's reunion then a couple more days and went to Lake Chelan for a brief stay and a great lodge up there.

When we got back, we found a freshwater pipe in a bathroom wall had burst and flooded about 1/3 of the lower floor in the house including the master bath, both closets, ruined a bunch of our oak flooring then got into the laundry room and soaked the subfloor beneath the ceramic tile in there.

Needless to say I was quickly on the phone to the insurance company. We hired a storage pod that sits in the driveway, had a moving company come in to move everything into the pod and the 2-car part of our garage. The insurance company put us up in a nice hotel (Courtyard by Marriott) for about a month. We already had a vacation planned to our place in Arizona so they got a break from the expenses while we were down there.

Before we left we watched the demolition of the damaged flooring, the water-soaked sheetrock and the ceramic tile in the laundry room. Kustom Restoration brought in about 20 fans to speed up the drying process and had that done before we left for AZ.

So now we're back and we're busy picking out materials, colors, paint and other materials to put things back together. We're back in the hotel and loving it (NOT!). The insurance company has been OK to work with when I can get them to return phone calls. This is a hotel they suggested but I think they're getting tired of the room charges, charges for the dog, car, etc., which all comes to a tad north of $200/day. The last time I spoke with them they suggested we look for an Airbnb to move to. We don't want to pack up and move so we're staying right here.

They job of putting things back together has not yet started and out adjuster thinks that's going to be a 5-6 week process. Oh, and now my wife has put her foot down and we're going to get our kitchen totally remodeled while the restoration company is here working on the house.

So, if you thought running a boat was expensive, try this on for size. The demolition part came to about $32,500. Kustom's adjustor's estimate of the repair costs will be about $68,000, and that doesn't include the kitchen remodel.

So, I don't want to hear anyone bitchin about paying for fuel or moorage, ya hear!

 

[Halfhitch]

WOW! What a home coming. Sorry to hear about that mess. I guess we need to shut off the seacocks in our houses too. I do hope that you have the good sense to step back and let the admiral have her new galley.
Good luck GFC.

 

[Gofirstclass]

WOW! What a home coming. Sorry to hear about that mess. I guess we need to shut off the seacocks in our houses too. I do hope that you have the good sense to step back and let the admiral have her new galley.
Good luck GFC.

Halfhitch, you nailed it. She's been after me for several years to redo the kitchen but I hesitated to do it. Now, since we're going to have the workers there redoing the rest of the house I acquiesced and agreed to do the kitchen. I am also letting her pick the counter top material and the new cupboards and the paint colors.

Happy Wife, Happy Life!

 

[Creekwood]

Thats horrible, but at least you get a new kitchen out of it. Hopefully the work goes to schedule (Or I should say, the delays are minimal, since they never go to schedule).

 

[Nick 55]

I know what you’re going through. My MILs house burned down last Christmas morning. I think it’s easier when the whole thing is a total loss, but it’s been stressful. Keep at it, hire a private adjuster if you can.

 

[Pirate Lady]

I know what you’re going through. My MILs house burned down last Christmas morning. I think it’s easier when the whole thing is a total loss, but it’s been stressful. Keep at it, hire a private adjuster if you can.

Read my house fire post upthread. 10 months to fix everything. I said often if the whole thing had burned down they could have built all new from ground up in half the time.
And mine burned on Thanksgiving morning. No turkey deep fryer was involved. What is it with holidays.

 

[NorCalRobert]

I haven't been able to spend as much time on here as I used to but it's because of a bit of turmoil in our house. In September we took a couple of days and went to my wife's reunion then a couple more days and went to Lake Chelan for a brief stay and a great lodge up there.

When we got back, we found a freshwater pipe in a bathroom wall had burst and flooded about 1/3 of the lower floor in the house including the master bath, both closets, ruined a bunch of our oak flooring then got into the laundry room and soaked the subfloor beneath the ceramic tile in there.

Needless to say I was quickly on the phone to the insurance company. We hired a storage pod that sits in the driveway, had a moving company come in to move everything into the pod and the 2-car part of our garage. The insurance company put us up in a nice hotel (Courtyard by Marriott) for about a month. We already had a vacation planned to our place in Arizona so they got a break from the expenses while we were down there.

Before we left we watched the demolition of the damaged flooring, the water-soaked sheetrock and the ceramic tile in the laundry room. Kustom Restoration brought in about 20 fans to speed up the drying process and had that done before we left for AZ.

So now we're back and we're busy picking out materials, colors, paint and other materials to put things back together. We're back in the hotel and loving it (NOT!). The insurance company has been OK to work with when I can get them to return phone calls. This is a hotel they suggested but I think they're getting tired of the room charges, charges for the dog, car, etc., which all comes to a tad north of $200/day. The last time I spoke with them they suggested we look for an Airbnb to move to. We don't want to pack up and move so we're staying right here.

They job of putting things back together has not yet started and out adjuster thinks that's going to be a 5-6 week process. Oh, and now my wife has put her foot down and we're going to get our kitchen totally remodeled while the restoration company is here working on the house.

So, if you thought running a boat was expensive, try this on for size. The demolition part came to about $32,500. Kustom's adjustor's estimate of the repair costs will be about $68,000, and that doesn't include the kitchen remodel.

So, I don't want to hear anyone bitchin about paying for fuel or moorage, ya hear!

