So, I was minding my own business eating dinner when..... BOOSH!!!! Water starts shooting from under the sink! I run over to find gallons of water comming out. I quickly grab some towels to basically pad my knees as I try anything to stop the water. Finially, the water stops after a few minutes, yes, minutes. I have about an inch of standing water in the kitchen. It is under everything, use your imagination. I go over to the laundry room and turn off the washer and dryer because I noticed the water was soapy.

Edge, you know those chamois that we bought at the car show in DC? Well, they work VERY well!

I call MiniNurse's cell phone in a panic, and then call her work and tell them it is an emergency. She calls a plumber and gets home to assist her soaked hubby. As I am nearing the clean up...... BOOSH!!! It happens again. I am now freakin' out because I have no idea where the heck this water is comming from. She finially get home and takes the pups out and starts to help me clean up the kitchen. I now find out that the carpet is wet. The water went under the walls to the carpet into the dining area and living room. She calls up our insurance company and does a claim. the claim person should be here in a day or 2.

Oh, this happens around 7:30, MiniNurse gets home around 9:00, and the plumber gets here around 10:00.

In my haste to turn off the water, I crack the main valve in the utility room The plumber snakes for a bit while MiniNurse sucks up the water from the carpet with our steam cleaner. We go to turn the water back on, but we can't because the valve is cracked. If we turn it anymore and cracks, MORE water, water, everywhere! We call emergencey property management to see about turning off the main to our place. No luck, it is the main to the building and if it is turned off and the pressure gets to low, the fire alarms go off and send the fire dept. :impatient

Anyway, we can't get it fixed tonight because of the valve, so the plumber is comming back tomorrow to fix the valve and figure out where this frickin clog is. impatient:impatient

SIDE NOTE: We have had a clog in the kitchen sink for a couple of days and was going to have MiniNurse's dad come over to snake the drain before this happened.

Man, I just smell and can't take a shower.

 

What is it with us and cursed water! First it was SoulFire's sunroof/headliner, and now our kitchen/dinning room/living room....
For those of you who have been to our place, the carpet is SOAKED, yes soaked spongey through everything halfway to the middle of the dinning room floor. around the bar area it is about 2 feet into the living room...all the way under all the cabinets and appliances in the kitchen....which of course I can't get to to clean up...and I am REALLY alergic to mold....:impatient
We shall see what the insurance adjuster says. Now at least I have an excuse to get rid of the crappy floor I have in the kitchen...But what else am I going to have to replace. I can feel that the walls are damp as well. This is not good....good thing I added the water backup clause on my homeowners insurance.

 

That SUCKS, guys! I've been through similar flooding at home myself - it's a misery.

My powerful wet/dry shop-vac (4.5HP, 12 gallon tank - GREAT for sucking up water from carpet - that's why I bought it, for dealing with the same problem!) and my home are yours to use as freely as you like. It may be a long way to go for a shower, but just call me and I'll have towels standing by.

I also have my auto show chamois to lend you, if you need more.

I don't envy the next few weeks (hopefully all it will be) as you deal with this. Just like fire, water can be your friend OR foe.

 

WHOA, that sucks! I hope you get it all taken care of quickly and without any more water mishaps!

 

Holy Crap!! I sure hope things work out for you 2. Weird crap just happens doesn't it?

 

That is HORRIBLE!! Water damage is the worst, I'm so sorry for you guys!

 

So I have to laugh..It gets worse...We open the sprinkler room door and find a LARGE leak in one pipe there corroding another pipe! And looking outside the room, you can see previous water dammage leaking under the walls there onto the coridor....
At least the property manager seems to care, there is a construction crew on their way already! So now we will just have to see how much damage other than the carpet there is. I am afraid to know what is between the walls/under the cabinets.
The entire backsplash will have to be replaced, it is all warped now...I can't tell if the walls are wet or bubbled, it is an older place....
And my neighbor behind us had their celing cave in last week from a leak above them! YIKES! I know Jay hates condo living....I just wish we could have afforded our own house...our insurance company does not cover structural damages, but the condo assoc.'s does...so they are going to pay for all the damages.

 

Sorry to hear about the bad luck. I hope everthing turns out alright.

 

Once everything is dry get the mold inspector ( the condo insurance should cover it) it tells you what is behind the walls even if you don't see it...


Good luck

 

the contractor is here and has pulled the carpet all up from the dinning room, cut out the pad, pulled off the basebord, and is now cutting out the drywall under the baseboard that was saturated. hopefully we won't have to take any of the painted wall. I like my blue walls! I've been taking A LOT of pictures of all the work done. Just glad Jay was here when it happened!
And we are getting some new friends this weekend...3 industrial de-humidifiers and 4 industrial fans to dry out things. NICE..good thing I am not having to sleep all day!

