It May Say 1:18 pm, But In My World It's Way After 5

[Kathianne]

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. All my kids and their chosen came. My brother and sister-in-law all were warm. Two of their kids were there and the third called from NYC. Food was wonderful and not a cross word.

I came home and relished. Went to bed late, after 12. Woke up at 3 and watched 1/2 hour of re-runs or re-runs. Went to bathroom, Flushed by chain pull, as handle broke Wednesday. Son was fixing today.

Went downstairs, made coffee, opened laptop. Talked a bit, read a lot.

5:06 am, my next door neighbor called, "Do you have coffee made?" Is the Pope Catholic? After clearing up a few pending posts, pouring her a cup of coffee, went to bathroom on main floor. Well, not quite. Leaving kitchen, stepped in water. 'Damn dog!' was my thought. Looked down, not yellow. Worse, rippling water.

Slid to bathroom over tile. Water was pouring through vent fan. Paint on walls was bubbling. Ran upstairs. 2nd set, slosh! See water pouring from bath to hallway and down the stairs. Do slip 'n slide, turn off water. Flush tank.

Hit linen closet, start throwing towels into bath, on carpet. Luckily had just washed two days ago, lots of towels.

Friend comes over and is like WTF? Hmm, 30 year friend is also my insurance agent, including homeowners. :cool: 'Call it in, now!' We do.

Long story short. My carpeting, walls, ceilings, drywall in garage, ceramic tile in baths/kitchen, bathroom vanities, mirrors, lighting, tiles and drywall in basement all need to be replace, primed and painted.

Right now there are 12 guys here pulling out carpet and ceramic tiles. Punching holes in walls. Cutting away the we carpet. Taking pics.

Can this house be restored by Christmas? Early this morning the preliminary estimate was 10k. It's now up to 30k.

[chesswarsnow]

Sorry bout that,


1. Dang!
2. Hope it works out to the better once you're through.


Regards,
SirJamesofTexas

[Kathianne]

Sorry bout that,


1. Dang!
2. Hope it works out to the better once you're through.


Regards,
SirJamesofTexas

Thanks, James. Wow, never thought I'd say that! ;)

Looking pretty good, though I'll hold my breath until Wednesday, when the check will be cut.

I'm well insured, with reputable company. Not a lot of contents loss, (<2k), while coverage at close to 300k. Building loss? Insured for 340k, Can't imagine the costs will go above 30k. Yet it's their costs.

I've gotten advice of 'your ceramic tile is expensive, we'll remove affected, but you're not going to be able to match. Your choice, wood or ceramic. Going in nearly everywhere. I'm going wood.

Ceramic would incur mor labor costs, less children orientated.

[Joyful HoneyBee]

Best wishes to you, Kathianne, in getting this restoration accomplished before Christmas. This kind of thing certainly makes us appreciate the value of all those premiums going out year after year.

If it is any consolation, a year or so ago my mom's neighbor had a section of their house crushed by a fallen tree. Very substantial damage that led to a huge reconstruction project. Insurance did its job and now my mom says their home is nicer than it ever was before. They were only out of pocket for the deductible and their old fashioned kitchen was transformed into a modernized kitchen with fantastic new cabinets and energy efficient appliances. The contractor did a great job of expediting the project and the whole thing was overseen carefully by their agent.

It sounds like that is the kind of scenario you have in place, with a supportive agent and the right kind of insurance to cover your needs.

[Kathianne]

Best wishes to you, Kathianne, in getting this restoration accomplished before Christmas. This kind of thing certainly makes us appreciate the value of all those premiums going out year after year.

If it is any consolation, a year or so ago my mom's neighbor had a section of their house crushed by a fallen tree. Very substantial damage that led to a huge reconstruction project. Insurance did its job and now my mom says their home is nicer than it ever was before. They were only out of pocket for the deductible and their old fashioned kitchen was transformed into a modernized kitchen with fantastic new cabinets and energy efficient appliances. The contractor did a great job of expediting the project and the whole thing was overseen carefully by their agent.

It sounds like that is the kind of scenario you have in place, with a supportive agent and the right kind of insurance to cover your needs.

