#disasterremodeling — Public Fediverse posts

@platypus @SRLevine If you search for #plumbingdisaster or #disasterremodeling I posted a lot of tips and experience on our disaster (entire house). The biggest advice I'd actually give is (depending on how much water is involved) get your house dried out RIGHT AWAY. Mold is bad news. Had a family member with an infection in the ER a few days later here, life threatening, due to the moisture. Insurance company probably has contractors on call to do the removal of drywall/removal of carpet/water removal/ drying of the house, which is what I did (because they will approve those contractors immediately without going through a lot of fighting with you later on who you picked).

Drat. Kitchen sink has a leak now. I wonder if it's because they loosed everything up but did not remove it. Think I'll fix this one myself, because:
A. doesn't leak unless you fill the non-disposal side of the sink
B. It's just one seal (tightened the P-trap and no issues there now)
C. The plumber charges more per hour than my own hourly rate writing software (!).
D. I will learn plumbing just to avoid the annoyance of dealing with caustic/flakey/expensive plumbers, in this case (easy to avoid this leak - not use that sink until it's fixed). Non-pressurized side of the plumbing system.

#disasterremodeling #plumbing

Got my entire house moved out of containers back into the house. Boy, do we have a lot of stuff (just in general). You accumulate a lot of stuff over decades. I am going to set up a shredder and attempt to NOT keep a lot of paper, I'd love to go digital on paperwork (like the kids do nowadays, LOL... everything is a photo on their phone). #disasterremodeling #stuff

ps. free rowing machine for anyone in the Conejo Valley, if anyone wants, LOL. (just a run o the mill one, nothing special...)

Figured out how the disaster remediation contractor hired by my insurance firm makes their margin. They spent a lot of time getting estimates for carpet to match the existing carpet quality ($$) approved by the insurance company, but the carpet they ended up installing is Home Depot contractor grade (yes... I knew this would be the case). This is why a lot of the folks I talked to who took the money from insurance to do their own remodel are in litigation. #disasterremodeling

Decided to just sign the completion order but declined to provide them with any ratings or comments (If the insurance company or their QC company wants ratings/etc. I will be happy to provide them). Trying to avoid them coming back and smearing feces on the front step or something, LOL. #disasterremodeling

Hmm, I think eight gazillion loads of laundry in my future, discovering the clothing packed away during my plumbing disaster is musty as heck (I suspect it absorbed some of the moisture in our house...). Time to cross check the washer/dryer. (load tested the washer at lunch and the old pipe clamp I reused for the drain line was not tight enough, switched to a new one... may have to replace the drain line if that doesn't work... No pressure on the line, but it's ancient) #disasterremodeling

Aha! Have carpet and the contractors are finishing off the house, finally... time to go rekey the house! (not that house locks are not easily picked, but 🤷 ). Now, to get everything moved back into the house (and then on to sorting it all out). #disasterremodeling

Fine, learned how to connect a natural gas dryer (yes, outgoing technology... but, still), and checked for leaks.

(Don't trust the contractors would do it correctly, and when I asked the plumber if he connects gas appliances he started bickering with me over my distrust of the not-trustworthy contractors, so I decided to do it myself).

Will have the gas company double check things (they do that as a free service) before turning it all on again.

#disasterremodeling #naturalgas #gripes

Whee, installed a new kitchen exhaust vent. I am, however, going to put a layer of rated Shurtape 181 over that, I like that take for ducts a lot better than the standard stuff sold locally. #disasterremodeling

It's quite the drama today at the house with the disaster remodeling (plumbing disaster 4 months ago). Aside from the gift of 💩 , I had to get them to return my box of spare kitchen hinges (long story). Now it seems the cabinet contractors (who I have never seen before) are replacing the crappy hinges the prior cabinet crew had installed with my spares (which is fine, hope they're not doing the opposite, ie removing the good hinges and putting in crappy hinges). My temporary security camera reveals all, LOL. #disasterremodeling

Hmm, can't go back to my house for a bit, because the contractors are either going to be embarrassed or mad I emailed a photo of them clogging my toilet and leaving to their project manager (now that they have returned). 🤔

#disasterremodeling #contractors

Hmm, well, went to check on the house and the contractors left a giant dump (#2) unflushed and clogged in the toilet, if you're wondering how my remodeling is going. #disasterremodeling

Hmm, the restoration contractor (NOT the cabinet contractor) is finishing off my cabinets today, I am curious what kind of power struggle resulted in that.... (I bet the cabinet guy hasn't been paid...) #disasterremodeling

My kitchen almost restored to original 1990's brilliance, LOL. I wonder what that color is called.... #disasterremodeling

Hmm, forgot I had a box full of replacement hinges for my kitchen cabinets (was replacing them every time the old ones broke). Left it out with a note--in Spanish--for the cabinet crew, will see if they use those instead or not. #disasterremodeling

LOL got definitive confirmation that the contractor and insurer are battling each other over money right now. #disasterremodeling

It appears today's game is "who said what"...

