2010-09-08

Water, water, everywhere

So. Saturday morning, about 3:30, knock at the door, it's Karen, my sister's partner, coming up from downstairs to inform me we had a water leak, coming from my apartment, doing tons of nastiness, and could I please turn off the water so it would stop? Bathroom sink, cold water supply, compression fitting, came loose, spraying everywhere, my sleeping mind had said "heavy rain," 'cause that's what it sounded like to the former Chicagoan in me. Massive damage. Standing water everywhere, creeping towards stuff, soaking carpets, swelling underlayment, ceilings sagging, ucky. Beth, my sister, calls insurance broker, contacts emergency after hours line, leaves message, gets callback, talks to insurance carrier emergency line, meanwhile Karen is mopping stuff up, I'm moving boxes of books to keep them safe, water keeps dripping from flooded between floors, yucky. Morning comes, Beth back on phone, trying to find out what we can do about this, don't want to wait until Tuesday for Insurance Adjuster, need to start work now to prevent mold, etc., get referred to Kennedy Restoration, specializes in disaster recovery services, has worked with insurance carrier before, sends out a team immediately, lots of pictures taken, carpet removed, underlayment removed, sagging ceiling removed, fans and dehumidifiers emplaced, thorough job all around. Samples taken from vinyl flooring to determine composition, in case needs special handling. Fans and dehumidifiers raise temperature exceedingly, much warmer than outside, but opening doors and windows to lower temperature would be counterproductive. Swelter. sigh. Tuesday. Insurance adjuster comes, asks questions, lots of photos, talks with Kennedy rep, will return Friday with Kennedy rep after further drying out and work. Last time saw the floor under the underlayment was in 1976, when my parents' bought the place. Amazingly, while building damage, no stuff damage; we got everything moved and protected in time. So much for going to Anime Convention that weekend.

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