Whatcha doing today?

[Jeepers]

I am officially displaced AKA homeless. I'm staying in a 'suite' about 30 minutes from the house so it's close enough to go over there to check the mail and continue to pack up stuff etc. It's nothing fancy here but nice. It's sort of one big room with a king size bed, desk area, kitchenette (hot plate, elect. skillet, sink, fridge/freezer and microwave), and an area with a couch etc. And a bathroom. They have a mini store in the lobby. Probably expensive. Wal-Mart is down the street. And FREE breakfast. Woo-Hoo. Better than what I've had in the last 2 months. They had to get me out of a hotel because my insurance says I have to have a kitchenette when mine was demolished. I have no idea how long I'll be here. At least I'm familiar with the area though as son used to live over here. 

 

My house is unbelievable. About 60% of the walls are down to the studs. About 25% of the ceilings are gone. All three bathrooms are empty. There is no kitchen left. The ceilings are gone because they had to expose the water pipes. They are tearing out walls looking for mold. They found a little and are dealing with it. But they keep demo-ing to make sure. All of the flooring is coming out too; linoleum, wood and carpet. All the floors are down to the subflooring and the kitchen has the subfloor removed. 

 

They are still removing my junk from the basement. It was put on hold a couple of days because the plumbers are working down there. They are putting in all new water pipes throughout the house. I already had a new furnace and sump pump put in. Today they are finishing up the pipes and installing a water softener and hot water heater. All the walls and insulation above the cement blocks will be replaced down there too. They are taking mold seriously. They have all kinds of dryers, dehumidifiers, exhaust blowers and air purifiers going 24/7. My utility bill will be something! Better than mold though. They also set up some sort of fog bombs in there for mold too. 

 

Next will be the electrician. He needs to replace 5 outlets and he is going to replace the entire breaker box in the basement. 

 

The contractor boss and the Servpro boss stopped by yesterday to check on things. Luckily they were there at the same time.  Contractor saw a water stain on the garage ceiling. The garage that is jam packed. It will have to come down too. It's because one of the bathrooms is above it and leaked from the pipes. Dang. 

 

First the demo then the rebuild. The contractor said it will take many months. It is extensive. After the rebuild, the contractor will bring in a consultant to help me pick out kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities (3), carpeting, tile etc. they will help me choose based on my budget. The bathrooms are a full, a 3/4 and a half. Not three full ones. 

 

I have to say that EVERYONE that I have dealt with have bent over backwards to be nice to me. And very helpful explaining things.  Servpro have gone over and above with their help. I've been in the house during most of the demo dealing with some of my belongings. They provided the boxes and helped carry them to the garage. Yesterday they streamed the Rolling Stones while we worked. I love those guys. There was Latin music in the basement, Rap on the first floor and Rock and Roll up stairs. I has a multi-cultural house. They aren't supposed to remove anything from the house that wasn't damaged by water but they are. They took a boat load of my personal junk away, saving me some money from hiring 1-800-GOT JUNK from doing it all. I wanted the stove, dish washer and fridge removed at some point. That would be at my expense because it wasn't damaged in the flood. One of the guys said he'd like to have them. He wants to take them to his farm and shoot at them and blow them up.    Works for me. Just get em gone. 

 

Thank GOD for insurance!  Don't ever let it lapse and if you haven't done it lately, you might want to think about updating it to reflect anything new you have. Trust me on this one. I got a statement for the furnace and it lacked a couple of dollars from being $6,000.00 Just the furnace.  

 

The house will look new. But believe me, it has been h3ll going through this. And it's just starting. Seriously, I wouldn't wish this on anyone! Especially at 70 years old and alone. And with bronchitis and Covid in the beginning. And no furnace. And no shower. And no toilet. All the packing up of my 'hoard' is killer on my body. My life sucks for now. 

 

I'll post some pictures when I take some. 

 

[Ambergris]

When my house burned, the insurance dragged me out forever,,,or rather for two years.  I finally walked away with them owing me over $40,000 based on my receipts that they didn't refuse to pay but somehow never paid.  The adjuster kept whining about how overworked he was.  I maxed out all my credit cards and took out loans to pay for things they were to reimburse me for, that they never, ever reimbursed me for.  I should have gotten the lawyer, but my husband dove into the bottle and the marriage was breaking up and my kids were crashing and I was generally not doing well.  

