Insurance/House people - HUGE claim...

Yep!

 

Wow really I have never in my 35 years of livin in this shack ever turned my water off. Guess I been lucky.

 

This is one of my major concerns about potential problems when they’re talking about saving this framing and that wall. I wanna mow it down with an escavator and just rebuild it.

 

While I have a valve just above the entry of my main, I installed a ball valve upstream that's easy to reach, but before anything branches off. There are only a few fittings between the two, so the odds of a failure are greatly reduced, and if it fails before the ball valve, it'll only flood on concrete and hopefully run into the sump and/or floor drain.

I also turn the power off to the water heater and all other appliances, except the fridge.

 

Times like this are when it pays to have your GF's 20-something brother as a dog sitter/house watcher when you're away. Only costs a pile of frozen pizzas and a couple 30 racks!

 

Make sure your contractor itemizes EVERYTHING in his estimate...because the insurance adjuster will. The first contractor was too vague, he just said "$17 for kitchen" (for example), without justifications for it. The SF adjuster's will be like "24 x 2" wood screws, 12 cabinet handles, 12 drawer knobs....".

To save that hassle, tell the contractor he will need to justify all of his costs.

That was really the only hassle I had. My (2nd) contractor was very easy to work with. I managed most of the changes myself, with just a tape measure and some chalk. I had a mental image, and went with it. The contractor stood in the middle of the house (after it was gutted) and just took notes. I went around with the chalk putting big X's on walls, saying "knock this down", then I would measure out a space and put a line saying "put a wall here, with a door here opening this way".

While I obviously didn't build it myself, every inch, from every wall to every door, to the placement of lights and electrical sockets, the carpets/floors etc, is all on me. The contractor just followed instructions (after making sure the house would still be structurally sound with the changes I made). As a matter of fact, before he started knocking shit down, he was like "are you SURE this is what you want...because we don't have blue prints or anything, just a sketch you made on a piece of paper". I was like "do it...if it turns out shit, its on me". I then sent him an email putting that in writing.

My point is, take this opportunity to be creative.

Ok, that was more of "what I was glad I did", rather than "what would I do differently"... but im just saying, it is a shitty situation but can work out for the best. It is hard to come home to a disaster with everything you own ruined. But it can be turned into a positive. Look at it as an opportunity to get new shit.

I honestly can't think of anything I would have done differently. Some people were like "you need someone (lawyer) on your side to make sure the insurance does you right". But I don't operate like that. I prefer to give people an opportunity to do right, rather than jumping to the assumption that they are going to do wrong, and taking preemptive action based on that bad assumption. I gave them a chance to take care of me, and they did.

 

I think it all depends on your agent. Like a lot of things, results are subjective depending on who you are dealing with.

My agent is the same dude that insured my first piece of shit car that only cost $1100 (which I worked 3 jobs over the summer to save for, so I was proud of it). Ive been with him for years, and have a ton of shit insured there.

As soon as he heard about the damage, he showed up with a $1000 personal check for me to get clothes and toiletries, and offered to find a hotel for me if I wanted (without me asking, or even knowing he was coming).

 

?? The shop or your home??

 

If you have an existing wall, I'm not sure but it would be easier to "renovate" permit wise (you won't need a brand new permit, so it would be quicker to being the rebuild) then to mow it all down and starting over. To start over would require new building permits. The pros will be along shortly to clarify.

 

The house, It got struck by lightning (I was there and yes it was like a fuckin bomb) Half the electrics went out so, I went to the garage and reset 5-6 breakers, thinking it was a power surge. Then when I made sure the TV and shit still worked, killed em and I went to bed (well, re-passed out) The whole time the roof and attic were on fire, I slept thru the alarms like white noise in a dream. The dog woke me up and saved my ass, probably only had about 5-10 breaths left at that point.
Luckily Seth was at my ex's and G was flying that night.

BTW, My State Farm agent called me a 4am while it was burning and then showed up 9am at the shop with a ck for 2K to get clothes and shit. Good on her..

 

Buy that dog a steak

 

A BIG TOMAHAWK !

 

Damn! Glad yall are alive and kicking! If you guys need anything,just let us know.......Seriously.

 

Dogs are awesome.

Ive got almost $4k tied up in my dad's dog, for that very reason. Too many years of building motors and drag racing, his ears are toast. When he doesn't have his hearing aids in, he can't hear fuckall. So I got him a white Lab, and put it through the specialized (think service dog) training. She is trained to wake him if the fire alarm goes off, someone comes to the door, the phone rings, etc.

I can't fix his ears, so I got him a dog that can be his ears.

 

Good boy !!

 

Thanks for the clarification

 

Meh...it's an oversized bone in ribeye where you are paying for all of the bone. The dog will love the after dinner treat.

 

I definitely read that as the dog has hearing aids and that you got your dad's dog a dog that would wake him. I re-read what you wrote and I'm still not convinced I'm wrong...