Water Damage Advice

Bummer.  Flooding does really suck.

I have no specific advice to offer, but from here on out, mold will be your enemy.  Make sure you address that.

Rip that carpet out asap. What happened to the pump? Float stuck?

It got jammed. Our son pulled two rocks out.

Also, take notes when the company reps tell you what they will fix & how. I know you are a good note taker. 😉

Ugh, sorry to hear about this. In my real life I’m an insurance adjuster (don’t think less of me!). I don’t work for Amica so if you want to discuss feel free to give me a call. (I’ll DM you may cell #)

I think as much of you now as I ever did.

Good luck with all of that! How deep did it get?

They make sump pumps with alarms and they probably have internet alerts. You can also borrow the boat bilge pump strategy of installing a second pump higher than the first to kick on if the first fails.

The problem I used to have when I had a wet basement and sump pump was when the power went out. That's an important back-up to consider as well. They make pumps that run off your water pressure, which usually remains when the power is out; useful for a back-up.

Hopefully this is a one-time thing; I know strategies for Frequent Flooders, having two among my friends here. One thing in your case is don't reinstall the insulation at the bottom of the wall if it's removed.

If you do all this you can be assured of never having a problem again in the first place!

Don't throw out anything. I'm going to buy TOO's damaged camper, haul it to your house then fill it with your wet stuff, and hit flea markets on my way home. If I'm lucky I'll sell all your stuff and the trailer before I hit the Ohio line. Could pay for my Lockn' 2022 ticket(or 2023 with rollover number #2)

Edit: Forgot to say I'm sorry to hear about the wetness. My Century home has mold issues that are probably 99 years old. You can win your battle. Good luck.

Thanks for asking Smosey. We are moving in the right direction. The basement was dry within a day of the carpet and flooring coming out and only some of the drywall and baseboards needed to be removed. I have been keeping a close eye all the other areas and so far everything looks good. Bob installed a new sump pump and battery backup sump pump and they are now connected to an internet monitoring system. We also bought a new dehumidifier to ensure that the humidity stays low. The next step will be ordering new drywall and baseboard trim and getting that installed and painted. Bob will lay down a new wood laminate floor in the exercise room this spring but we plan to hold off on new carpet until later this summer. 

Our insurance company sent out an adjuster and he took very detailed notes. We finally got the estimate yesterday. Ouch!! Unfortunately our insurance company will only pay part of that. Some of the things on the estimate we don’t plan on replacing and Bob will do all the labor himself so the total will come down a bit. That said this is still going to cost us a pretty penny. I would have preferred to spend that cash on something fun (more music festivals!) but what can you do. The joys of being a homeowner!