Don't let them being nice fool you.  The moment they refuse to pay a bill or sidestep paying a bill, get a lawyer.  

[Midnightmom]

1 hour ago, Jeepers said:

One of the guys said he'd like to have them. He wants to take them to his farm and shoot at them and blow them up.    Works for me. Just get em gone. 

 

 

[Jeepers]

That is horrible Ambergris. I really do understand how much stress that can cause on a family. If I had kids or pets it would be nearly unbearable right now. I've been so busy that I'm just now starting to crash and burn. I started feeling a little depression set in yesterday. Seeing all of that destruction really brought it home. No pun intended. I know the other shoe can drop at any time. I'm staying aware. I sort of expect it. I do have a family member who is a lawyer that knows the situation and will step in if needed. Plus the lawyer who handled my divorce is a distant friend of mine that keeps in contact occasionally. So I will lean on them. One already told me to contact the local news station if they didn't start demo by the end of this month. I'm not afraid to use my Senior card too. 

 

The insurance company realizes some of their responsibility in this because they let the situation go too long before they sent some one out. The contractor and Servpro have told them it was mostly their fault. As did I. When I mentioned to my adjuster if Adult Senior Services knew about this they would be all up in someone's butt. Two days later Servpro was out starting in. 

 

I'm not being billed for anything. The contractor's company is paying for everything and the insurance company pays me directly. Then I pay the contractor. He said his first bill would be due when the remodel is half finished and then 3/4 finished and the final bill when he is finished. Contractor has a running itemized spread sheet that, so far, the insurance company has approved everything on it. The only thing not yet approved is the garage ceiling. They just discovered that. I want a copy of that itemized list. Yesterday, I set up a separate bank account only for this insurance stuff. I'm not mixing my personal money with anything. I would sell it to a flipper and walk away before I take out a loan to pay for this. I would probably lose money but I'd get to Indy faster. The contractor told me yesterday that it is going to cost over $100,000.00 from start to finish. 

 

My agent, not adjuster, is about a mile from my house and I just drop in on him. I never thought to make an appointment until just now.   I'm the element of surprise. 

 

So far they have paid me for the furnace and have already reimbursed me for the hotel stays. They are paying directly for the place I'm staying at now. So far I'm breaking even. If I come out of this owing $1,600 (deductible) that the damage caused, I will be elated. 

[Becca_Anne]

Jeepers I'm glad progress is being made and that so far your insurance co is footing the bill. Smart idea to have a separate account for all of it. And glad you have some legal contacts too in case you need them. I hope you get some rest at the hotel and I'm sure it will be more comfortable for you. 

 

I am going to take some time to plan out where I'm putting my greenhouse tomorrow. DH got a load of gravel to put on his parking spot which I will use some in sandbags to weigh down the silage tarp I'm putting out to kill off the grass where I am planting my garden. I am working on the foundation of the garden this year, planning out the beds, putting in the infrastructure and whatever plants I can put in will be a bonus. Super excited to see how it progresses.

 

I got the free sewing machine cleaned up and figured out what model it is so I could find an old manual. Found a you tube video that shows me how it works so that was cool. I'm going to try it out this weekend and see if it sews well. I want to piece the baby quilt top this weekend. I am 3/4 done cutting out the pieces, just the 2 1/2 inch squares and then I can start sewing it together.  

 

Also Monday -Wed I will be at a conference in Washington D.C. so need to pack for that. Going to be a busy week!

[snapshotmiki]

I am also glad that your work is progressing, @Jeepers.  And that is an excellent idea to have a separate account for house renovation and insurance!

 

I will probably walk first this morning. Our little town's Mardi Gras parade is at 10, so I want to be home before that. I went about to the last one 3 years ago. That was enough- I guess I don't like crowds too much.
Will organize some family photos that I have been putting off for a while and maybe take ebay photos that have been put off too.
Go turn in our taxes to our lady at H&R Block, this afternoon.
Make more hummus as DH has decided he likes it now, so we are both eating it.

