When it rains, it pours
I spent the better part of Saturday fixing a leaking compression fitting on a toilet in our 23 year old home. 23 Years is not that old if you ask me, and our house is nice. I often consider it a blessing. Not today. It felt good to have everything fixed and working after this weekend.
First John worked really hard cleaning a very dirty kitchen. He got down to three pots before he had to leave for work. As I was later finishing those three pots, I looked down to see my sons both pushing all the buttons on the dishwasher. I was going to run it when I finished the pots. Now it won't start. Great.
I leave for a meeting for the better part of the day. I arrive home around 5 and don't immediately notice water in our hallway. Joel found it. "Mom! Watch me slide in the water in the hall!" I throw down some towels, turn off the water to the hall toilet that aparently overflowed and then go to the master closet to look for my cell phone. I'm thinking to call the babysitter who was here to see if she knows if it's a toy in the toilet or something less pleasant but easier to fix. Wait - there is water in the closet... water in the bedroom... under all the furniture... the bedskirt is soaked! What the?! The hall toilet had apparently run all day very slowly and the sitter didn't notice. I believe her. She's only 14, but she's very good with the boys and I don't leave her for a full day very often. Her parents and my mom are close if there was an emergency. It took me several hours and every towel and blanket in the house, plus a few from my mom's, to soak it all up. Most of the furniture had to be moved, some on there side so that legs could dry. When we walked on it there was still a squishy noise and water seaping up from between the hard laminate slats. I call our homeowners insurance. An hour later there is a big friendly looking guy at my door with fans, dihumidifiers, and demo tools. Two hours later my beatuiful floor is no more, hall, master bedroom, and closet. This is too fast for me to digest. I think we might loose the bathroom vanity cabinets too. The man estimates an easy $12,000 damages, but he's not the adjuster. We'll see. It's after 10:30 and he's still tearing up floor.
When it rains, it pours.
Ouch.
ReplyDeleteOnce you get the settlement, can you guys do any of the work yourselves? You could walk away with a few extra grand if you can convince John to put down the new floors for you. Either way, I'm sorry this happened. I totally know what it feels like... We had to rip out an entire wall a year ago due to a pipe that broke. It made me feel sick to my stomach.
Any updates?
Christy, this is horrible! I am so glad that you called your homeowner's insurance and that they are going to cover it. Will the amount they give you cover the damage or will you have to pay some out of pocket? I wouldn't think that something so small as a leaky toilet would cause that much damage, but dang, it sure did. :(
ReplyDeleteHa Ha! Like John would put down new flooring! He is very helpful in may other ways, but construction and handy man projects are not for him. Now, I might be able to lay a floor, but I think we have a friend in the business who will give us a discount at least. The adjuster comes next Wednesday because the clean-up and dry out will take at least five days. The fans are loud! Looks like we might be replacing all the wood flooring throughout the house unless they can match the pattern, but its old enough that it's unlikely.
ReplyDeleteOH man. . Christy that sucks. I had no idea a leaky toilet could cause so much trouble! -Katie
ReplyDeletedang this is an old blogger.
ReplyDeleteChristy,
ReplyDeleteI'd love it if you would make a new blog....