Nail on head, HB. I'm nearly certain I'm going to come out ahead. My whole house will have new flooring. Most painted this year. New walls and ceilings, most likely an improvement.

I can't imagine my colors with wood floors!. Really possible.

Note to all: Insure for replacement value.

Truth is, I've a trade off. 2-3 years ago my dad paid for my ceramic floors and paint of whole house. Somewhere here on the site, that was coved. In any case, I love both colors and tlles. With that said, the preponderance fo tile was entry, bath, kithen and a hallway. Very hard to clean.

I may well be able to swap the previous ceramic for whole house wood with plastic cover. They will save the costs of installation, time to time, wood with interlock is cheaper than ceramic. My carper, regardless of wear, was insured for replacement value. Check Karastan prices. Tags included. So...

I'd be so happy with Christmas finish, but am looking long-term. I can cook without ceilings. ;)

[Jeff]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune kat, but they will have it all restored by Christmas , and if for some reason it isn't 100% done, you will still have a great holiday, good things come to good people

[Kathianne]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune kat, but they will have it all restored by Christmas , and if for some reason it isn't 100% done, you will still have a great holiday, good things come to good people

That's true. My brother came by yesterday and said he'd have it if I can't. Never doubted that for a minute.

Oh dear, they just zipped up the the biohazard walls again. Means they are starting up the fans and dehumidifiers again. Got my hearing aids out! :eek: Fans and hearing aids DO NOT go well together.

They left yesterday at around 6. Were back this morning at 7:30. All night with those fans! My house was freezing. They offered hotel, but would be too hard with working, the kid in school, etc. I've one bath or rather toilet, no walls. Luckily we can go next door. No shower, luckily we belong to my health club. ;) No bathroom sinks, so unzip kitchen and wash hands in there. Electrician is out so power is on and off. It's quite the zoo here. People keep trying to look in, as the garage is zippered too. :laugh2: We are down to 3 trucks and 6 guys, I guess that's an improvement.

[chloe]

Sounds like a home improvement makeover, you are so lucky to have family to help.

[Kathianne]

Sounds like a home improvement makeover, you are so lucky to have family to help.

I am lucky with both family and friends. Good insurance is certainly a help. ;)

[chloe]

I am lucky with both family and friends. Good insurance is certainly a help. ;)

:laugh2:, true I went without a tub for a month because my kid pulled the faucet out of the wall and I didn't have insurance to fix it.

[Kathianne]

Just read through this thread, as I await a phone call from contractor. Alas, Home Depot screwed up something and the vanity tops they said were in yesterday, are not. Contractor went this morning, nope. As of 2:30 still not there. Supposed to check out of hotel tomorrow morning, got that extended until Thursday.

I'm staying in the house, cleaning up dust and putting furniture back somewhat. The contractor will get a cleaning service in, but that won't help for Christmas Eve dinner. :laugh2: THAT I'm determined to have. It's only the kids and myself, any friends they invite and always the same. Baked mostaccoli, minestroni soup, salad, drinks and Eli's cheesecake.

The boy and dog are staying at hotel, they don't want to mess around with going to healthclub to shower. ;)

I just called Home Depot, ready to scream if necessary. Nope, after the contractor called they 'tracked' and will be delivered there tonight, so hopefully will be put in tomorrow. Felix, the foreman from contractor said that if necessary, they will get it all done on Christmas Eve, if I didn't mind.

I don't know if I wrote that they were able to 'save' the tile on main floor, so I decided to stay with carpeting. That will be installed on 12/30, so we're walking on very dusty stairs and plywood hallways. The bedrooms and living room/dining room still have dusty carpet, but that's better than dusty plywood. :laugh2: I've swept everything up and vacuumed, working on polishing the woods and cleaning the glass. I'm a very tired camper.

[chloe]

Well I hope you have a Merry Christmas in your home.

[Kathianne]

Well I hope you have a Merry Christmas in your home.

Well I think that family is the most important, though creature comforts and decorations are nice. Christmas Eve will be all about family-our own. Christmas Day, we'll be with our extended family in very nice house.

While my own 'Christmas' would be pretty set-mucho hors d'œuvre, 2 meats, veggies, 2 potatoes, mega desserts-this will be more informal.

