I mentioned a few days ago about the flooded basment becuase of a frozen water pipe. Things are getting back to normal. We have heat (new furnace) and are slowly digging out from the mountains of stuff piled throughout the house.
The basement has dried out nicely. They put in some massive blowers and dehumidifiers and there isn’t any wet spots left in the entire place. Quite a difference from arriving home last Sunday to fiind this mess:
Tuesday: This is the emptiest its ever been
On Tuesday they took pretty much every electrical device we had in the basment to get “inspected”. On top of my tools there was some older dehumidifiers, fan, radio…..just random basment stuff that we weren’t using anymore. Should note that our insurance company brought in a middle man to do the repair work and document the damage to submit the claim.
Well heard back from them yesterday and the insurance compnay told them to have everything disposed of… They didn’t want to take the time to test anything. So the next question, “Do you want any of your stuff back?” .....I didn’t want to be stuck with a house full of tools that didin’t work but what are the odds some of the tools would still be ok…..If I took them back even though they were going to claim them would I be guilty of insurance fraud…..in the end I decided to get a few things brought back so I could scavenge some blades, bits and fences off of them. Still not clear on how insurance will valuate everything….I mean you can spend $30 or $130 on a hand drill that would essentially have the same description…..
It all seems pretty wasteful to just throw everything out. I hope they go to a repair place somewhere instead of a landfill. Ive had a few things fall in water before and for the most part if you leave them off and let them dry they fire right back up. I guess its hard to say if they would have a shortened life now which is why insurance wont bother.
Here is a shot of my router table….you can see the water line on it. It was stored about 12 inches off the ground in case we ever had a flood. (My definition of a flood has now changed)
9 comments so far
Todd A. Clippinger
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8654 posts in 2271 days
#1 posted 1196 days ago
Man – what a hassle.
Good luck getting things put back together.
-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://americancraftsmanworkshop.com
a1Jim
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87312 posts in 1749 days
#2 posted 1196 days ago
Wow that’s terrible
-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/
Dez
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1097 posts in 2249 days
#3 posted 1196 days ago
I am very sorry to hear about your flooding.
I do know exactly what that is like, I experienced approx 30 inches of muddy river water in my shop! Most of the tools should be fine once they are totally dried out, a little rust cleanup and prevention and replacement of bearings is what it took for mine.
-- Folly ever comes cloaked in opportunity!
dustyal
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1125 posts in 1647 days
#4 posted 1196 days ago
My sympathies… I’ve been through a flooding due broken steam pipe… so we know what it is like. Our insurance company was first rate and took care of most of the headaches and was fair on claim settlement. Hope your insurance works for you.
Unfortunately a cracked basement wall that leaked and flooded our basement wasn’t covered by insurance… another mess to deal with…
-- Al H. - small shop, small projects...
Jim Bertelson
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3337 posts in 1336 days
#5 posted 1196 days ago
Sympathize with the problem. Insurance helps, but it is still frustrating putting things back together.
I have had water in my “basement” as well, but since we have a half basement it is really living space. Lot of damaged carpet etc. Turned out it was poor drainage during a record rainfall about 20 years ago. We had to recover the outside foundation, put in a gravel drainage area, french tile (I think that is what it is called) and a leach field type of thing. Then made sure all roof water was directed away from the house and downhill. Whew! But it fixed it, no problems in the last 20 years.
My shop is in my garage, and is not subsceptible to water issues, fortunately.
-- Jim, Anchorage Alaska
Craftsman on the lake
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#6 posted 1196 days ago
You’re in Canada. I’m in Maine so we have the same worries about frozen pipes. I have this little device about the size of a paperback book that lays on the floor. If water hits it, it squeals like a smoke alarm It has two contacts that if both are in the water it goes off. I just change the 9v battery each year and test it with in a shallow pan of water. It hasn’t gone off yet and I hope it never will but I’m glad it’s there. With my luck it will go off when I’m away from the house.
-- The smell of wood, coffee in the cup, the wife let's me do my thing, the lake is peaceful. http://gagnerwebsite.com/Deceiver/Craftsman_on_the_lake/Craftsman_on_the_lake.html
Jim Bertelson
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3337 posts in 1336 days
#7 posted 1195 days ago
Daniel
I have a similar device that shuts off the clothes washer water input if there is water on the floor. I didn’t even know those things existed until I saw one installed on “This Old House”. Plus they installed high quailty metal clad hoses when they installed our last clothes washer. Water is like everything else, need moderation and control…......(-:
-- Jim, Anchorage Alaska
TopamaxSurvivor
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13194 posts in 1847 days
#8 posted 1195 days ago
Sorry you have such a mess to deal with ;-(( Hope you don’t get screwed too bad by the ins co! By the time they depreciate everything, it won’t be worth much.
-- "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence Wake Up America!! Please read; http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/26-0
Sivers
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44 posts in 1554 days
#9 posted 1191 days ago
Hey Craftsman, that sounds like a really good idea. Any chance you remember the make of that unit or could post a link?
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