So...my home is basically ruined.

I think you make a good point but that is new construction. Everything is nice, new and true. This requires demolition, repairing currently unseen/unknown issues, making sure everything left is dried out completely and then rebuilding. That said...I think and hope you're right. Given that all the costs from the adjuster seem way high...it isn't unreasonable to think his estimated duration is overshot too. I could probably do most of this myself in the evenings after work and get it done in less than 3 months. And really...maybe we won't even have to move but I expect that we will and we're already packing. We'll know a lot more later this week once we start seeing some numbers.

 

Store most of your stuff, seal off a section to live in with some plastic. Repair those other parts and then move into that space. Fix the sealed off section last...

 

Woohoo! Things seem to be looking up. We found a few places near our house that we may be able to get into. But even better, once the guy who owns the house next door found out that we don't need to move immediately, he told us that he could have his place done by the time we need to get out of here. It's not a 100% sure thing but it sounds like we should hopefully only be moving next door. And in any case, he already offered to let us use his garage for storage so between his garage and our garage....I don't think we will even have to pay for one of those pod storage units. That's just a little more savings to put into the repairs.

And if we're right next door, we can still park our cars in the alley driveway, still lets our dogs out in our yard, still easily take care of the chickens every day, mow the grass, etc.

 

That sounds like it will be really good for all of you. Not only easier and less disruptive but if you do subcontract anything out you are right there to ensure it is done properly. Nice!

 

Excellent!

 

That is good news. You can keep a close eye on things as well.

 

Wow, Good Luck to you Wiz. It'll all work out.

 

Thanks!

We are going to move next door for sure. The insurance guy said to just let him know what the rent will be and what our average utility usage is and he will cut us a check to cover 3 months. Now...if I can just figure out how to get these contractors to return phone calls. It's a pretty common issue. When we used to do a lot more residential work, we picked up so many jobs just because nobody would call the customer back or they would never show up to do the work. You'd think they want the business.

 

They want paid, but not necessarily the work...


Good on the next door move... Sounds ideal.

 

Glad to hear you can move next door.

 

WOW! Things are really falling into place for you, it seems! That is great..........!

Right next door....what could be better?

 

I've got a couple of returned calls today. One guy is coming out this evening. The contractors that I've talked to said they're booked until November and expect others to be booked as well. We can't really wait until then to get this wet plaster, etc. out of here. I'm going to see if maybe they can do the demolition work soon....even if we have to wait until later for the construction phase. Or maybe I can do the demo work myself. My wife doesn't like that idea though.

 

I'm glad you've found a place and its nice that its right next door. Demo is the most fun part. I love tearing shit up. I have a picture of me when I was in 3rd grade tearing plaster off a wall. I was wearing a mask over my mouth, a batters helmet to protect my head and I had a crowbar. hahaha.

 

If anyone wants to know.....after all this time, we finally got a bid from a contractor. We've had numerous contractors come look and take measurements, etc but we've been waiting for the actually bids. There are a couple of contractors that we really liked and heard great things about from others. One in particular was the one we were hoping we could get but people told us that his work is great but he's expensive and booked well in advance usually. We got his bid today and I'm tempted to not even wait for the other bids (we will though...at least for a couple more bids). We added a bunch of extra work to the original work...like....a lot of work and his bid is still well below what our insurance company already paid us. He could run 30% over cost for a huge project and we would still be able to pay him without adding in a dime of our own money. Woohoo! I've been getting a little worried about all of this lately because it seems to be taking a long time. But now I know....no matter what happens...we've got the guy we want and the work that we want to get done will get done.


Edit to say....it might be wise to wait for more bids but I would expect to go with this first guy even if he got beat by 10-20% on the bid. Money isn't the issue that should decide who gets the work.

 

Meanwhile the house is sitting there getting worse? Water damage doesn't just "go away" or dry up and all is fine. Glad you are getting the guy you want, but this is taking a long time...

 

My insurance adjuster told me the damage was pretty much done and every contractor I've talked to has told me the same thing. The floors have actually leveled back out some and the ceilings haven't gotten any worse for the last few weeks. But anything damaged by water is coming out either way. And I misspoke in that last post. The bid is pretty low but it doesn't include actually purchasing the new hardwood flooring. He wants us to go get what we want and he will put it in. So that's got to come out of what's left over but that still isn't bad at all for what we're getting.

 

I worry about stuff like the lath under the plaster still being damp, and you mentioned drywall over plaster... attracts mold. That kind of stuff.

 

We were worried too but we aren't allergic to mold and the temps have been pretty mild. The lath might still be a little wet but it's all being ripped out to the studs. Our understanding is that even if there is some mold....the overwhelming majority of mold is not the dreaded "black mold". In any case, everything that was damaged by water will be gone and any possible spread of mold will be dealt with.

 

I was wondering about your house. Thanks for the update. How long is all the fixing going to take?

 

The contractors haven't said exactly how long to expect it to take but the insurance company is planning on paying for the rental house for 3 months and possibly longer. But they seem to have over-estimated everything so far. I could probably do most of this work myself in a month and I'm no pro. But I think it will depend on a number of things. For instance...what will we find behind the walls and floors? If the electric needs to be brought up to code (it will) how much longer will that take?