Hot August Night

On a hot August night my wife and I left the house around 6pm and went out for dinner and a few errands. We returned home shortly after 9pm.

I opened the front door and there was standing water in our entryway. That moment takes away your breath. We stopped cold. You could hear what sounded like a garden hose running.

I rushed through the slopping water around the corner to the bathroom and I could hear the water running from under the lavatory. A supply line hose had ruptured. I reached through the spraying water for the shut off valve and stopped the water.

We went down the carpeted stairs to our finished basement. As we reached the bottom of the stairs and set foot on the floor we felt and saw the squishing water.

We opened the downstairs laundry room/storage door and saw water pouring from the ceiling.

We called the insurance company. This time they promised an adjuster would be there within 48hrs but made no mention of sending anyone to cleanup and start the remediation process right away.

We worked until after midnight using the wetvac to vacuum the water, mopping the floors, cleaning and sacking up ruined items.

The insurance claim ended up being nearly $10,000. As part of the repairs we wound up tearing out solid wood flooring, trim, drywall, etc…

When the first check arrived from the insurance company it was made out to us and the mortgage company. As such, we were unable to use the funds until we contacted the mortgage company. The mortgage company didn’t want to release the funds to us until after the repairs were complete. Of course, contractors aren’t interested in working for free and waiting to get paid by the mortgage company. That meant that we had to upfront material costs and wait until the job was finished before the mortgage company would release the funds that the insurance company had sent.

The flood happened on a hot August night. The final piece of the restoration project was finished well into the new year on a cold January day.

Another painful experience that I would not wish upon anyone.