Water, water everywhere...it shouldn't be

Water related catastrophies have been a big topic in the news lately. Hurricanes, flooding, ships stranded at sea...and waking up to almost two feet in my basement.

Let me begin by emphasizing that in no way was my disaster as bad as what victims of natural or man-made catastrophies go through, including those of recent Sandy and the stranded cruise ship. My situation could have been so much worse and I'm grateful that it wasn't. No complaints here, but I did want to let all of you know why I disappeared long after January ended, and hopefully save anyone with a sump pump in their basement from dealing with a similar mess.

If you live along the east coast, you probably recall the heavy, flooding rains and high wind storms that blew through that last week of January. I woke up the morning it had tapered off and smelled something funky. It smelled like electrical burn, but we hadn't lost power. All the lights were on, so in my rush to pack lunches and get the kids to the bus, I brushed it off as lingering smells from dinner the night before (note: I'm not that bad of a cook lol). I saw the kids off and was about to hit the writing, but a nagging voice in my head told me to check it out. Fine. I figured maybe one outlet shorted from lightening or something. I started down the basement steps to check the fuse box and...was met with what turned out to be 21 inches of water. The entire basement was a pool.

I didn't touch the water, given the electrical burn smell. No one could, so the power company had to shut power to the house in order for the water clean up crews, plumber etc...to do their work. This meant no heat and the wind chill was single digit those few nights. We had no power, no house phone, no internet (all went under), no septic, no heat, and no water (we're on well) for days. The flood had caused our water pump tank to fall over and break. The heating elements on the water heater had shorted and melted. The furnace for the main floor...same thing. We got the heat going upstairs by the second night which helped tremendously. The rest of the week we used jugs of water. I'll spare you the details. We're still cleaning the basement weeks later...but it could have been worse. To make a long story short, we survived.

MY WARNING TO ALL:

1. Check your insurance plan. Many have sump pumps listed as an exclusion. Ours denied the claim. In fact, take a sec to read all your plan's exclusions. You might be surprised.
2. Get a quality battery back-up installed if you have a sump pump. It's so worth the cost.
3. Watch your back. These water clean-up companies charge more than plumbers, electricians and shoot, even doctors, combined. Their clients are in desperate situations. Do what you can to avoid the situation.
4. Don't store anything in cardboard boxes. We had a mix of plastic bins and old boxes of things from way back. Take the time to put everything in plastic bins...before it gets wet.

Thankfully, our basement isn't finished, but it is full. We use it as if it's finished...treadmill, toys, bookshelves full of books from our college days, an extra fridge and tons of things in storage. Some of what was lost was sentimental, but again, no complaints because it could have been worse, especially with that electrical burn smell. At least I still have my house and family. We are fine. I really feel for those who have lost everything to natural disasters and fires.

Anyway, I'm getting back in the swing of things. Last week, we had the stomach flu and strep go through the house. Yep, when it rains, it floods (pun intended). I'll try to pop by blogs later this week and I have an interview on Monday with author Nicole Flockton. I hope to see all of you around soon!

Killer Water

Do it right the first time around.

Don't panic. I'm not talking about manuscripts, where crappy first drafts are a given. I'm talking about building a house, where crappy materials and cutting corners to save on cost just does pay off in the end.

Let me preface this by saying that there are a gazillion excellent, trustworthy contractors and builders out there. I've actually worked with some who helped repair damages that resulted from low quality workmanship. You'll find plenty of examples of this on the HGTV show Holmes Inspection. Mike Holmes is incredible (no, he's not one I've worked with), and you can learn a lot about homes on that show. Unfortunately, I didn't get to pick the materials or contractors  used by our semi-custom home builder. And as much as I kept an eye on the process, some problems take a few years to show up.

It took them two years to resolve issues with our front door leaking into the basement every time it rained. We'd guessed what the problem was right off the bat, but checking it out would have entailed removing the door. Instead, they did everything but that, including brick removal. In the end, we were right. They would have saved way more money doing it right the first time around, rather than skirting the issue with minor, superficial repairs that added up in cost.

Why is this on my mind today? Because I'm on day two of painting, re-grouting, caulking, and grout sealing the bathrooms (and laundry room) in our house. We have a big drywall hole in our bathroom that had to be cut out to check for pipe leaks. Turns out, the peeling paint, loose tiles, and rust coming through from the metal edge plates are from cheap paint that was put on without a decent coat of primer (if any at all). The dry wall tape is even starting to show through from lack of proper mudding. Mind you, I always turn on the vents and I'm paranoid about water damage...so I take precautions...but I never got around to painting the bathrooms. Who would have thought that would be a water damage downfall?

Anyway, I can cut a straight paint edge without tape. I've done a lot of painting before :) and the results are always super satisfying. However, as neat as the results are, I'm not. I'm sore as hell. I have paint in my hair, on my arms and legs, all over my clothes. I have a busted lip because the roller holder ricocheted into my face when I was pulling a used roller off. Yeah, that hurt. But I'm not complaining. At least I didn't have a pipe burst (that happened to my sister last year...all because of a cheap valve used on a toilet...it burst through the ceiling and flooded the main floor).

But it's getting done right this time. I wish it had been done right the first time around. I'd be writing this afternoon instead of painting. Water can wreak havoc on a house. The last thing a homeowner wants is a mold issue.

Have you dealt with water problems? Do you do your own house painting? Any experiences that resulted from things not getting done right the first time around?