One evening a couple of weeks ago I crouched down to retrieve a dog toy for Emma that had rolled under the couch. Under our couch is a scary, dangerous place where dog toys, dog hair, and dust collect at rapid rates. Something out of the ordinary, though equally as scary, caught my eye that night. I quickly grabbed the couch and pulled it away from the wall... and this is what I discovered:
Obviously we had bad water damage. Things that started rolling through my mind: "I hope it's not a leak from under the slab", "How have we not noticed this?", "OMG mold!", "Thank God Miguel is here!", "Not the hardwoods!", "We have been living with this right under our noses?!?", "No, Jack! Don't lick that!"...
We started walking around the house and started to notice water stains in both the bathrooms as well. It seemed pretty clear that one of the showers had the leak. Unfortunately, both showers back up to about four different walls/rooms in the house. Wonderful.
Miguel started pulling off the floor boards and threw away the molded pieces of wood. We called our insurance and made a claim. On that note, I would like to say that I was very pleased with the timely and professional manner of Cotton States Insurance. As far as insurance companies go... with their reputations akin to that of lawyers and con men... they did very well in their response.
Long story short... The next morning a plumber came out to assess the damage and find the cause. Thankfully there was no leak under the slab. Turns out we had a small leak in our master shower. The cold water pipe slowly dripped every time it was in use. Of course this was all behind the tiled wall so we never saw it. After the insurance adjuster came out, it was determined that we would have to replace the majority, if not all, of the hardwood in the living room, a good chunk of the drywall in the living room, and patch up pieces of drywall in both bathrooms and our laundry room. Cotton States recommended a general contractor and we moved forward with the repairs. The contractor came and removed some of the floor and the wall and left a fan for a couple of days to air and dry it out.
Next, the majority of the floor was removed and patched. Luckily, due to the hardwood being new - it was only put in last summer - it was easy to match and we only had to replace half of the room. I have to mention (and anyone who has had work like this done in there house knows what I'm talking about) it is so annoying to live in a house in such a displaced state! Also, to have people, who are strangers really, coming and going in and out of your house is a pain as well. It is no fun to feel quarantined in your own home. Also, as an added bonus, having this disruption caused the dogs to believe that they had free reign and all the old, regular house rules no longer applied. That was fun.
There was a layer of white dust EVERYWHERE in our house after the work was completed. And I do mean everywhere! I keep finding dust I have somehow missed when I'm in a room and the light is shining at a different angle though. It was costly and I am very thankful for home insurance! However, all in all, well as far as this sort of situation is concerned, it was generally as hassle free as it could be. And there is no greater feeling than getting your house back to yourself, all clean, and in order once again!
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| Ahhh, back to normal! |
