# Home repair after water damage Help!



## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Hey everyone, so I posted on here the other day that a water pipe broke under our kitchen sink and flooded most of our home. It's a 84x48 modular home. Floors are a total loss in 3 rooms, and may have to be completely replaced in the front room as well. Kitchen cabinets/sink will have to be torn out and replaced as well, and possibly the divider wall behind the stove that seperates the kitchen and front room.

We have never been through this before and I don't have any idea how we should do things. I don't want the insurance co. screwing around trying to low ball us, which they seem good, but you just never know.
We're looking at thousands of $$ in repairs.

1. Is it best to get an estimate and have them give us a check for repairs and hire someone a little less expensive but just as good/licensed/insured, so the $$ goes a little further?

2. If not, then would the insurance co. allow us to pick out carpet/tile for replacement and have whomever we want to replace it? Or would we have to stick with one installer? What about cabinets?

3. I was told everything has to come out of the rooms, and of course, we are not going to be able to stay here when they start working until the floors are replaced. I think we have a $2,000 housing limit, so that means our insurance co. would pay up to that amount for a hotel room for us when the time comes? 

4. My brother said not to let them close the claim on it until after a mold test is done at least 2 weeks after repairs are made. If mold levels were to be dangerous, what next? Is it best to do a mold test before they get started? Is that something I have to request, or something the contractor would automatically do after tear out?

Sorry I just am not sure what questions I should be asking. I'm so disheartened this has happened. I worry about mold and mildew, and it making us sick. The house smells really bad... 'wet.' You know that icky old musty smell...

Thanks for any advice.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

The mold needs to be cleaned out first. Otherwise living there will not be an option. Make sure the mold is gone. Yes request it to be taken care of.

Licensed /insured is best, no matter.

I would get a estimate,on what is needed and price for mold and damages along with hourly rate for the contractor, in writing. 
Some insurance companies, have certain places and workers that are allowed to work on the home. Ask the insurance, what companies can work on your place or if you get your choice. 

Get a full estimate cost on everything. Find out what is covered and what is not under your insurance co. Get more than one estimate. Take the highest estimate to your insurance. 

If the insurance hasn't came out yet to look at all damages, they will, everything should be left the way it was, before tearing apart anything. 

To pick out carpet ect, you will need to keep it within budget of what the insurance will pay. Work with the contractor involved and choose what you want before hand. 

Some insurance co, will cut you a check, while others won't until the work is done. 
They will only cover so many things, that are stated on your insurance claim. Make sure you read it over and know. 

You will have to talk to your insurance and ask questions. Make a list of what you want to ask them, so you can write down notes. Such as the housing limit. 

Have them go over with you, what is covered and what is not.


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## NubianFan (Jun 3, 2013)

If they are giving you a $2000 dollar housing allowance you might want to check and see if you could rent an actual house for a couple months. Most places want someone to sign a lease but if you have good references and they know your situation they might be willing to just rent you a house or apartment for a couple of months. That might make your money go farther than a motel room. Look into extended stay facilities too, like a hotel but for people who travel on business, they rent monthly. Also make sure to voice your opinion on everything, don't be afraid to ask for things and repeat yourself if needed.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

When we bought our house, it had surface mold in the basement and on the wall paneling of the garage that was converted into a family room. The first thing that had to be done was mold remediation. Worth every penny. We had a professional do it and didn't want to mess with it. Above advice is great.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks you guys I appreciate it!

Pam - she came out on Friday and seen the damage. We removed the carpet after that. The floor is trying to dry out, but there are spots that are still very very wet  I was cleaning surface mold in the computer room yesterday. We have everything crammed into the kids rooms, or the front room.

We had another contractor out yesterday and they couldn't believe how bad it was or that the insurance company wasn't helping us more. He said we should not be staying here because the risk of mold. He agreed with me if I am seeing it on the floor, imagine what's in the walls or underneath 

I tried to call the adjuster yesterday and she wouldn't call me back! She works out of 2 different offices. Finally got a hold of her this morning.
First contractor gave an estimate of $13,000. But insurance will only pay $8,289 <$8,789 minus $500 deductible>. That's for 'everything.'
She said they can write us a check for the $$, and we can hire whom we want to fix what parts, etc. that away if we want to do some of the work, then it would be cheaper.

Basically... the insurance co is NO HELP. They just say to do this or that, after 'I' ask the questions. Really not impressed at all with their 'help.'

I'm waiting for my husband to call me so we can discuss it. I think we'll have to settle with the check, and figure things out. 
We can't do anything until we get our stuff out of the house - EVERYTHING - 
She did say, as soon as we decide on a POD size, and price she'd need something in writing and they would cover the cost, so I am going to do that now.

I'm so dizzy I don't know what we should do! Bleh! This is so frustrating.
My husband might be able to tear out the old floors/insulation then whomever comes in could get out what he isn't able to get out.

I'm wondering if it would be cheaper for us to shop for cabinets ourselves vs. buying brand new ones through a contractor. I don't mind used cabinets as long as they are in good shape - there is a place I know that sells used sets that are usually used as displays in stores, or come out of 'fancy pancy' houses that are sold with decent price tags. Thankfully we don't need a lot of cabinets as our kitchen is small.

And carpet... we actually want to have tile or linoleum/etc. in the dinning room, and around the front door <which was all carpeted>, so I am sure that will cut expense a little. I really REALLY do not want new carpet in the dinning room, I can just see my kids making a huge mess of it. We don't use the front door because there is nothing to put shoes on, so....tile/etc. would be great.