[Ambergris]

I'm having hummus (and tortillas) for brunch today too.  Was going to have an avocado too, but some critter broke in to the kitchen (the door doesn't fully close) and ate a good quarter of my ripe avocado overnight.  The chickens haven't discovered the rest of it in the lawn yet, but they will.  Probably having eggs and tomato-cracker salad for supper. 

This afternoon I plan to plant the red flowers bought earlier this week, prettying up some planters along my retaining wall, and bury the expensive-but-moldy loaf of bread I bought.  The chickens won't eat it, turns out, but it should make decent compost.

[Ambergris]

Electricity off and on all day.  Off all but a couple of minutes at a time until noon.  I don't know what's going on in town, but before dawn the town had some lights (with large dark patches) when I had nothing.  Got about two hours of electricity right after noon, when the housekeeper arrived, so she and I agreed it was back for good.  (Nope.)  We got some housework done.  When it went off again, we got some yard work done, and then some more floor-cleaning and things that didn't need electricity.  Among other things, we Found The Smell, which turned out to be a half-eaten, moldy can of cat food that somehow got abandoned behind a sliding-glass door curtain.  Eew.  We (meaning she) also scraped clean the cuy cage, which needed cleaning, and hung/calibrated the hanging scale.

 

Around two, the electricity came on again, and hasn't so much as flickered in the past two and a half hours.

 

Now, of course, it's raining.

 

Turns out my bigger red flowers are gerberas, which don't like full sun.  We moved them to an area with bright indirect light and they perked up within hours.  Put in seeds for oil-seed sunflowers and red nasturtiums (the latter courtesy of PuppyMama) to replace them as eye-catchers for anyone admiring the view of my yard from the terraces above.

[Jeepers]

A few pictures. I don't think I will be able to stay there until the end of summer. If then. Pretty stressful right now.  

 

              Coming in house from the garage                                                                Half bath and coat closet       

        

 

                 Looking toward the front door                                                                               Kitchen

        

 

                              Looking upstairs                                                                Master bath with vanity, toilet and shower

        

 

                       Looking toward the basement                                                                       Basement

        

 

[Littlesister]

Jeepers, don't be discouraged. That is how my house looked when they demolished the bedroom, 2 baths and kitchen to a smaller scale than yours. But just keep in mind how nice it will be when all done and the fact you will get more money for the sale of the house. It will take a few months but once they get started putting it all back together again it will go fast.  Have faith. You will get through it. 

 

Not a lot done today.  Mainly cleaned kitchen behind GS. Seems he just will not put his dirty dishes in dishwasher, and I have to go behind him every morning. Why he thinks he has to use 4 to 5 cups and glasses every night is beyond me. But the kitchen sink is always full of dirty dishes when I get up in mornings. At least most of them hit the kitchen sink but now always rinsed out. July 1st can't come soon enough for his move out date. 

 

 

[out_of_the_ordinary]

Jeepers,  .    At least there is a plan in the works and things are finally moving along.    Is that mold in the basement or just staining along the bottom of the wall?  

[Mother]

Oh Jeeper, I can just imagine how you must be feeling. Your home of so many years reduced to bare bones, living in a small place for what might be months, so many decisions to come, and so much work ahead has got to be overwhelming.  I’m so sorry.  
 

I’m guessing it’s difficult to get away at this point but Is there any way you could go to Indiana for a few days refreshing visit with sweet GS and family?  Maybe being able to work on getting that house more livable would give you encouragement.  
 

[Midnightmom]

4 hours ago, Jeepers said:

I don't think I will be able to stay there until the end of summer. If then.

But your insurance is paying for other accomodations, correct? (with a kitchenette??) 

If it is a hotel, will they still do the daily cleaning, bed making, etc that they do for the shorter term guests?

At least you're still in town so you can pop-in to check on progress or answer any questions they may have as work progresses. 

Pashi and I are sending some love your way......................

[Jeepers]

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement ladies.  

 

I still have some walls intact upstairs... so far. I think Servpro will be finished Tuesday. They work pretty fast. The contractor will paint the downstairs and the bathroom walls. I 'plan' to paint the upstairs bedroom walls to make it more updated to match the downstairs. If the contractor is taking too long to finish, I'll go over and work while no one is there. I really need something constructive to do. I say contractor but I know it's really his crew and not him personally. But I hold him responsible. He is their boss. 