With a house in AZ and the hard water there you probably have a water softener and copper pipes. If so it is a very good practice to turn off your house water when your not there since water softeners remove minerals and the water will try and make itself whole again and will attack the copper pipes

 

[Gofirstclass]

With a house in AZ and the hard water there you probably have a water softener and copper pipes. If so it is a very good practice to turn off your house water when your not there since water softeners remove minerals and the water will try and make itself whole again and will attack the copper pipes

Robert, thanks for the comments. Whenever we leave to go back to WA we turn off all the 240V breakers except for the heat/AC, and shut off the water. When we left this time I also turned off the heat. My Galley Wench will be going back down in January with her cousin and we won't need heat or AC between now and then.

We'll both be going back down in late January or early February. By then the reconstruction should all be done and we can relax once we're there.

I hope.

 

[wyrman]

Halfhitch, you nailed it. She's been after me for several years to redo the kitchen but I hesitated to do it. Now, since we're going to have the workers there redoing the rest of the house I acquiesced and agreed to do the kitchen. I am also letting her pick the counter top material and the new cupboards and the paint colors.

Happy Wife, Happy Life!

If you happent to have cabinets built instead of the box store ones, I can't recommend Fesser Custom Cabinets enough.
They did our kitchen cabinets, and they were outstanding to work with.

 

[sbw1]

I haven't been able to spend as much time on here as I used to but it's because of a bit of turmoil in our house. In September we took a couple of days and went to my wife's reunion then a couple more days and went to Lake Chelan for a brief stay and a great lodge up there.

When we got back, we found a freshwater pipe in a bathroom wall had burst and flooded about 1/3 of the lower floor in the house including the master bath, both closets, ruined a bunch of our oak flooring then got into the laundry room and soaked the subfloor beneath the ceramic tile in there.

Needless to say I was quickly on the phone to the insurance company. We hired a storage pod that sits in the driveway, had a moving company come in to move everything into the pod and the 2-car part of our garage. The insurance company put us up in a nice hotel (Courtyard by Marriott) for about a month. We already had a vacation planned to our place in Arizona so they got a break from the expenses while we were down there.

Before we left we watched the demolition of the damaged flooring, the water-soaked sheetrock and the ceramic tile in the laundry room. Kustom Restoration brought in about 20 fans to speed up the drying process and had that done before we left for AZ.

So now we're back and we're busy picking out materials, colors, paint and other materials to put things back together. We're back in the hotel and loving it (NOT!). The insurance company has been OK to work with when I can get them to return phone calls. This is a hotel they suggested but I think they're getting tired of the room charges, charges for the dog, car, etc., which all comes to a tad north of $200/day. The last time I spoke with them they suggested we look for an Airbnb to move to. We don't want to pack up and move so we're staying right here.

They job of putting things back together has not yet started and out adjuster thinks that's going to be a 5-6 week process. Oh, and now my wife has put her foot down and we're going to get our kitchen totally remodeled while the restoration company is here working on the house.

So, if you thought running a boat was expensive, try this on for size. The demolition part came to about $32,500. Kustom's adjustor's estimate of the repair costs will be about $68,000, and that doesn't include the kitchen remodel.

So, I don't want to hear anyone bitchin about paying for fuel or moorage, ya hear!

Sorry for your bad luck. Enjoy your new home when the dust settle. It will look great.

 

[Gofirstclass]

If you happen to have cabinets built instead of the box store ones, I can't recommend Fesser Custom Cabinets enough.
They did our kitchen cabinets, and they were outstanding to work with.View attachment 154426

Greg, thanks for that tip. I used them many years ago when I had a home in Richland and redesigned the kitchen. Good company.

 

[dwna1a]

I haven't been able to spend as much time on here as I used to but it's because of a bit of turmoil in our house. In September we took a couple of days and went to my wife's reunion then a couple more days and went to Lake Chelan for a brief stay and a great lodge up there.

When we got back, we found a freshwater pipe in a bathroom wall had burst and flooded about 1/3 of the lower floor in the house including the master bath, both closets, ruined a bunch of our oak flooring then got into the laundry room and soaked the subfloor beneath the ceramic tile in there.

Needless to say I was quickly on the phone to the insurance company. We hired a storage pod that sits in the driveway, had a moving company come in to move everything into the pod and the 2-car part of our garage. The insurance company put us up in a nice hotel (Courtyard by Marriott) for about a month. We already had a vacation planned to our place in Arizona so they got a break from the expenses while we were down there.

Before we left we watched the demolition of the damaged flooring, the water-soaked sheetrock and the ceramic tile in the laundry room. Kustom Restoration brought in about 20 fans to speed up the drying process and had that done before we left for AZ.

So now we're back and we're busy picking out materials, colors, paint and other materials to put things back together. We're back in the hotel and loving it (NOT!). The insurance company has been OK to work with when I can get them to return phone calls. This is a hotel they suggested but I think they're getting tired of the room charges, charges for the dog, car, etc., which all comes to a tad north of $200/day. The last time I spoke with them they suggested we look for an Airbnb to move to. We don't want to pack up and move so we're staying right here.

They job of putting things back together has not yet started and out adjuster thinks that's going to be a 5-6 week process. Oh, and now my wife has put her foot down and we're going to get our kitchen totally remodeled while the restoration company is here working on the house.

So, if you thought running a boat was expensive, try this on for size. The demolition part came to about $32,500. Kustom's adjustor's estimate of the repair costs will be about $68,000, and that doesn't include the kitchen remodel.

So, I don't want to hear anyone bitchin about paying for fuel or moorage, ya hear!

You know you scared the hell out of me. I thought you were going to say it was your health