We have to rent a POD, which insurance will cover, we just have to decide on a size, and get it written in writing for the insurance lady so she can issue us a check for the cost. I am going to do that right now, so we can start packing and getting things into it.

She also will have to make arrangements for helping us find a place to stay, she said there is a # hotline she can call that will help us find a place nearby that insurance could cover. 
My concerns would be... if it's a hotel, there is nothing within 15 minutes of us, and I need to be able to have a kitchen so I can cook.

I am wondering if they would pay rent on a place as was suggested by Nubianfan? We have had insurance with this company for about 5 years, and we own our home, and have been here since Oct 2007.


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## NubianFan (Jun 3, 2013)

HoosierShadow said:


> Thanks you guys I appreciate it!
> I am wondering if they would pay rent on a place as was suggested by Nubianfan? We have had insurance with this company for about 5 years, and we own our home, and have been here since Oct 2007.


It just never hurts to ask. I don't think they care, insurance companies want to do what ever is cheapest to them. If you could find a place that was cheaper than your hotel room would be they would probably be fine with it. The problem is probably more going to be getting a landlord to agree to rent for only a couple of months. Most landlords want you to sign a lease.  However, if you have church member or friends or co workers that could write references or be available for a landlord to call and check references and you can explain your situation , you may find a landlord willing to work with you to help you out for a couple of months. 
Also some hotels have rooms with kitchenettes. So that is a consideration as well. 
I would also talk to your insurance agent, not the adjuster, and tell them your estimate from the contractor is $13000 but the adjuster is only agreeing to pay a little over $8000 plus your $500 deductible. That doesn't add up to you getting your home fixed properly. You agent SHOULD be your advocate. I would try to see if I could get him to work for you to get either more money or a contractor that will work for insurance payment.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I don't know if you have a Lumber Liquidators in your area but they are having a big sale on stuff Sept 19-30. You could get some nice flooring fairly inexpensively. They have vinyl planking starting at $.69 per sq ft. Laminate starting at $.39 per sq ft. The absolute cheapest is junk but you can get some better stuff at a low price.

I would buy the cabinets yourself. If you have places to buy used or liquidation items, that would save a lot of money. We have places like Habitat for Humanity stores which offer new/used products that are donated. We also have places like Building 9 that offers new products at very low prices. Building 9 had some very nice quality sheet laminate that was dirt cheap. Also some nice oak cabinets for a very low price.

Don't use bleach on mold, it will come back. Hydrogen Peroxide is what gets rid of it. There was also another product that we found out we could have bought at the store but can't remember what it was now.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree, insurance companies can be heartless. All they care about is there pocket. 

Doing some work yourself, will definitely help. There is nothing wrong with second hand cabinets, as they can be really nice with little touch ups.
Craigslist under "materials" may have some good deals.

I would first focus on the mold issue, as you said, it may be underneath where you don't see. The floor boards may have to be replaced as well.
I am not sure if the house will need to be inspected and approved for living in, so it will have to pass mold inspection, if that is the case. 
If mold is in the air, it won't be approved and you won't be able to live in it, until it is.

Shop around to other licensed and bonded contractors, get estimate from each. 

Ask you insurance for a list breakdown on what they are covering within that price.

Was any furniture ect damaged? If so, that should be in the cost of damages as well.

You are entitled to housing that maintains at least your normal standard of living and in the interest of your family through this very difficult period of time, you should insist on this with polite but firm resolve.

If you feel the insurance company's offer for settlement is too low, you can always politely reject it in writing with an explanation as to why. 
strong negotiation and a willingness sometimes helps.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks so much, I am so blessed to have you guys to talk too, this is overwhelming 

Thankfully, I think there were no damages to any furniture, or personal belongings as well as appliances. It caused a hole in the floor where it was leaking underneath the home, and that saved us I think, from having our front room flooded. It stopped very very close to the sofa, and tv stand, but not close enough that I had to move either of them.

I am going to give the insurance company a call and ask to speak with our agent. If I get put off, that he is on a call, etc. then I will just drive up there. I really want to see the estimate breakdown in person as mentioned. Hearing this or that over the phone really doesn't help, if we don't know what the insurance co is allotting us for as far as flooring, carpet, etc.

I agree about 2nd hand cabinets, etc. We do have a Habitat for Humanity store here, and that's actually the one I was talking about when I said we could look for used cabinets. But Craigslist is definitely an option. I've never heard of the other stores mentioned, but surely there must be some places like that around here.

I will check the yellow pages, and craigslist for another contractor. There is a slight chance my brother can help with some stuff, and my husband's brother can help with other stuff. My brother can pretty much do everything, problem is he lives 4 hours away, and is busy with his job. But, might be able to pay him for helping with something. My husband's brother can help, might even be able to help us lay the floor ourselves.

But mold is certainly what concerns me. 
It looks like we'll have to tear out the walls in the dinning room <for sure>, and at least 2 of the 3 big walls in the computer room.

I think the biggest problem area on what to replace/not replace is going to be in the kitchen walls. I do see us having to replace the wall behind the stove/fridge that separate front room from kitchen. it has a window and counter as well.

