WHAT - A - MESS

On Saturday I noticed some brown stains on our ceiling in 3 rooms of the house, the leaks came from the storm we had that past Thursday. So on Tuesday after the holiday I called our homeowners insurance and filed a claim.

We had a mitigation company come out this morning to look at the water damage. He came in with some little wand that poked the ceiling to test the moisture levels. The office and kitchen came back as dry but the kids bedroom came back as very wet. About 4’ around the brown staining actually came back as wet, right over Teen’s loft bed. He said the places above the kitchen and office could be wet up in the joists and insulation but his wand wouldn’t tell him that. He said they will have to cut 1’ X 1’ to 4 ½’ X 4 ½' holes in the ceiling (the kids bedroom being the largest hole) put huge fans in the attic in all three spots along with a dehumidifier in the bedroom. LOVELY! Talk about a total mess! The house besides the kitchen and bathrooms have that nasty popcorn ceiling which goes everywhere if you touch it not to mention all the drywall dust, dirt, and insulation that will come tumbling down. Granted they cover everything but it isn’t full proof. They have to run the fans for 3 – 4 days, coming each day to take the temperature and moisture level in all three locations. I then tell him the house is 52 years old and he goes ASBESTOS!!! Yeah buddy my thought too. So instead of doing all that today he set up a dehumidifier in the bedroom, with a tube running to the bathtub and then took two samples for them to test overnight for asbestos. LOVELY!

If there is asbestos, which I am sure there will be, then we have to hire an abatement company to come in and remove the asbestos… lovely again! (BTW we have to pay the abatement company out of our pocket and then the insurance company will wire us the money… Federal law???) Then the mitigation company comes in and cuts holes everywhere and the adjuster from the insurance company will come out and give us an estimate and a check. Then they will remove water/mildew/mold and then I have to find a contractor to come in and repair the 9 zillion holes in my ceiling. Then I have to find a roofer to come in and replace or repair the roof depending on what the adjuster says. So for a minimum of 4 days, probably longer if there is asbestos, the kids won’t be able to sleep in their room and I won’t have a kitchen. Oye vey… never a dull moment.

Our mitigation guy said that since Monday he has been to 5 houses, not counting ours, in the our neighborhood alone and we have seen another mitigation company out in our neighborhood too. I guess we don't have the kind of roofs in California to with stand that kind of weather.