water damage bites

So the damage to my condo is even worse than I thought. The damp carpet was not dry today so I knew I needed to call someone to come dry and clean the carpet lest mold spores multiply and make my life a living hell. I searched on Google and followed one of those little text ads to find a nice family-run business with impressive experience. I met the vice president of the company at my place (he’s also a technician) this afternoon and watched him use a little handheld sensor, a dangerous looking pointy metal stick, and other devices to tell me how wet my place still is.

The hardwood floors are off the scale in moisture. Guess what that means? Yep, they have to rip up the entire floor and leave me with slab for several days while it dries. Oh, and that also means that I have to live with these insanely loud blowdryer things and dehumidifiers in my place for a few days. I am writing this from the chocolate chip cookie-comfort of a Doubletree Guest Suites (with free high-speed wireless Internet access! woo hoo!).

my dining room

my kitchen

my bedroom

I don’t know if insurance will cover my room tonight, but I don’t really care. There’s no way I could sleep at home—the AC or heater can’t run and it’s actually really warm in there…almost 80 degrees!

Anyway, at one point this afternoon the technician poked some holes in my ceiling where the little beeper thingy told him it was still wet. Water poured right out of the ceiling into his bucket. Great. But it could be LOT worse. It really could. So I’m grateful it’s not.

I found out that my association’s insurance may cover part of the damage too. They cover structural damage caused by sudden accidents like this. The question is what’s structural and what’s my personal property, especially for things like my hardwood floors. We’ll see…I’m meeting the adjuster from my personal insurance company and the technician that was out there today at 8:30 a.m.

One good thing that will hopefully come out of this is concerning the hardwoods. I’ve never really liked the color of the floor and I would rather the boards be arranged on the diagonal…it’s a much nicer look and makes the place look bigger. Since they have to replace the entire floor anyway, I’ve asked for an estimate of how much extra it would cost to get a different color wood and lay it on the diagonal. I also am going to get an estimate on replacing the carpet in my office and bedroom, since they have to be cleaned anyway and I’d been planning to replace the carpet in a few months too. So cross your fingers the estimates won’t be ridiculous…I’d really like to get that work done. I might even be trading the company some Web design and development because their sites could use some help—that might make it more affordable.

Once I escaped the din of my condo, I checked into the Doubletree and got upgraded to a jacuzzi suite. Nice.

I rested here for a bit before heading back to my place to do some preliminary moving to get ready for the guys to come in and rip out my floors. It’s going to be so weird seeing concrete slab in my living room and dining room! The technician said it can take weeks to get construction work approved too. Hopefully it won’t take that long to get my new floors in!

I later met Guy at an outfitters so he could help me pick out some super-warm thermals for my trip. I got some expedition weight Patagonia stuff, along with a new hat and some new mittens. I will be so warm and stylish…woo hoo!

After dinner and helping Guy brainstorm some ideas for work, I came back to the suite and took a shower and relaxing hot bath. I so needed that.

Anyway, I am anxious to get some of this repair/insurance stuff worked out before I leave for vacation, as I’m gone for a week and waaaaay out of cell phone range. I’m trying to stay positive though…whatever’s not done before I leave will just have to wait until I get back. That’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

Have you ever had a Doubletree cookie, by the way? They are heavenly! You can even order them online.

Feel free to send me a sympathy shipment anytime!