My husband tries his best, but sometimes he does things with the 'just get it done' attitude...that's why I don't want him to replace anything himself lol They did good replacing our bathroom floor, but uh....yeah, it's just tolerable lol


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## hallsthirdacrefarm (Mar 30, 2011)

A lot of times the insurance company will up their estimate...but you have to provide the evidence. A rule of thumb is to get THREE estimates (all of which will be higher than the insurance). They will usually give you some money up front. Do go to the contractor you want and show them what insurance will pay. Then you guys may work it out with them where you do some tear out and they meet the insurance price but at the same time, you are writing letters to the insurance company with all your evidence attached and well supported. Also, as you tear out, photograph what they didn't see. Make sure you have pictures before you tear out too. Use words in your letter like additional damage and undiscoverable at the time of inspection...etc. 

I would consider renting or purchasing off CL an RV so I could hook it up and live on site to supervise the remodel. My experience is they will up their estimate for you, and you are allowed to remediate, so go ahead and get the wet out, work on drying (time to rent some heavy duty fans) and stopping that mold growth. make sure your crawl and attic ventilation is sufficient and open. You could even pay for a home inspection report...they will be working for you and may find things insurance missed. Then insurance would do a reinspection and give you more $$$


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

hallsthirdacrefarm said:


> A lot of times the insurance company will up their estimate...but you have to provide the evidence. A rule of thumb is to get THREE estimates (all of which will be higher than the insurance). They will usually give you some money up front. Do go to the contractor you want and show them what insurance will pay. Then you guys may work it out with them where you do some tear out and they meet the insurance price but at the same time, you are writing letters to the insurance company with all your evidence attached and well supported. Also, as you tear out, photograph what they didn't see. Make sure you have pictures before you tear out too. Use words in your letter like additional damage and undiscoverable at the time of inspection...etc.
> 
> I would consider renting or purchasing off CL an RV so I could hook it up and live on site to supervise the remodel. My experience is they will up their estimate for you, and you are allowed to remediate, so go ahead and get the wet out, work on drying (time to rent some heavy duty fans) and stopping that mold growth. make sure your crawl and attic ventilation is sufficient and open. You could even pay for a home inspection report...they will be working for you and may find things insurance missed. Then insurance would do a reinspection and give you more $$$


Thanks so much! A contractor just left, and said basically the same thing, he said the insurance companies will try to low ball us, and not to accept payment or cash a check so they can't rip us off. 
The guys who came out yesterday never called us back  So in order to get a 3rd estimate, we'll have to get another one out here.

I will show your post to my husband when he gets home.

I found out to rent a Travel Trailer it would be $1,175 for 2 weeks, they'd make it so we could hook it up to the house. So it might be a better option for us than a hotel. We plan on putting a shut off valve on the kitchen water lines, so we can keep the water on. Then we could still use the house for showers, and toilet, so that would help.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Glad to be here for you. 
It is a very devastating time for you and your family. 

Stand tough with the insurance co. Don't let them take advantage of you. You have been paying them all this time, so when you are in need, they need to pay up.
You paid your share, now it s time for them to pay theirs, that is what we pay them for.


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## NubianFan (Jun 3, 2013)

toth boer goats said:


> Glad to be here for you.
> It is a very devastating time for you and your family.
> 
> Stand tough with the insurance co. Don't let them take advantage of you. You have been paying them all this time, so when you are in need, they need to pay up.
> You paid your share, now it s time for them to pay theirs, that is what we pay them for.


 Exactly


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks, I am definitely am not settling with the amount they are offering.
I am also not settling with the lousy customer service they are offering.

The office opens at 9am, and I plan on going up there and demanding to speak with our agent, and I am going to tell him what is going on. 
If he doesn't do anything I will demand to speak to someone at the main headquarters.
I also will be asking to see the write up of what they think needs replaced and the amount for each item.
I'm almost betting the walls, and cabinets are not on there.
Then, if the agent isn't willing to help us get more $$, then I am going to ask him to come to the house and see it for himself!

I am going to be filing a complaint about poor service from the adjuster. I don't care if the lady is busy, if she's that busy then they need to have someone helping her so she can at least return her calls!

Also, I am going to complain that they advertise that 'they are here for us.' I am going to ask in what way?!?! To write us a measly check that won't fix the issue, and write us off? We keep asking for help, how to proceed, etc. etc. and she just says we need a contractor. Ummm... yeah, so we did that and they don't want to pay what he was estimating damages to be? 2 other contractors don't seem to want to touch it because the insurance company doesn't want to pay enough! I'm hoping this last contractor will call or email us with an estimate, because we might use them.

Originally I thought we could stay here until tomorrow, but it got worse just from bedtime last night to this morning. 
I told the adjuster yesterday morning when I did finally get a hold of her, that I'd call her after lunchtime to set up housing plans, that I wanted to check on the travel trailer first and get price estimate.
of course I called her back and left a message, and guess what? nada, no returned call.

The POD should be delivered sometime after lunch, so we can start getting stuff out tonight. I don't have boxes though, so that could be an issue. I have a LOT of pictures on the walls haha....

On top of all of this, I really shouldn't be driving the SUV  it's got a misfiring issue, not sure where the problem is. If anyone remembers my rants about this thing...heh.. all I said to my husband was 'I told you so x50."
We found a truck we'd like to look at if they still have it, so fingers crossed and we'll go look at it after he gets off work.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Good luck with all that you are going through! Can you get boxes from the local grocery or liquor store? 
Stick to your guns! Don't let them wear you down!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks!

We are starting to make some progress! I went to the office, and the woman at the front desk who is always so very sweet and sincere was extremely helpful. She immediately emailed the adjusters supervisor and I've been in touch with her through the morning.