 

that speciallizes in flood/water damamge. While I'm sure everyone WANTS to make sure things are back to normal, moisture is a real pain to get out. And if it's in there, it will get moldy.... If not now, then in the summer when it can just stew in your humid weather.

There are techniques that extract a lot more moister than just industiral de-humidifiers, and it's the time to break them out now, while others are paying....

Matt

ps, it sounds like your condo company does "deferred maintenaince" as other things are falling apart in your condo and others as well. Watch out!

 

Well, there are a couple of factors with the other person....Cry Wolf...

I am really pleased with the attention and quickness that the company has gotten people out here. This specific company and guy deals with insurance adjustment for water/mold damage, so I guess this is the right guy.

And now that the plummer has found the main clog, it turns out our garbage disposal needs to be replaced too! So my plumming bill is somewhere between 800-1000
Good thing I got a lot back from Uncle Sam this year

 

the garbage disposal install is pretty easy. You can get one at Home Depot for as low as $75 up to about $250 for a caddilac! The install takes about an hour our two, depending on how corroded the stuff is. If you've never done plumbing, you may just want to roll it all together and see what the insurance will cover.

Matt

 

holey moley..what a drag. Hope it all gets cleaned up and dried out....

 

Needless to say, I think we are going to pack up and go to my parents house for the weekend...With 4 fans and 2 dehumidifiers, it is pretty loud. But at least they are finished...finally! The plummer just left..has been here since 9am, and was here for 3 hours last night too. The contractor was here till 1, so for 3 hours. Glad I am not footing that bill...fans running till Monday morning..I will NOT be turning them off since I am alergic to mold..NONE of that please!
Got a phone call from the property manager, and he is going to reimburse us for everything except the disposal, since that is "ours" so I am going to get all but 200 back...Now we just have to wait for the insurance adjuster.
The trim has been removed, drywall has been cut away, carpet padding, carpet, backsplash, small bubbles in the side of the cabinet from where the water was sitting for a bit. and then we will have to paint again... Good thing I am not having people over for a while!

 

We had a water damage claim a couple years ago.
Nationwide paid quickly.
When we renewed our homeowner's policy, it no longer covers water damage. Imagine that.
Moral to the story, be sure to get everything out of your policy this time around.

 

Well, what is nice is that the HoA is covering EVERYTHING so far. It turns out that there was a clog in the common area of the pipe, so that is HoAs issue. This will be pretty big in the amount of $ that they are going to spend. Walls replaced, some kitchen cabs replaced, carpet incl pading in the living room/dining room replaced. Not sure if we need to have the tile in the kitchen replaced though because I am not sure if it got under it. We shall see what happens. We are going to try and get as much as possible replaced.

 

JustJay,
That kind of thing has happened 3 times in our home. I feel for you.
Billie

 

The worst thing about it now is that the fans have to stay on alllllllll freakin weekend...At least they aren't as loud in the bedroom

 

That's good that you don't need to go through your own insurance.

 

wait do you two live together. you dont call each other you internet handles when you are cuddling and smooching do you LOL. oh boy you know i just had to.

 

Those fans and dehumidifiers suck up the energy. Your insurance or the condo company should reimburse you for extra energy useage (typically they compare last years bill to this years). Sound petty, but is worth pursuing . . . my power bill doubled from the having to run fans/dhs for 10 days last month due to the dishwasher flooding our kitchen.

 

Its a good thing that the damage was limited to the condo and your personal items (and memories) were spared! I hope existance returns to normal quickly. I'd be glad to provide you both with a margarita or a cervaza on Saturday afternoonto help the forgetting process!

 

NO!

I will look into that. Thanks for the idea.

The only personal items that were damaged was my cornbread, It was on the counter. Gladly accepted

 

If I can do anything please let me know. I am a engineer, and specialize in existing buildings. Water damage and mold issues are a big part of what I do. It sounds like your property manager and contractor are doing what needs to be done. If the contractor suspects mold, they will need to bring in a industrial hygenist. He can make the deturmination, and deturmine what needs to be done. Industrial hygenist often work for the contractors who specialize in this type of work. That should speed up the proccess. One thing you want to check is the condominium's damage policy. Different condominiums have different rules about what is your property and what is owned as the group. The carpet is probably your property, and the condo may not cover the deductable on the loss of your property. Hopefully you have condo insurance. You might want to ask your property manager if you are responsable for the deductable. Keep a record of all your expences. The insurance company will pay anything that is reasonable. Reasonable is not a exact word, and different adjusters have different interpretations. If you get a jerk you might have to push him.