Water Damage to Home

UPDATE: ALL REPAIRS AND UPGRADES (DONE BY ME) DONE. GO TO POST #14 FOR PICS.


So I was at work last night and my wife calls me in a panic. She came home from work and she found the carpet in the dining room soaking wet and she could hear water running from inside the wall behind our china cabinet. I rushed home driving like a madman to find the damage. I called the water company and they came quickly to turn off the water, so we were without water since 7:30PM 'til noon. Lucky for us I had several gallons of distilled water in my detailing supplies cabinet, which we used to shower (no water spots on us for sure). I contacted our Home Warranty Company and they sent someone early in the morning to fix the leak. We only paid $55 for the service call. They cut a huge opening on the wall to find the leak and took care of it. That thing was spraying like crazy. I then spent several hours finding a reputable company to take care of the damages. This is costing us $1000, which is our deductible on our Home Owner's Insurance. I have to say, AAA has been great to us. My only regret is that I should have chosen the option with the $500 deductible :shrug:. Oh well, after 7 years of paying it, it actually did save us money, but I will definitely be upgrading now to the $500 deductible option. I probably won't be buying any detailing supplies for a while. These guys who came to do the job were amazing though. They brought out their humidity sensors to detect the water damage. The carpet and padding were removed from the dining room and living room and more holes were cut into the wall and part of the insulation was removed. They sprayed the entire affected area to prevent mold. They put a bunch of fans, filters, and a dehumidifier to dry out the place. We have to live with this awful noise for the next three days. They cleaned everything really well in preparation for the next phase, which is in three days when they will come to finalize the appraisal for the reconstruction. I can't wait for my house to be put back together. Meanwhile, they will be coming everyday to check on the progress of the drying. I need to detail something. Here are some pics I took.

 

dude that sucks!! hope it works out in the end!

 

That dosent sound like fun. Hope the damage can be taken care of asap.

 

Good luck with that! Lets us know how it goes.

 

This is unfortunate to hear Luis but it looks like things are going pretty smoothly. Keep us updated.

 

one odvice for sure, dry the heck out of that carpet. Because if you don't there will be mold, and that's gonna suck...

 

Thanks guys. Will keep you updated. Supercharged, both the padding and the carpet are being replaced. Oh, 911fanatic, I probably lied about not buying supplies for a while because I know I'm won't be able to fight the temptation to get me some Gloss-It and Bilt Hamber as soon as you get them. :gidiup:

 

Sorry to hear this doc :comfort: I hope things work out at the end.

Good luck and keep us posted please.

 

Thanks Carlos. It could have been worse. I was really afraid that it might have been the main line under the house, that would have sucked.

 

Sorry to hear this Luis...i wish you the best of luck...thank God for insurance though right?? Would have cost you a lot more than a thousand without it..

 

Thanks man. Yeah, I would have been paying over $5000. In addition, we still have to wait for the china cabinet, dining table, and chairs to dry. If they are damaged, we are talking about an extra $6000+ to replace, which the insurance would cover.

 

Sorry to see this happend, hope it all gets back to normal soon.

What company do you have your home warranty through?

 

First American for the home warranty and AAA for the Home Owner's Insurance. Both have been great. I've used First American about 4 times now and never a problem. Last summer our AC unit (which is huge) went out and they replaced it with a brand new energy efficient unit and it only cost us $50 for the service call and $100 for the disposal of the old one. I've been very happy with them. We pay $42 a month, but have saved us thousands. This also covers any built-in appliances in the home such as dishwasher as well as our washer and dryer. AAA is taking care of the water damage and they have also been great in matters of our vehicles and hour home.

 

So finally, two months later, I'm done with the repairs and upgrades. I have not had one single day of rest in two months. After AAA sent a company to fix the damage, I decided to tile the entire first floor instead of replacing the carpet. So I went with 18 inch tiles with warm tones of gold, brown and red to add warmth to the house and complement our yellow and red walls. I removed the old cheap baseboards and replaced them with thicker ones, 5 1/4 inches. I also added a fresh coat of paint to the entire house. Now I just need to replace all the outlets and light switches for a better match. This was a very labor intensive project. I probably won't have the energy to detail for at least a couple of weeks. Next, I plan to either install hardwood floors on the second floor, or just change the carpet to better match our floors. Oh, and I have to get the nursery ready.

 

Ooh very nice doc, house looks great...boy you had your work cut out but it looks great :applause:

Hey I didn't know you guys were expecting, sorry if this is old news but better late then never CONGRATS :applause2: :applause2:

 

Very nice! You have a beautiful home..and a lot of pizza!

 

Thanks man. I can't move a muscle. I still need to tile the laundry room, which I probably won't do still a month from now as I am really tired. After that, I will get started on the second floor. We are not sure if we want to go with hardwood floors or simply change the carpet to better match the floors. Also, once we know the sex of the baby I have to get started on the nursery. Yeah, thanks again Carlos, we are expecting our second (http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/f5/great-news-9420.html).

 

Thanks man! Yeah, that was lunch and dinner for me. :drinking2:

 

I have a similar water damage story...Maybe I'll post later.

Man you did the tile yourself>>>:applause:

The tile is very nice looking. I have 2 more rooms and I will be rid of all carpet:applause2:

Congrats on the New Baby.:headbang:

 

Looks awesome Luis. Thats exactly what my wife wants as well. And she'll get it - as soon as she learns to lay tile!