Sadly, they can't really give us more $$, because it is a mobile home, and they are treated differently than a regular house, which I knew that. But she did explain how the 'depreciation' works. The adjustor didn't explain what that meant, so she must have just assumed I knew 'insurance talk.' lol

Example: if a floor board was $5.00 30 years ago, then it might be worth $2.00 now. That kind of thing. Being a mobile home and the type of policy they offer for them, that's just how it is 

This home is not new, it was put here new in 1987.

Ok so that was finally explained in dense-human words, dense part being me LOL!

So, thinking once we know what the contractors break down is, we'll know how to proceed, if we will have him do certain things, or find someone else.
Once we get stuff out of the house, we can start tearing things out.
My husband said he can rent tools that he doesn't have that he'd need and we can work on it over the weekend. Sadly, he can not take his vacation to do it, because he just literately put in for his vacation time right before this happened last week!  He is also the type that come hell or high water he will not ask for a day off of work <hasn't missed a day since our youngest was born, and she will be 7 in 2 weeks!> -- he works 6 days a week.

As for housing.
They are approving our rental of a travel trailer! She told me to set it up for delivery, and call them to do the billing, we have $3,000 we can use for housing, and that would pretty much give us a month in a travel home if need be.
I just need to call the RV place and make sure everything is good to go.

They also got the bill for the POD, and will reimburse my husband for that.

So now, we wait for the POD, should be here any time in the next 3 hours.
Once it's here, I'll start taking stuff out, oh fun.

We definitely need to go box hunting at the stores. I'll call Kroger and see if their big truck is tonight or tomorrow night, that'll be the best bet. Cereal boxes are always the best.

I just keep looking around the house thinking...Where in the world do we even start! Not kidding about a lot of pictures. I guess I am glad I didn't finish the computer room decorating, haha! Everyone says my front room is like a shrine lol


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Glad things are going better.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

At least you know what you are working with and can budget accordingly. I would still take the full amount in a check to you instead of them paying people. Then you can figure out what you can do to save money to pay a contractor for stuff you can't do.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks! Yep that's what we will do. I was told if we take a check to do things, and find additional damage, then we can report it - taking the check and cashing it won't close the claim. Whew. That was a big worry. Of course now I need to let her know to go ahead and write the check.

But... either way we won't be getting any repairs done before Monday. This place will need to dry out for at least a few days. The remediation place is coming out tomorrow morning to start drying things out. This should have been done days ago


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Well, thought I'd update...

I really thought my day was getting better.

Flood Pro guy came out to give an estimate on tear out/replacing floors, and see about getting things dried out.

He said it's too late for drying anything out, damage is done, nothing that could be done to reverse any of it.

He did a moisture check and EVERY room in the house - except my bathroom has high moisture 
He said everything has to come out, and some of the walls - of course insurance estimates didn't have any of the bedrooms in their estimates, so that will most likely change.

He said he would try to get together an estimate and would call our adjuster immediately to let her know just how bad it really is.

The good news is, if we were to use them to tear out the floors and move our stuff, insurance would pay for all of it. But I need to know what kind of replacement cost, and if they would store our stuff while we or someone else replaces it. I forgot to ask him that. 

This guy certainly knows what he is doing that's for sure. He said his job is to make sure moisture is not an issue and doesn't become an issue. If we don't fix everything we'll have problems 

So that's where we stand now. 

Travel trailer will be here tomorrow. Pod was delivered a couple of hours ago. Driver must have thought I was crazy going ooooh and ahhhh at how cool it was to deliver it off of the truck LOL


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## NubianFan (Jun 3, 2013)

You know, I don't know your financial situation or your preferences, but I am beginning to think maybe it would be better to write this mobile off as a loss and use what check you get from the insurance company to put as a down payment on a new double wide. That is a lot of damage to a mobile.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

That's what I was thinking Leslie. But, everyone has said the structure itself is in great shape, and the roof is brand new, we just had it put on in March.

My husband has a plan and may have a crew put together to get it done, now we wait for the estimates to come in and see what they will pay to replace.

My husband was finally able to get up underneath this afternoon and said that all of the heat pipes are laying on the ground full of water!  They will have to be replaced too.

We had 2 non house issues come up tonight as well, one isn't a big deal, just some time and it'll work itself out. But my youngest daughter has a UTI that started hurting tonight  She is very prone to them, so she'll have to have meds. I just hope her doctor's office doesn't give me trouble prescribing her something for it especially if I can't get her into the office to be seen tomorrow. 

On a good note, my best friend and her aunt who I adore, came over brought some yummy snakes, and some yummy drinks, and really did help my sanity


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## NubianFan (Jun 3, 2013)

HoosierShadow said:


> On a good note, my best friend and her aunt who I adore, came over brought some yummy snakes, and some yummy drinks, and really did help my sanity


 Thank Goodness for Good Friends!!
I hope your daughter feels better soon. 
And whatever you guys decide I hope it all goes smoothly from here out and you get what you need to do it with. ((HUGS)) I know this is frustrating and nerve wracking for you.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks Leslie I appreciate it 
I think it will all fall in place. Of course the only problem we have now is, where to put the washer/dryer/stove/fridge, because the POD isn't big enough for them  And I definitely need boxes so I can get my dishes/etc. out of the kitchen.
I'm sure we'll figure something out. 