 

I plan to spend a week in Indy soon. I need to be at the house right now to tell them what to save and what to pitch. Plus I'm doing some packing. They removed the carpet in three of the bedrooms and now the rooms are jam packed with my stuff. Finding room for everything is daunting. When the reconstruction crew comes in I won't be needed over there so much. 

 

OOTO, that isn't all mold in that corner. I know it looks bad but it is mostly from some dark colored furniture I had stored in that corner before/during the flood.  (FORGOT TO ADD...AND SHADOWS)  I'm sure there is mold growing there now but it's not quite as bad as it looks. Servpro hasn't emptied everything out of there yet so they will take care of it. They already have equipment down there running. 

 

My biggest fear, right now, is with reconstruction taking too much time getting finished. I know how they are. And I know it's very hard to find help right now. Then when I decide on the products, will they be able to get them in stock in a timely manner? Bad timing.

 

 

BIG CONFESSION;

During all of this I lost my one and only door key. I took it off of my key ring to give it to the Servpro boss and set it on the bed. I went to get it and it was gone. I tore the bed apart. If it would have fallen on the floor I would have heard it since there is no carpet now. I searched that room from top to bottom. I was the only one in there at the time. How can that happen? I will get a locksmith over after Servpro leaves. Right now there is no more room in the drive way for another vehicle and the guys are using the front door to get to the dumpster. One more person in there would be awful. Hopefully this week I can get more keys made. I do have a lock box for the door. Just no key. Which means I have to go over there every morning to let them in. I can only get in with the garage door opener. 

 

 

Edited February 20, 2023 by Jeepers
Added Info

[Mother]

Jeepers, it sounds like there is a bit of progress.  Good for you!  
 

Hey, not to be suspicious but be sure someone doesn’t have that lost key.  Maybe even consider having the locks changed completely.  

[Jeepers]

Thank you Pashi for the picture of your beautiful face. You and mommy look so pretty in your matching outfits.  It really did make me smile!!!  

 

I'm staying at a place called... Well I can't think of it right now. Something like 2 Home Suites by Hilton. That's close. At first I thought it was mostly for business men whose company sets them up for temporary housing. Like for a month or two at a time. Also there are a lot of sport channels on the TV. But I have seen a lot of women here too so maybe not. It is pet friendly Pashi. I saw someone a little bit bigger than you yesterday.  

 

My insurance pays for it by the week. They will just keep renewing it weekly. I don't know how long I'll be here but my insurance says I Have to have a place with a bathroom and a working kitchen of some kind. It has a nice kitchenette with all of the conveniences of home really. And free breakfast. I went grocery shopping yesterday. They have an exercise room and indoor pool. The check-in guy said he would put me on the first floor for convenience and safety. I'm in the first room from the check-in desk. 

 

It is set up with everything you'd need. Like dishes, extra linen, microwave pans etc. They have extra things you can borrow from the front desk. I forgot what all they said. Nothing I need. Cleaning comes in every fifth day unless you want them to come more often. I don't. They leave about 2 weeks worth of towels, wash cloths and hand towels. There is an extra set of bed linen for accidents I suppose. There are big shampoo and body wash dispensers on the shower wall. There really is everything I need in here except for food. 

 

The only thing I will have to pay for is food, pay per view TV channels and if I damage anything. It really is nice and I'm not complaining about it all. I think I'm just starting to get homesick. And I'm tired. Weary tired.

 

I need to find something to occupy my mind. Maybe write that book I've been putting off.    I have more banking to do and I'm making an appointment with a 'will' attorney next week. I had visions of something happening to me while all of this process is going on and the house going in to probate for years. Just sitting there unfinished for years. I need to take care of all of that now! 

 

It is close enough that I can go check on the house daily if I want to. I do want to get my mail at least every three days. I have a lot of banking right now, bills coming due and tax stuff still coming in. 

[Jeepers]

Mother, that's what I meant. Getting it re-keyed. And getting extra keys. 

I really don't think anyone took it. But you never really know. It certainly is strange. 

[Mother]

WRITE A BOOK!!!!    Well, of COURSE you need to write that book in your spare time.   .      You will make a great author?  