I'm cooking a ham, au gratin potatoes, required green bean casserole, and rolls, a couple hors d'oervre. My future son-in-law is baking a couple pies, SIL's mom bringing a couple salads, SIL will make jello molds, there will also be the left overs from the night before party at their 'Christmas Eve' open house, they are expecting about 125 this year. Everyone brings stuff, sometimes booze, so no need to buy that. (Although my brother said they tend to bring JW Black and drink his Blue, but I'm not buying THAT! Scotch is nasty, no matter how costly!) My bro and SIL buy scads of Portillo's beef and rolls + mega number of lasagna, the rest is filled in by those who come.

My SIL & I spent about 1/2 hour planning Christmas with the ham, when she said, "Kath? Lindsay's Jewish! Will she eat ham?" Ooops! My ex was Jewish, now my son is living with a Jewish girl. Called him, just like his father, Lindsay doesn't care, other than at Passover. :laugh2: If push come to shove, we'll reheat some Italian beef or lasagna. ;)

[chloe]

Well I think that family is the most important, though creature comforts and decorations are nice. Christmas Eve will be all about family-our own. Christmas Day, we'll be with our extended family in very nice house.

While my own 'Christmas' would be pretty set-mucho hors d'œuvre, 2 meats, veggies, 2 potatoes, mega desserts-this will be more informal.

I'm cooking a ham, au gratin potatoes, required green bean casserole, and rolls, a couple hors d'oervre. My future son-in-law is baking a couple pies, SIL's mom bringing a couple salads, SIL will make jello molds, there will also be the left overs from the night before party at their 'Christmas Eve' open house, they are expecting about 125 this year. Everyone brings stuff, sometimes booze, so no need to buy that. (Although my brother said they tend to bring JW Black and drink his Blue, but I'm not buying THAT! Scotch is nasty, no matter how costly!) My bro and SIL buy scads of Portillo's beef and rolls + mega number of lasagna, the rest is filled in by those who come.

My SIL & I spent about 1/2 hour planning Christmas with the ham, when she said, "Kath? Lindsay's Jewish! Will she eat ham?" Ooops! My ex was Jewish, now my son is living with a Jewish girl. Called him, just like his father, Lindsay doesn't care, other than at Passover. :laugh2: If push come to shove, we'll reheat some Italian beef or lasagna. ;)

sounds nice , my family will go to my ex in laws house for dinner. Even though we are divorced my ex husbands parents and my parents are good friends and they like sharing christmas and thanksgiving together so they can enjoy the grandkids together. my ex mother in law is the best cook ever !!!!!!!!

[Kathianne]

sounds nice , my family will go to my ex in laws house for dinner. Even though we are divorced my ex husbands parents and my parents are good friends and they like sharing christmas and thanksgiving together so they can enjoy the grandkids together. my ex mother in law is the best cook ever !!!!!!!!

Truly I wish my kids parents could get along as well. Not happening. When a divorce takes 4 years, then children stuff takes another 3, the ex wore out the welcome.

I'm in the weird position of filing for divorce, having the ex 'contest' a petition for 'no fault.' Though he was cheating. He acknowledge, claimed he wanted the court to demand that I agree to second chance. Whoa. Court declined, but still took forever. Took 4 years, I never asked for alimony, "stupid", over 30k in costs...

I think my kids hate the holidays. :laugh2:

[chloe]

Truly I wish my kids parents could get along as well. Not happening. When a divorce takes 4 years, then children stuff takes another 3, the ex wore out the welcome.

I'm in the weird position of filing for divorce, having the ex 'contest' a petition for 'no fault.' Though he was cheating. He acknowledge, claimed he wanted the court to demand that I agree to second chance. Whoa. Court declined, but still took forever. Took 4 years, I never asked for alimony, "stupid", over 30k in costs...

I think my kids hate the holidays. :laugh2:


I hear ya, my ex is a divorce attorney, when we first divorced it was really hard for me because I still loved him. But in the end he ended up losing his practice having a breakdown and staying in limbo that past 2 and a half years. I got to feeling sorry for him because he always makes such bad choices financially and relationship wise. Believe it or not we had holidays even with his girlfriend of the week and her kids and I bought them all presents. LOL I'm what they recovey people call an "enabler"....sigh...