Of course me waking up at 4:45am, an hour and a half before the alarm is set to go off isn't doing me any good. 
I know it's because I have a lot on my mind.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Sometimes Cranberry juice helps UTI's. I dislike the taste, but they also make capsules. 
Good luck with all that you have to deal with!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks! Well she didn't have the teacher call home, so we'll see how she feels when she gets here, hopefully she's fine, that would be nice. 
She won't drink the juice, but I am planning to find the capsule and see if it's something I can get her to take.

The travel home is here, and it's nicer than I imagined! It's much bigger too! I had fun snooping around in it LOL I hooked the kids Wii up and make sure the wifi signal is all good to go out there so they can still watch Netflix <hubby & kids are obsessed with Big Cat Diaries right now before bedtime haha>. I am finishing washing our sheets to use on the beds. I don't plan on taking much out until it cools off and I have some help. In order to be able to get it back out of the yard, he had to have the doors facing the road.

Still waiting to hear what is going on with the new estimate, I sure hope she calls me. There really isn't a whole lot of 'repairing' we can do until we get the floors out anyway.

Well I guess I better get busy. Need to go get grain, and food for us as soon as hubby gets home. It's supposed to rain and storm. Bleh. Been very windy all day, but it's a beautiful day outside.


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## kbluebkeman (Jul 22, 2013)

Oh Jeez.....I hope that you really didn't eat any "yummy snakes"....personally I HATE snakes......lol......

On another note, when your insurance company makes a determination on what they are going to reimburse you for they are also suppose to provide in writing with the contact information for your State Insurance Commission where you can file complaints if you are not happy with the figure/amount. I worked in insurance for many years at the company and agency level. Do not settle for what they say they will pay.....get as many estimates and pictures as you can and push back hard. If you don't feel you are getting treated fairly contact the insurance commissioner. Tell the insurance company you will be doing that.

They have to replace everything to the condition it was before the damage.....they do get to take "wear and tear" for things like carpet.....but for mechanicals or structural things it has to be whatever it takes. Oftentimes if you can provide enough estimates you can get them to throw out the high and low estimates and go with a mid range estimate....so the more estimates you can get you can kind of "stack the deck" by taking your highest three estimates and negotiate with them to go with the middle range estimate that you have provided. Then if you have a preference on a contractor, take the estimates from a couple of lower bids and get that contractor to agree to a lessor price (husband was a residential/commercial builder for 20 years). Get all agreements in writing, do progress payments on the work that is being done as it is completed. Don't sign anything from the insurance company that will keep you from being able to go back and claim for additional damage if it is discovered something "after the fact". Sometimes you don't find things until you are actually doing the work. 

Sorry you have to deal with this. That is why even though places like Geico and Progressive give you good deals on the cost of insurance (because they eliminate the middle man who is the insurance agent), having a local agent who will go to bat/war for you is sometimes worth paying a little bit more. Your agent wouldn't want to hurt his business reputation by having an unhappy customer/client (you) so they will work for you and not the insurance company. That's how THEY stay in business. I will say though that we have our car insurance through Geico and I have never been unhappy with them. But our homeowners (which can be trickier during claims) is through the agent we have worked with for many many years.


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## kbluebkeman (Jul 22, 2013)

One more thing, my daughter who suffered UTI hrr younger life and through college found taking those cranberry supplements very very helpful. You might also want to incorporate cranberry juice (100% pure cranberry juice) into her daily diet.....some peoples biology is more prone to this type of situation and changing the acidity helps.​


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks so much! Thank goodness my daughter is fine, no need for doctors or meds, but I'll keep an eye on her. WHEW. She won't drink cranberry juice, but I really wish she would <she's almost 7>.

We are going to see what the insurance co offers on Monday, and see if what they offer will be sufficient, if not we will definitely be complaining to our agent. I really REALLY need my husband's help on this, I am not a 'fighter' when it comes to this kind of stuff --- he knows more about what it will take than I do, ya know?

He started working on tearing up the floors about 4:30 when he got home, and the computer room <largest room in the house> and dinning room, then the damaged part of the front room are pulled up, he just needs to go around the walls, and finish scraping the supports.

Overall the supports look good. The only ones still showing signs of moisture and any mold are the ones closest to the kitchen, we'll clean those tomorrow and let them dry out.

I took some pictures, but the camera is in the RV, and I am in the front room of the house <waiting for hot water since everyone took showers>.

So far so good. Only took my husband about 2 hours to get the floor up.

Our neighbor said we could probably just cut the lower part of the wall and replace everything vs. replacing the entire walls. So we'll see. But the problem is, there is wood paneling on the walls, so we may have to pull all of it.

My questions for insurance also will be... are they trying to say the tiles in the kitchen are 26 years old? No, they are about 6 years old.
Plus part of the floor that my husband had replaced in the kitchen where the water heater/washer/dryer are located, that is all about 2 years old, and was so saturated it'll most likely have to come out.
I do NOT think the wood paneling is original. I remember when my husband was doing work and had to cut part of the panel off the wall. There was Wallpaper behind it! IF we have to replace the panels.....hmmm... they can't say 'well you'll only get this amount because of it's age," trying to base everything off of everything being original.

Again I'll make sure I get pictures of everything.

Water lines... we have the original grey water lines that there was a lawsuit on some years ago.
We have had issues with breakage in just one part of the house with these lines.

I think we're also going to replace both bathtubs. You have no idea how happy that would make me...lol Nothing fancy, but would beat what we have now.

I'll try to post some pictures before I go to bed or in the morning 

So far the RV is working out. The kids love it, and are having fun with it. It has 2 rooms that slide out making it wide and spacious. I wasn't expecting to have that much room, so it is comfortable


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Do you have receipts to prove stuff is not original?

