Update on the Water Damage

Wow. So sorry you are going through this.

Shut off their water supply. Don't get caught .

DisabledVet said:

Wow. So sorry you are going through this.

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Thank you.

SolarRat said:

Shut off their water supply. Don't get caught .

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LOL, iIf only I knew how...too many innocent people here to effect any way. TY

Santa said:

LOL, iIf only I knew how...too many innocent people here to effect any way. TY

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Sounds like you are in an apartment type complex? The water shut-off valves are usually in the basement or utility room, but sometimes they can be in the maintenance closet of the room directly below (you). The complex's maintenance man should have the ability to turn off only their water for situations just like this one...to prevent damage to your/their property. If it's really leaking into your apartment, complain to someone in the office, or to the landlord. And send them a bill for your damage.

The police came an hour later, and basically said it was a civil matter.

SolarRat said:

Sounds like you are in an apartment type complex? The water shut-off valves are usually in the basement or utility room, but sometimes they can be in the maintenance closet of the room directly below (you). The complex's maintenance man should have the ability to turn off only their water for situations just like this one...to prevent damage to your/their property. If it's really leaking into your apartment, complain to someone in the office, or to the landlord. And send them a bill for your damage.

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During the holidays, no one answers or they say they can't help. The main property manager hangs up on me and says he can't do anything to help & to talk to the unit's property manager. The Board president is not returning my 2 calls. The upstair's unit's current property mgr. has never cooperated with me once in 16 or 17 years. It's a condo-complex. RE: sending them, a bill, I have gone through and continue to go though hell for over a month. I only have one option =to sue them. I DON'T WANT TO. I DON'T WANT ANY TIES TO THIS COMPLEX OR EVEN THIS STATE. I have a $1,000 deductible too. (on each claim).

Yesterday, 12-27-18, the plumbers finally (after 4 days of knowing about it) repaired the waste supply line. I have not taken a bath in a long time due to these floods. (They took showers after being told NOT TO use the shower. I had to clean up the bathroom AGAIN yesterday after the plumbers left and then I poured a bath. Unfortunately, there's no insulation left, and I am feeling sick (upper respiratory infection) and the bathroom was too cold (and I felt too cold any way and exhausted) to bathe yesterday. The "asbestos detergent" smell is REALLY strong too in the bathroom.

I don't want to put all these (and more) problems out there, but I am also going through some "new" earthquake proofing/sounds etc. below me too. The asbestos WAS SUPPOSED to be removed 1994-1995 when my building was CLOSED for a year due to the earthquake. My neighbor's had their asbestos removed back then. Why wasn't mine?

I wish all this would go away and I could focus on my solar, and could wake up with less stuff to deal with. As it is, I am having constant "dust" I keep trying to wipe off everything, including my laptop. I'm sure it's asbestos. I'm sorry to be saying things that aren't helping anyone. I want to and try to contribute here. I need to find a contractor now to restore my bathroom...and of course the ins. company backs out at this point...

Good news! I put the shower/tub enclosure back up and brought my electric fireplace heater in the bathroom - was able to take a much needed bath. ;-)

Nothing like a good shower/bath after not being able to make a person feel human again.

Wondering if there are any insurance adjusters or contracters out there, or anyone else with knowledge of things like hiring water damage construction companies. Originally, my ins. adjuster gave a report of about $2400+ damage. I had a restoration company involved, an environmental testing company and an asbestos removal company who supplied the dehumidifier. Today the water restoration company told me he talked to the adjuster and now my loss is $4,200+ and he has a construction company too. He said he can do reconstruction and only charge me $500 of the $1,000 deductible. He said he has been working with this adjuster for 6 years doing this. I think I somehow am getting played, or something strange is happening. I signed a contract with him to fix it starting on Thursday and gave him $1,000 deposit. Any advice?

Santa said:

Wondering if there are any insurance adjusters or contracters out there, or anyone else with knowledge of things like hiring water damage construction companies. Originally, my ins. adjuster gave a report of about $2400+ damage. I had a restoration company involved, an environmental testing company and an asbestos removal company who supplied the dehumidifier. Today the water restoration company told me he talked to the adjuster and now my loss is $4,200+ and he has a construction company too. He said he can do reconstruction and only charge me $500 of the $1,000 deductible. He said he has been working with this adjuster for 6 years doing this. I think I somehow am getting played, or something strange is happening. I signed a contract with him to fix it starting on Thursday and gave him $1,000 deposit. Any advice?