Contractor: we can't proceed until insurance approves a supplement to cover this.

Email insurance: "These guys say they can't work on this until you guys approve X"... radio silence.

Soon afterwards: Contractors resumes work.

(item is on their original estimate... so I suspect they are attempting to get insurance to pay the more money, in general).

🤔 #disasterremodeling #contractors

Contractor told me carpet hadn't come in yesterday, but I see from an email they told the insurance company that it had arrived. 🤔

Wondering if it arrived late and they just didn't bother to tell me yet, or they're lying to the insurance company (who pays them). 🤔

#disasterremodeling #contractors

Officially into week 2 of the (foreseeable) "carpet delay" , which I predicted but was unable to fix after the contractor decided to lie about having ordered said carpet when they really hadn't. #disasterremodeling

Saturday Night!

Good: Cleaned all the grunge from my kitchen stove (currently uninstalled and very accessible). Simple Green/Razor Blade/Window Cleaner works wonders.

Bad: Cleaned all the grunge from my kitchen stove on Saturday Night.

Also, probably going to replace the thing VERY soon (3-6 months) with an induction oven, it's near the end of its lifespan--no replacement parts, including the igniters and electronics... I think I bought the last remaining one in the world on eBay.

#disasterremodeling

Disaster remodeling task of the day checked off: opened up windows to vent the house of all the various solvents the contractors are using. Watched the kitchen refinishing guy using the cancer-causing chemicals while eating his breakfast sandwich 😬 #disasterremodeling

Look, a photo of me checking out the work on my kitchen today. (yes, yes, the house is still filled with outgassing of petroleum distillates and organic solvents). I will have to do some serious venting after they finish refinishing those cabinets.

*actually, did go full carbon respirator, which I had handy from my epoxy-of-the-tub.

#disasterremodeling #fumes

Eyeballed what the contractors are doing today and the not-wearing-PPE apparently causes massive postnasal drip. (pro tip: if a substance causes massive respiratory symptoms, generally you should be wearing PPE and there's not enough ventilation).

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23082-postnasal-drip

#disasterremodeling #ppe #respiratoryhealth

Hmm, the stuff they are using as part of refinishing my kitchen is rather nasty. #hazmat #disasterremodeling

My disaster remodeling drama update: kitchen cabinet refinishing crew (well... one guy) is working, but I had to lend him a screwdriver 🤷 (which he returned). In theory, that means my kitchen is back together by the end of the week. (then, just carpet, and then moving my life back in). #disasterremodeling

Carpet supposedly ordered (for real) this time... 7-10 day lead time, then install. This is 2.5 weeks since the last time they told me they "ordered carpet". #griping #gripes #contractor #disasterremodeling

Based on a sudden flurry of activity at my house (by the "A" team guys), I am guessing the contractors (who have been out of the house "waiting for carpet to arrive" for two weeks--but hadn't actually ordered carpet) had a fire lit under them by the insurers... #disasterremodeling

Today's disaster remodeling task: purchased a couple of fancy (green) rolling cabinets from the same company going out of business, to replace my now-fully-dissolved desk cabinets (old pressboard desk cabinets do not like moisture...)... $50 for each, which is not a bad deal. Can't believe they were charge more than $500 for these kinds of things new.... At least these should be waterproof, LOL. #disasterremodeling #furniture

New carpet color spec'd. Face to face with contractor, for what it is worth, don't think he was particularly pleased to see me, LOL, but was diplomatic. Passed on the original "carpet ordered" message to the insurance company, and clearly the word got back to them, because I got a tersely worded defensive email from their inside person LOL. (just own up folks, and fix the problem... I don't care about the excuses...) #disasterremodeling

The carpet, in fact, had not been ordered. #gripe #contractors #disasterremodeling