Don't mess with the paneling. Remove all of it. Mold loves paneling and you might have future problems.


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## caprine crazy (Jun 12, 2012)

HoosierShadow said:


> That's what I was thinking Leslie. But, everyone has said the structure itself is in great shape, and the roof is brand new, we just had it put on in March.
> 
> My husband has a plan and may have a crew put together to get it done, now we wait for the estimates to come in and see what they will pay to replace.
> 
> ...


I used to get UTI's ALL THE TIME!!! So annoying. I was always going to the dr.s for a pee sample. I wetted the bed until I was 13. I never had a problem until I fell and broke my ankle in third grade. That's when all my health problem's started. My dr. always gave me SMZ/TMP tabs. I thought that was so cool that animals could take the same meds as humans. Hopefully your daughter's will clear up soon.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks Kayla! I have to say, I think this is the first time it has NOT turned out to be a UTI or something that needed medication/doctor. Whew, thank goodness. She has been fine all weekend 
She usually gets them 2-3 times a year, for probably the past 3 maybe 4 years, and she will be 7 in less than 2 weeks.

Well it's been a very busy weekend! The severely damaged floors are out! The walls that divide the computer room/dinning room need to be pulled out and replaced. The wood paneling in the rooms needs to be pulled and replaced - either because of water damage or because there was no way to get the floor out without damaging them <scratching them or breaking bottoms>. The wood paneling is NOT original, so the insurance co. will be hearing from me. If they want proof, they can see the hideous wallpaper behind them lol
I remember a few years ago when we had to cut into the one in the computer room to get to the kids bath tub, and saw the wallpaper.
So I wonder how they will write that into their lousy depreciation? hmm...

Our closet floor is ruined, but our bedroom floor seems like it 'might' be okay. Doesn't feel damp or have any damage.

Insulation in the dinning room and computer room definitely took a bad hit.

We have that old lousy grey piping, so that is getting replaced as well.

We're also replacing our bathtubs - I think I may have already said that.

Here are some pictures from yesterday and today.

Took my husband about 2- 2 1/2 hours to get a bulk of the floor off yesterday.









Front room corner near our bedroom door, and facing the little wall that seperates front room from kitchen. This is where the big hole was at in the floor, look at the soaking wet, nasty wood, bleh.









In kitchen looking towards dinning/computer rooms









Our house isn't much, but most people could never guess it was a modular home. Before this happened we were making plans on pressure washing the outside, and the decks so we could get them stained. We did it about 5-6 years ago and looked great.









And...the travel trailer we are temporarily calling home!









Dinning room floor is pulled and cleaned today, kitchen in top left, you can see the darker/still damp supports. 









Standing in the front doorway, looking in









Kitchen by the back door. 









Yeah I'd say there have been previous issues w/those grey water pipes! The big stain looking area on the right is mostly current problem


















What's left of my kitchen sink...anyone wanna come help wash the dishes? lol









Insulation in the middle should look like the insulation on the left - snug against those supports. It's almost touching the ground


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Wow! What a lot of work! Good luck with all the insurance nonsense! 
Your place looks really nice (from the outside! ).


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Wow, that sure is a lot of work. At least you can do a lot of the tear out yourself to save money.

No, I would have never guessed it was a modular. Looks nice!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks I appreciate it! Yeah it was a lot of work, my husband is a 'workhorse' though and so is his brother. The kids helped here and there, so they get a little credit 

We don't have a dumpster yet, so I am waiting for the adjuster to call me back so I can find out about getting $$ for the repairs, and see if they will cover a dumpster. Rumpke is the trash co. here and said it would be around $400-something for a dumpster, they are bigger than the typical ones you see at restaurants.
It'll take a few days to get one of those.

We may not hire anyone else to work on the house. The two guys that my brother in law work with do remodeling/piping/etc. for a living. They work for the hardware store in town - I guess they own a lot of apartments/houses that they rent out. They won't overcharge, or rip us off, which is our worry right now with contractors. They all want a hefty fee up front.

There is one that said tear out would cost us $6,000  Of course that would be charged to our insurance company. But... we figure if we can try to keep some of the expenses down, hopefully our insurance rates won't go through the roof.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

I thought I'd update while I have a few minutes. 
We are finally getting somewhere. Hubby and I both went to talk to the adjuster yesterday morning. She showed us the 2 estimates she's received, and they are going to give us a check to get repairs started. She said since we did the tear out ourselves, they will be paying us for tear out, and she will base it off of one of the estimates.

We went to Lowe's last night and got the stuff to replace all the water lines, and all the faucets will have a shut off valve. Also got new heat ducts to replace the ones that were damaged/full of water.
We are getting a dumpster on Friday. We have to replace our bathtub, so we need to try and find a new one. I've looked for a nice, used one, but this is more like a garden tub. Worse comes to worse we'll just get a regular tub to put in it, we don't need a fancy/wide tub.

I looked at Kitchen cabinets, and carpet and felt so dizzy lol I did find 2 cabinet styles I like. 
Carpet...I have no idea! Our walls are a mint green type of color, I love the color. Brown goes great with it, but honestly... I don't want brown carpet again! I was going crazy with brown...we had brown carpet, and beige/light tan walls, then our sofa is brown lol 
The color I was looking at last night is by DuPont called Cucumber. It 'might' go good with the walls. With kids I definitely need a dark color, but not too dark.