[snapshotmiki]

Yesterday was Church first.
Somebody dumped 4 "large" puppies across the street from us. They are living in a culvert under the road. I believe they will get run over, but we simply cannot take care of any extra dogs. I did leave food and water at the mouth of the culvert, but they wouldn't come any where near me to catch them. I have a big crate and could take them to a local rescue if we could catch them. Sigh Some people are jerks!
Walked dogs yesterday- away from puppies.
Purged two totes of old purchases of jeans for ebay. Will donate to a Church rummage sale. Also went through some books and office items to donate. Have one more cabinet in office to go through and then will be done with that room for now.

Today, will walk first.
Do laundry.
Cook red beans and (cauliflower) rice.
My car back to mechanic for them to put in "blower motor resistor".
Bags of purged jeans to lady with rummage sale.
Maybe finally take ebay photos of items with drafts already done.
We will see.

 

@Jeepers, just wow!  So much to go through for you!  I have been and will continue to pray for you!

[Annarchy]

Jeepers, your house reminds me of those remodeling shows on TV.

 

Our neighbors house, needed their drain cleared out.  Plumber came… oh my! The cast iron main sewer line, that goes from the house to the road, was crushed… so bad that it was under the city’s main sewer system.  They dug up the front yard, and the city, dug up the road in front of our house, because, as they got down to it, they discovered the main system was separated in several places… (might explain why we had several issues through the years in our house.). Because the pipes were old 1950’s, all drains in their house, had to be replaced, kitchen & 2 bathrooms… as they began digging under the cement floors, removing all the tiling, they ran into asbestos…. Walls and flooring…. Their house looked like some of your pictures…. They have water and pipes, now, but the contractors are still working on replacing the shower, kitchen, sink, cabinets and floors.  It’s been a couple of months now.

[Littlesister]

Taking it easy today.  My rt. hand has been swollen and I can barely make a fist. Not to mention my shoulder is acting up again. Cleaned kitchen and read awhile. Had a late breakfast or brunch if you call it that. Breakfast and lunch together. Just wasn't hungry this morning early. Just coffee and read.

Might get a few things done this afternoon. GS just woke up which is early for him. But he will just have coffee and go back to bed till time to get up and go to work. 

I think I had been over doing it on the warmer days. Though today is not bad but is a bit on the cooler side. Going to get some things out of freezer to start back canning tomorrow. I am going to try to empty all the freezers. The chest one first and then the ones from fridge.  Though one of those is now about empty now. I dehydrated the veggies that was in there. So that's about emptied that one in garage. 

I have put a huge dent in garage and working on better organization out there. Dust is everywhere where the contractors were right at the door using their saws and such and it blew all that saw dust into the garage on everything. So, a lot of sweeping and dusting as I clear things out. It's a mess but getting better. 

[Jeepers]

That is horrible Annarchy. I feel for your neighbor. At least they haven't had to dig up my yard yet. One of the first things they asked me was the age of the house. They were concerned with asbestos. Also they were concerned with what he called Chinese Drywall. I knew there was an issue with that a number of years ago but had forgotten about it. I looked it up and found this: Toxic Chinese Drywall Creates A Housing Disaster : NPR  

 

They are going to remove the cast iron bathtub today. That will be a bear to get out. Here I was hoping they would take out the old vanity in the downstairs bathroom and hoping against hope maybe one in the upstairs bathroom could go. As it turned out all three bathrooms are gutted down to the studs. Glad to see the shower stall gone too. It had developed a little hump and probably not long for this world either. Plumbers say I have water throughout the house now. Who really knows though. I have no faucets or toilets to test that theory. 

 

Littlesister, I hope your bones feel better soon. 

 

Miki, those people who dumped those puppies are pure evil. Is there an animal shelter or animal control in your area you can call? Maybe the police could tell you who to call.  

[Ambergris]

You have to get your locks changed out after that many people touch them anyway, just as a matter of course.  This is basic operational security.  You're a step ahead, is all.

[Jeepers]

21 hours ago, Midnightmom said:

But your insurance is paying for other accomodations, correct? (with a kitchenette??) 

 

I think I misread your comment. I meant I don't think I can stay at the house until the end of summer. I can stay at the hotel until they get a working bathroom and kitchen at the house. Sorry about that. 

[snapshotmiki]

@Jeepers, I've  already  called  local  rescue and animal  control showed up, too. Dogs are still  there.