AsktheBuilder.com Issue #1236 (I think)

June 11, 2023

Dear ,

Are you a brand new subscriber? Well, well, well. I'm so glad you're here!

What's in This Issue

You're about to discover:

• Mouse Water Leak Update

Let's get started.

"In reality, they're not after me. They're after you. I'm just in the way."

Mouse Water Leak Update

This past week the Jake and Justin showed up to start work on replacing water-damaged hardwood flooring in my home. They also started refinishing all the other hardwood on the first floor so everything would match.

You can watch a short video of Justin operating the massive floor sander by clicking here.

Just above, you're looking at the master bedroom Kathy allows me to sleep in from time to time. Seriously, the only time either of us is alone in the room is if one of us might be sick.

The flooring on the left side of the photo still needs to come up. The actual water leak happened just above the right corner of the photo behind that yellow wall. That's where the little chubby mouse nibbled a tiny hole in a PEX water line leading to a second-floor bathroom. Only the master bedroom flooring had to be replaced. All the other flooring in the first floor had to be refinished to match the color/finish of the new wood in the bedroom.

This weekend provided a window allowing me to repaint the entire master bedroom. That's why this is an abbreviated issue. I was busy all week drawing plumbing plans and adjusting to moving out of the house.

I can't begin to share with you how disruptive this has been. And to be honest, this is nothing compared to what it must be like to have your entire house reduced to ashes from a fire, transformed into a lumber-drywall smoothie by a tornado or hurricane, or washed away by a catastrophic flood. Indeed, I'm very lucky to have dodged one of those wretched bullets

Just over a week ago the team from Advent Moving carried out every single piece of furniture, all the oriental rugs, etc. to a large waterproof storage container in the driveway. It was a rare hot humid day in New Hampshire and they were spent by 2 PM.

Jake made use of a back-saving tool called an edger dolly. Years ago a worker just bent over using the special disc sander to get close to walls and woodwork. 

My friend Wayne, a former chiropractor, tells me that when you bend over like that without the magic dolly, you exert 16 times more pressure on your discs than when standing up straight. The edger dolly a marvelous tool that didn't exist all those years ago when my flooring subcontractors sanded the floors in all my jobs.

If all goes well, the Advent Moving team will be back here on June 19th to move us back in. The third coat of oil-based urethane would have had five days to cure ensuring the rug pads will not stick to it.

I plan to write a column about the entire experience dealing with the insurance company but I'll leave you with these invaluable tips for now:

1. Your insurance policy is a CONTRACT. Get it out and READ it to understand what obligations your insurance carrier has to you. You'll quickly discover there are far more things that are NOT COVERED than you think are covered.
2. Use your smartphone to record videos of all your possessions. Talk about everything you're seeing on the screen. How many blouses do you have? How many expensive small clothes? How many shoes, jackets, pants, jewelry, etc. do you own? How many books, vinyl records, model trains, etc. are in closets or your basement? If you can't prove you had all these things before a catastrophic loss, guess what? The insurance company says, "Well, we're sorry for your bad luck. We can't pay you for personal possessions than you can't prove you had."
3. Upload those videos to the cloud so you can get repaid for everything that might be nothing more than ashes.
4. Understand the insurance adjuster is the gatekeeper. Maintain a fantastic relationship and when her/his initial estimate comes back, review it for missing items. I guarantee you there will be things not listed that could cost thousands of dollars.
5. Be sure your policy has a Loss of Use clause. Read the language carefully. Mine says that the insurance company must house me in a similar structure to maintain my standard of living before the loss. This means I don't have to cram myself, Kathy, Willow, Nala, and Finn into a hotel room. Your policy MAY state they can put you up in cardboard boxes under the nearest highway overpass.

Did you discover something new reading in this issue? Perhaps you can reciprocate and purchase a mocha-chip ice cream cone for me.

That's enough for a Sunday morning.

Peace out.

Tim Carter

Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com

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