We may put wood down in the kitchen/dinning room floors instead of fake laminate stuff. But my issue is around the front door if we will use wood or laminate tile. Whatever we use, I'd like to pull up the tile in the kids bathroom/in front of the side door, so it will match.

On top of all these things....

My SUV is pretty much undriveable right now, so I have no vehicle.
Mechanic said yesterday that it needs a tuneup, that every cylinder is registering a misfire. He said we should start with spark plugs, distributor cap & button and new wiring.
I told my husband to at least change the spark plugs and see if that makes a difference.
If not then he needs to change the other stuff. We need it running, and I need a vehicle.
I can't even go look for stuff we need 

Good news? My camera that has pretty much been on the sidelines all year is back & fixed! We picked it up yesterday. Thank goodness! There was a short in the circuit board, so they had to replace it, and tested it, said it was good to go. 
Our local horse track opens next Friday <also my youngest daughters birthday!>, and next Saturday is our big stakes race day, so I definitely need the camera.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Sounds like you have been very busy. Glad your camera is finally fixed.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

A lot of work is right, nice looking modular on the outside. Can't wait for the inside match. 

You are right, it doesn't look like a manufactued home. 
You shouldn't say, it isn't much, cause, I think it is quite lovely on the outside.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

I'm glad some things are looking up! I sure hope your van can get fixed!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks I hope we can get it running better soon. It runs and would get me to town and back, but I'm afraid it will tear it up if I drive it that way. 

Pam I appreciate it  We really do love our place, and the location is just amazing, especially if you love horses. We feel very fortunate to have found this place, and can call it ours  

I've been trying to look at carpet on line, but wow, it's so confusing looking from website to website. I don't know what would be the best carpet to go with in different stores, and I know we want to stay within a certain price if possible per square feet. I guess we'll look at Home Depot later today, then there are 2 carpet stores we could look at depending on what we decide between Home Depot and Lowes.


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## loggyacreslivestock (Mar 5, 2013)

Glad to see you are making progress. That always makes the bad things seem better.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

We have to replace almost all the flooring in our home. I also found that I had to go in to places and talk to them about their pricing and what it all included. Nobody was the same.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks Julie! It sure does  

Karen I am so sorry! Yes I agree, everyones prices are much different, and on top of that, they all say different things need to be done. It can be frustrating! That's why my husband and his brother decided to do it themselves vs. hiring someone that 'might' take out more than really needs to be taken out, overcharge, etc.

Last night we spent another 2 1/2-3 hours at Lowes. AHH LOL 
My husband and his brother ordered 27 sheets of flooring, 6 sheets of the stuff you put over subflooring for tile, and 8 bags of insulation. I know there was something else but don't remember what it was. We also ordered a new bathtub. Our tub is an odd size 54x30! 
The supplies will be here sometime this morning, but the tub may not be here until Monday since they will have to get it from another store.
They got the rest of the stuff for water lines that they needed, and I got a couple of gallons of paint. As soon as the bathtub is replaced, I can paint our bedroom and bathroom 

The cabinets I like at Lowe's would be about $1500 with everything minus a sink. We are going to make sure there aren't any good, used ones out there, if not we'll get these. It's something they keep in the store, no special order needed.

Carpet. They said we have to have someone come out and measure the place and want us to pay nearly $40! My husband said he can measure it all himself, and if they want our business they can either work with us or not...lol
Of course I'll call around but someone mentioned most places want to measure themselves and charge you for it  
I love the Mohawk carpet color called Cucumber. It's not very nice on the computer lol but in store it really looks good. 

Whew, this is still so overwhelming. I may try to go look at a couple of stores this afternoon when I can use hubby's car.


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## NubianFan (Jun 3, 2013)

Mom is a do it yourselfer, she is always changing up things in her house. She gets flooring all the time without having anyone come out to measure. What a gimmick!! She hates lowes because she says the employees don't know anything. I think it is really just that she knows more than they do. She also gets ready made cabinets and installs them herself. The last she got weren't from lowes, they were from this place called United home supply (I think). Anyway she would shop around and find the freestanding pieces she wanted and put them together arranged the way she wanted in her kitchen then her and dad would build the counter top over the top. What she has now are pine cabinets with butcher block look counter top. About every two or three years she redoes a room, well she used to, I think they might be getting too old for that now. Now she just redoes the curtains and little things. She makes all her curtains too. Anyway my point is, ready made cabinets can turn out really nice, you don't have to go with built in ones and you don't have to have them come measure to by carpet or vinyl flooring.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Maybe a smaller carpet business will do it for free. We have been going to small local businesses and they all come out and measure for free if you are definitely buying the carpet.


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## kbluebkeman (Jul 22, 2013)

What you need to remember about carpet it that it has a "knap" just like corduroy or velvet....which means you can only run it one way.....otherwise you will notice it where it is pieced. If your room isn't wider than 12 feet you are okay, buh t if it is wider the carpet needs to run the same direction so ordering it is not like multiplying lets say 15 x 15 and coming up with 225 square feet and then dividing by 9 feet (3x3)......that is one of the reasons they like to come measure but if you take a sketch of the floor area to be carpeted they can work from that.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Whew, it has been quite a weekend!
Good and bad, haha... but ending on a good note I think.

Friday ---

Lowe's delivered our subfloor wood, insulation/etc. while I was on the phone, and as soon as I had a chance to inspect it, there sheets of wood damaged! I called them, and they had replacements out within an hour.

