I had such great plans...
I had finished the outline for the next bit of the story you've been reading here, and was to put it all together...
Thursday dawned and the felines awakened me earlier than their normal 5 AM. They were acting odd, something I attributed to rain during the night. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I also assumed the water on my doorstep was the result of rain. Wrong again.
Making my way into this flats' closet-like kitchen, the floor seemed a bit spongy. A quick look in the hall cupboard containing both the air handler for the air conditioning and the hot water heater revealed a leak from the water heater. Water filled its bottom pan, and though there was not yet water on the floors' surface, that would not be the case for too much longer...
I called a neighbour to help assemble the small Shop Vac I keep stored for emergencies and he drained the pan repeatedly while I dialed madly.
Plumbers were summoned and arrived in less than 45 minutes. The cats, their box and breakfast, were relocated to the screened porch. The heater, which is less than six years old, was removed promptly and another installed. Surveying the floors, the plumbers suggested calling in a cleaning and restoration service.
Shortly thereafter another gentleman appeared to assess the damage. His verdict? The flooring throughout the flat was bubbling, therefore had to be taken up, and the sub floor dried to prevent mould or fungal growth.
At this point, my home insurer was contacted and the cleaning began. The workmen involved discovered and photographed the paper underlayer that was supposed to be a plastic barrier against water for my laminate flooring. More to come about that, I am sure.
Six drying machines, a large de-humidifyer and an air purifier are rather noisily humming along in my flat.
Stuff is everywhere...It is a mess. The cats are frightened. I await word from an adjuster. It is very hard to sleep or carry on as normal...
I am not sure when I'll get back to blogging. I wish you all a good weekend.
Until Next Time...
18 comments:
Sounds a nightmare - we had burst pipes at Christmas and it took ages to get a plumber to come; all very stressful.
O nooooo . . had the same problem when my dishwasher decided to leak all over the floor and seep into the lounge room carpet. You might get a new carpet out of it though? I wangled a new kitchen too. These things are sent to try us you know . . and they do!
Hello:
This is a DISASTER and we are so sorry. Once, year and years ago, a house we had at the time flooded from a river and so we appreciate all too well the discomfort, the disruption, the noise of the dehumidifiers, and the alarm of the cats. Ours were very frightened and the whole process lasted for weeks.
We do hope that you will be speedily sorted.
Oh holy hell.
My parents had a similar thing happen. The insurance company paid for the rugs to be cleaned and restored.
My father has yet to re-lay the rugs though. He has lost his trust in the pipes. Who knows where it will all end, but in the meantime, his grandchildren are having a grand old time sliding around on their socks every time they visit. Thank goodness he doesn't have any cats!
Oh my dear, I'm so sorry to hear about the water leak. Keep calm and deep breath. I know that you and your cats won't like the invasion from the plumbers and leaving the place all upset like that but please know that it is only temporary. I know how inconvenient it must be. But one breath at a time and find some solace with a hot cup of tea or a comforting cup of cocoa. I keep my fingers crossed.
Bummer! Thank goodness you were at home when it happened, and have some insurance.
Shit, what a disaster. Hope you get it all cleared up quickly. And I hope the insurance company pays up and doesn't find all sorts of bizarre reasons for refusing your claim.
Oh no!
Water can do so much damage in such a short span of time. I do hope you get things repaired without having to spend a fortune.
Oh e,
I am so sorry to read this. Water is seem to be plagueing both our homes, us with our leaky flat roof and you with this. I know the next couple of weeks are going to be hard, living with all the mess around you - even hard when its the kitchen out of action. I sincerely hope things return to some kind of normality for you in your home and the sooner the better x
PS Your kitchen sounds like mine 'closet like'!
Oh no! This sounds dreadful, and I can well imagine how you and the cats are completely unsettled.. I hope the floor has dried up somewhat since you wrote this, and that there has been some good progress!
That is dreadful...you have all my sympathy, which is not much comfort when something practical is what you need.
Hello Everyone,
Just to thank you for coming by and letting you know the worst is over. The drying and de-humidifying machines have all been collected and I've a dry concrete slab under wheel while I await new flooring. The measurements and photos for that were taken this morning, so all is now progressing as it should. Nothing was damaged but the floors and for this I am gratefully relieved.
The resident felines send their regards and are happily enjoying a quiet flat.
so sorry to hear about the leak..
My dear, I miss you and your feline residents. I hope they are no longer acting odd!! Meanwhile, my feline resident (his name is Mouche in French, meaning "fly"), (he's actually a refugee coming to stay with me from the neighbourhood...cats are like that they know they can have so many houses) is acting in a very extraordinary way because a "male" friend came home with me recently. Since then I tried to give him some food but he retreated. He's suspicious of me. The cats are very sensitive. They don't like men coming on your premises. ASD xx
Hi E. Glad to hear the worst is over! Just wanted to let you know, I have finally done a blog post for Gentle Twitter!
Oh no! So sorry you're dealing with this -- what a mess!
I like your label: Merde. Yep. That was it, all right. I wish you well.
Post a Comment