Tue 12 Aug 2008
All I can say is:
Make sure you’re insured, folks.
I think we are…
We’ll find out tomorrow for sure.
It was raining like the dickens and we were all sitting around reading upstairs in our living room. There was a knock on the door and it was our neighbour Lyn. “Have you checked your basement?”
Um… no. Why?
There was close to a foot of water everywhere. Guess I don’t need to tell you that… that picture up there is probably painting a few hundred words.
I’m told over thirty houses in Whitby were flooded last night. Over one hundred in Brooklin a couple of weeks before. I think a drought would be worse than all this rain, but… couldn’t we find a happy medium?
Of course, it will all make for a good story someday.
August 13th, 2008 at 8:04 am
I totally feel your pain. Last summer we experienced the same thing due to a water main exploding up the hill from us. The street looked like a war zone. I hope you’re insured. The only advice I have is to make sure the cleaning company you hire is a good one. It took ages for our basement to be restored (we’re actually still missing a few pieces of baseboard a year later!
August 13th, 2008 at 10:19 am
We got hit about a month ago, Joe… they are only now sanding the drywall in our empty (but dry) basement. Fortunately we’d had a minor leak earlier in the year, prompting us to put most of our irreplaceable stuff in Rubbermaid bins. The rest… well, as my wife says, it’s just stuff. Unfortunately these days most stuff is made of particleboard, which is almost always a write-off. Amen on checking your insurance – everyone reading this should call their agent right now just to check.
August 14th, 2008 at 9:09 am
I hope it was your sump pump that broke down, Joe – usually if it’s just a leaky basement insurance doesn’t cover it. We wish you all the best in dealing with this – it’s one of my biggest fears about leaving the house in the summer…
August 14th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Wow, that sucks Joe.
Next time I check your blog (it’s been a while I admit) I want to hear good things have been happening to you guys!!
August 14th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
wow!
i know that flooding around here
from the rain and the rivers
overflowing have been bad. but
you never see the real damange
of what happens on the inside.
i hope that everything turns out
OK for y’all.
August 15th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Yikes, Joe! It makes me cringe to look at that photo. I hope your insurance peeps do you proud and your basement eventually looks better than ever!
August 15th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Thanks everyone. Fortunately we are covered to the max. The family is currently staying at a hotel until we get it all sorted out. I cannot BELIEVE the devastation a foot of sewer water in your basement can cause.
Make sure you’re all covered to the hilt!
August 15th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Ah but keep in mind – those from Peterborough will know whereof I speak – that the insurance companies can randomly (or not so randomly) decide that your area/subdivision/town/district may be prone to such things as flooding, requiring you to have a rider on your insurance to cover the “extra” amount. And in some cases, some companies have just refused to insure Peterborough houses at all anymore. I had always started to suspect insurance companies were a useless waste of money…
August 15th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Wow,
So sorry to hear about your flood, Joe. I’m glad the insurance is taking care of this. Our church got hit with a flood that night. The entire basement was awash. I spent the evening using a snow shovel to push a two inch river down the only functioning drain and moving boxes and choir robes to higher ground.
Tim
August 17th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
ugh. All your beautiful stuff. Thinking of you…. How are the girls taking it?