Rumpke - OMG! I am soooo frustrated with them! They never showed up! Said I had not placed an order. Long story short, I reminded the lady that I did place it and I did place it with her. We'll see what happens tomorrow, she said they wouldn't charge us for this or that, etc. At this point it was their screw up so they better find a way to make us happy, especially with the huge mess we'd planned to have cleaned up over the weekend when we had extra hands here to help!

Internet - Yesterday early afternoon the internet went down. They said it was a widespread outage, then this morning said they had updated it. So when I called, they said the problem was my modem. Yeah right, it's maybe 4 months old and was perfectly fine before they screwed up whatever they were doing!
Not the first time this has happened, and seems I always have to get a new modem with their updates! So I told them it needed to be resolved or they were going to be losing a customer, because it was getting ridiculous.
I had a friend who emailed me photos for the website I work for, and I couldn't get those edited/file info and uploaded! Not happy. 

Miraculously, the internet was 'magically' fixed by 5pm, hmmm... so what's wrong with my modem? 

Whew....I won't even mention all the other crazy stuff!

-------------------

Good news?

WE HAVE FLOORS IN THE HOUSE AGAIN! 

All the floors are in place, except a small corner where the water heater is at - they will put the floor in after they change the water lines.
We are waiting for the new tub to come tomorrow, so we can get it installed, and get the water lines hooked up - they are ready and waiting 

This evening we went to Lowe's to look at carpet/flooring, and set up an apt for someone to come and measure for carpet! So that should be done Mon or Tues and we can order the carpet.
I think we are doing a laminate wood flooring in the kitchen, around the front door, side door, and both bathrooms. Possibly the dinning room. 

Mohawk carpet is probably the kind we'll go with, possibly a color called 'Cucumber' for most of the house, and the kids want 'Graphite' in their bedrooms. Good thing is after they get the measurements we can go in and make final decisions on the carpeting


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Glad things are moving along for you.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks! Well at this point they may need to move along faster. Here it is 4:41am and I am up, and moved the family inside thanks to an alarm going off in the travel trailer! It's off now, but wow that was nerve wrecking!
It was the propane detection alarm! We turned the propane off, but can't figure out why the alarm is going off. Nothing is turned on/using the gas that I know of? So strange! 

At least it's off for now. We pulled out a couple of mattresses from the girls room and hubby and the kids are sleeping on those. Not enough room for me, but after that I don't think even being so tired, that I could sleep. 

What the heck is up with all of this bad luck


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

I am planning to call and have the travel trailer picked up possibly tomorrow or Fri morning. We're moving back into the house. That darn propane gas alarm went off at 4am this morning again! 

Lowe's came out to measure for carpet/linoleum today, so hopefully we can get it ordered tonight or tomorrow.

We do have a bit of a setback. The bathtub in our bathroom was leaking and ruined the floor underneath. I knew something was up, but good grief! The tub has a tiny crack in it, but that isn't what made the damage - it was the drain. Apparently the drain pipe thread was defective and allowed water to run out. Not something you could see or smell until you got the tub out.
So they have the floor out, but they will have to replace a couple of supports. They need to move the drain anyway, so we'll have to go get the stuff for that probably this evening - the new tub drain won't match up with the old one. 

We also have to get baseboard trim since it was advised by the Lowe's guy that came out to go ahead and get it installed so they can run the carpet underneath it. 

They replaced our closet floor, and I started working on painting our bedroom a little bit, getting ready to work on finishing the bedroom so I can paint our bathroom once the new tub is installed.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

It is a good thing you found out about the tub area. At least it can get fixed while everything else is being fixed.

Could you just call the trailer rental place and ask them about the alarm? Maybe it can be fixed or something so you can wait till the flooring is installed.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks Karen, they aren't really sure why the alarm keeps going off at 4am. We've had it 2 weeks, and need to go ahead and let it go back. Insurance would pay for it another week, but we decided to go ahead and come back in the house. The girls bunk bed is still together and they were very happy to sleep in their own beds tonight. 

Yeah, I am so glad about the tub, I knew something just wasn't right about it. 

Lowe's still hasn't delivered the new tub. In fact, they didn't know where it was! But one of the workers tracked it down, and we should have it tomorrow or Friday. It will probably be Friday before they could install it anyway, since they are allowing the area to dry out, and still need to install the new support boards.

I'm almost done painting our bedroom, I hope to finish tomorrow night. I may not paint again until Monday --- Friday our local horse track opens, and I'll be there photographing Fri-Sat-Sun. I'm really excited about it, especially with one of my very favorites running  Tomorrow some friends are picking me up and we're going to go see one of my other favorites who is retired at a farm and will be expecting her first foal next year


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Enjoy your weekend!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

I thought I'd write an update about our house.

We are slowly getting things done. We've seemed to have gotten a bit lazy lately lol I painted the entire house except for the bathrooms.

Sunday we went to Lowe's and got some cabinets for the kitchen. We decided to try and use our old countertop, as we'd need this tool, that tool, etc. just to cut out the new one, and well it was adding up.
Hubby and his brother got them installed, and new sink finished install last night.

Today we got our carpet installed! Took all day, but it's great  We can slowly start getting the house back together again.

He still has some work to do on the bathrooms before they are painted.
Still have to paint all the old cabinet doors, and paint the new cabinets. 

Anyway, we are getting there!  I'll share pics when I get a chance.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Glad things have continued to move along for you. Hopefully soon things will be back to normal.


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