Tag Archives: property insurance

March 24, 2014 · 22:48

A Stressful Day: Contractor Headaches, an Insurance Scare, Busted But Not Broken Brackets and the End of a Conspiracy Theory

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Today has been a stressful day.

We spent the weekend getting ready for the contractors that will be installing the floors after our water heater blew out back the day before the Super Bowl. Since then our home life has been rather unsettled.

We have moved everything from our kitchen, entry way and dining room to our living room. This includes things that since had been stored in our hutch and buffet that a lot of things are stored in are being repaired. Thus we have shit stacked from hell to breakfast in the living room. We also did a bunch of work in our upstairs library and guest room.

So this morning we got up early and waited for the contractors. This was easy for Judy because she couldn’t get to sleep. I slept but had a lot of really strange dreams. But they didn’t come. So after calling the subcontractors office and getting a less than satisfactory answer from the receptionist I drove to work and left a message with the primary contractor. As soon as I got to work I got a message from him that said that they were on their way, so I drove back home to meet them. They didn’t come so I went back to work and at about 1230 I got a text from the main contractor that they would be there between 1230 and 1PM. I let Judy know and about 1:15 I got a text from her saying that they didn’t know what they were there to do and had to call their boss.

I let the main contractor know this and about 2PM I was told that the subcontractor might be on the way to my house, so I headed back in time to see the workmen finished the work of taking up our old kitchen floor tile and the linoleum that the installers had laid it on top of. The subcontractor himself didn’t come and I asked the workers and the primary contractor to tell him to call me so I can plan tomorrow. Finally I got word that they will be back tomorrow to start laying tile between 08300 and 0900 tomorrow morning.

But as soon as we got back home after having dinner at a local Mexican place since we cannot use our kitchen I opened my mail. In it was a letter from my insurance company denying my claim. I was in a panic as I had not planned on spending about 10,000 more than the 2500 that I have already spent for the replacement water heater and my insurance deducible. I called the contact in a panic and got his voice mail. Thankfully he called me back and let me know that the denial was a form letter not for the damage but for the cost of the old water heater which I had not claimed.  That being said my anxiety level went up significantly and two hours later I went and got a couple of beers at Gordon Biersch.

So tomorrow the contracting adventure begins anew and I pray that things will go a bit more smoothly than today. At least I think I know how I can plan my day.

Apart from that things are going swimmingly.

My brackets in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament are broken but not completely busted. I had about 56% wins in the first two rounds and still have three teams that going into the Sweet Sixteen could go all the way. However my MH-370 conspiracy theory went into the tank when it was announced that the aircraft is believed to have crashed in the south Indian Ocean. That being said it is a great conspiracy theory and as one person said it would be a great suspense novel. I can live with that. Who knows maybe I can do it and become the next Tom Clancy.

Tomorrow will be hectic. I will go in early to work and then come home when Judy goes to an appointment and go back to work when she gets back so someone is in the house when the contractors are here. Wednesday will probably be similar and Lord only knows about the rest of the week.

Of course I do have things that I need to do at work despite being on a break between classes. But at least Bates Motelis on tonight.

So until tomorrow,

Peace

Padre Steve+

 

 

 

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February 1, 2014 · 22:13

Crossing the Piso Mojado: Padre Steve’s Great Water Heater Flood of 2014

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“Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody.” Mark Twain 

Last night just before I put my tired head down for the night I heard a metallic “pop.” Startled my little dog Minnie began to growl, however since we have been having snow and ice melting off of our roof and making lots of noise, I assumed it was ice breaking off of our storm drain or roof gutters. Calming the little dog I turned off the light and passed out.

This morning we got to sleep in. Normally either Minnie or Molly are demanding that we take them out to do their business by six or six thirty in the morning. This morning I woke up at nine and both were still passed out. So after I got dressed I picked up Molly to take her down the stairs since she went blind over a year ago. She enjoys the ride down the steps.

As I walked down the stairs with Molly tucked under my arm like a football and Minnie dancing down the stairs behind me I noticed water all over our ground floor. I turned the corner and saw that the entryway, kitchen and dinning room were covered in water. I quickly let the dogs out and looked to see where the water was coming from, it was the water heater, which is located underneath our staircase. The entry to the water heater is through our main entry way closet, so I turned off the water realizing that water had been pouring through the broken tank for at least eight hours.

I got Judy up and we went to work trying to minimize any possible damage. I also got on the phone with USAA with whom we have our insurance.

Our carpets throughout most of the ground floor are soaked, water has seeped into walls, baseboards woodwork and counters, it even looks like the wood inside the base of our stairway is soaked. There may be damage to our kitchen cabinets as well. At least one hutch looks like its legs may be soaked beyond repair as well. Thankfully much of the damage, minus the deductible is going to be covered through our homeowners policy. We had the water tank replaced today and between it and our $1000 deductible we are still out a decent amount of money, but the really expensive damage will be covered.

Because of the amount of damage caused by the recent major snowstorm in the area it probably will be tomorrow or Monday before a company gets to us to begin the dry out of our house and restoration and repair of all the damage.

The dogs are handling things well, while we were doing the initial clean up and phone calls Molly decided that she was going to lay down on the soaked carpet in the dining room. She was completely unfazed. When we put up the child gate to keep her in the dry part of the house she kept trying to figure a way to get back into the dinning room or entry way. She paced back and forth, attempted to find ways around it and reminded me of a pissed off Monarch of a small European country. Her Divine Rights were being infringed upon and she didn’t like it, nor was she satisfied with the help (Judy and me) who she presumes is incompetent and uncaring for not indulging her every desire.

Molly likes laying in the entry way because she has always done it. Despite being blind she still conducts guard duty, barking at anything walking by the house. Obviously she still has very sharp hearing. Minnie didn’t seem to care either, she bounced back and forth through the water splashing her way through it.

After the plumbers were gone we decided to head out and have dinner at our favorite local Mexican restaurant. While there enjoying the food, with Judy having a jumbo Margarita and me a big Dos Equis the topic of “crossing the Piso Mojado” came up.

For those that do’t know “Crossing the Piso Mojado” will be the title of my life story. In Spanish it means piss on the floor, or something like that. I always see the yellow signs in stores whenever there is a wet floor that show someone slipping and say “Piso Mojado.” We were both laughing as we thought about it. After all what can you do? These things happen to everyone and it could be worse, a lot worse. Like the Bible says “the rain falls on the just and the unjust,” or as the Revised Padre Steve Version of the Bible translates it “shit happens.”

Yes working around this is going to be a pain in the ass. Between recovery and restoration a lot of work will have to be done. There is a lot of water damage, but it could be much worse, and for that I am grateful, even if Molly is unhappy with being able to have free reign of all of her indoor empire.

Anyway, have a great night, be safe and much love.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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