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I never give a deposit. Get a lien release from all contractors & sub-contractors. Otherwise you will be on the hook if a sub or material supplier does not get paid by the contractor.

SCClockDr said:

I never give a deposit. Get a lien release from all contractors & sub-contractors. Otherwise you will be on the hook if a sub or material supplier does not get paid by the contractor.

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I wrote him a check and signed a contract...I think there was something really fishy about what happened. Can I cancel the contract?

SCClockDr said:

I never give a deposit. Get a lien release from all contractors & sub-contractors. Otherwise you will be on the hook if a sub or material supplier does not get paid by the contractor.

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What do you mean by a lien release? Do you mean after the job is completed? I postdated the check for tomorrow when it is supposed to begin too.

Santa said:

What do you mean by a lien release? Do you mean after the job is completed? I postdated the check for tomorrow when it is supposed to begin too.

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No, prior to or with the contract. It protects you from paying for material or services twice if the contractor or any of the subs skip with their money vs paying the supplier.
Your building inspector or an attorney should know your location's rules as they vary by state and by local government.
We had a family member forced to pay for 80% of the lumber used on a new house (Mass.) twice when their carpenter contractor skipped to Fla.

SCClockDr said:

No, prior to or with the contract. It protects you from paying for material or services twice if the contractor or any of the subs skip with their money vs paying the supplier.
Your building inspector or an attorney should know your location's rules as they vary by state and by local government.
We had a family member forced to pay for 80% of the lumber used on a new house (Mass.) twice when their carpenter contractor skipped to Fla.

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He said he will give me the lien release at the end of the job.

Yesterday, the contractors were insulating the bathroom. and putting up the ceiling and drywall. They went to lunch and Home Depot and I went in to use the restroom. To my utter shock, my tub was full of pieces of drywall chunks, including IN MY BATHTUB DRAIN. They didn't bother to cover it or anything (and didn't tape up the zippered enclosure like the boss asked them to do when he came first thing.) Needless to say, I called the boss and...well, you can guess what I said...If I had left and gone in a hotel this whole time, I would not have seen things happen that should not have.

When the asbestos removal was being performed, there were two guys. One was inside the bathroom, and the second was in the tent attached to the bathroom taking all the waste out in bags, over and over. The guy that was removing the trash left for about 45 minutes, and the poor guy inside was yelling out to him and the trash was stacked up. He came back, and a little while later he said they were going to lunch for 45 minutes. He wasn't supposed to have left for lunch twice and left that guy alone. He was also on the phone talking and texting a lot.

Lessons for anyone who needs to go through flood abatement or other reconstruction: If you stay in a hotel, stay close by and come to your home to supervise, unfortunately. I stayed home the whole time and didn't go to a hotel. Who knows what would have happened had I not been here. As it is, they leave back and forth and never lock the door. (I have a lot of neighbors close by...and some are very untrustworthy.)

So I finally got my bathroom restoration done on January 7, 2020. Yay! The first flood of three floods (4 really) was November 24, 2019. One of the maple cupboards couldn't be put back up due to mildew smell on it and it started to break.) He wants me to go pick something out to replace it next week. Also a shelf-type thing they put up is not level by a half inch on one side, so they are going to have to re-attach it. It just makes me scratch my head that they don't even use a common tool like a level... Any way, I'm SO happy to have my bathroom back. I didn't really get to celebrate the holidays at all, so I am wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Now I can get back to focus on my solar system and getting rid of my belongings so I can leave the sticks and bricks! Thanks for all your support.

You don't know how much the basics matter until you don't have them anymore.

gnubie said:

You don't know how much the basics matter until you don't have them anymore.

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Absolutely!! "Going" in a bucket in your own home is NOT fun. (I expect to go in a bucket camping though!) Baths are such an awesome luxury too. When I go on the road, I plan on buying a portable blow up bath tub too or checking in a hotel weekly(?) to get my "real" bath. Daily sponge baths can suffice supplementally.

Your property insurance should contract a remediation company that will FORCE ingress to an unhealthy and damaging property condition.

my condo had a neighbors unit burst a water heater one winter, flooded both adjacent units, my insurance scheduled remediation, broken unit homeowners were in India for the winter, and had shut off their power, but left the water on... the building froze the pipes and made a mess... anyway, they knocked down the door of the unit mechanical room, and shut off the water pending their repair of the leak.

Permits and passed inspections were required for the owner to allow entry.