I Am Finally Defeating The Puddle

Behind on the puddle drama?  Check out Chapter 1, Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 to get caught up.

It’s been a month since I last updated you on the puddle and quite a bit has happened.  After weeks of basically no activity things happened quickly.

The Estimate Finally Came In

The company that I hired to begin this project started off well.  They came in, killed the mold and hauled out the bad drywall and installation.  Then the hurricane hit in Florida.

The company has an office in Fort Lauderdale and the employee assigned to my job was sent down for very urgent work affecting many more people than myself.  It was almost three weeks before I finally heard from him again that he was on his way home.

He came back over to the house and double checked the walls.  NO NEW WATER DAMAGE!  It appeared that whatever was causing the water damage was absolutely done.  Another week later and I finally had the estimate in my hands and the bill for the drying.

I was thrilled to send it to the insurance company.

Meanwhile My Neighbor

I was having difficulty getting my neighbor to let someone qualified into his unit so I finally was forced to reach out to the management company.  As a former board member of my Home Owners Association I was trying to avoid getting them involved but we had hit the point where I needed help.

The Home Owners Association can force their way into a unit if they believe damage is being done to someone else or there is an emergency situation.

After the phone call lines of communication opened up.  Without involving anyone else my neighbor and I were able to get a plumber into his unit and, lo and behold, find the source of the damage.

It turns out that the HVAC had been leaking at some point.  The damage on their side was long dried over so it’s possible it was even from before my neighbor moved in.  Regardless they cleaned everything out, took pictures and we sent it all to the insurance company.

Biting My Nails Waiting For Insurance

So after nearly 5 weeks of waiting for  the estimate and my neighbor the insurance company had everything they needed.  I had heard horror stories from so many people about being denied claims.  I had begun looking at prices for things and the idea of having to drain my savings account made me almost cry daily.

I had been putting money aside to buy new furniture (including almost $100 in change!) so I was hoping if insurance denied me I could use that to atleast get the walls put back together.

Fortunately I didn’t have to wait long- four days later the first money from the insurance company was in the bank and I get the rest once the job is complete.  After 10 weeks of living in chaos I finally had what I needed to move ahead!

The Contractors

So the first thing I did was start looking at flooring.  I really had no idea what I wanted except that I wanted a gray tone and I wanted vinyl planking.  I went to six stores in the area and was APPALLED at how expensive both the flooring and the installation was.  Most of the estimates were MUCH more than my budget could handle.  Eventually I found a cheaper floor but I wasn’t really crazy about it.

I also started getting contractors over to get painting estimates.  They were also nuts. So much more than I expected.  I had originally thought it might be cheaper to manage the job myself and handle three different contractors.

I was wrong.

So I called a friend who has been running his own contracting business and he came out last week, gave me a great estimate for paint, drywall and floors, introduced me to his contractors (who immediately fell in love with Bella) and the work on my home begins TOMORROW!

So right now there is basically nothing in my house.  I am sleeping in a bag on top of my niece’s gymnastics mat this week and all my clothes/shoes are in my bathroom.

FINALLY The Fun Stuff

I say fun but few decisions I have made have been more stressful than picking paint colors.

I was SO THANKFUL to discover these things at Lowe’s called Spot On 11-Piece Paint Applicator Kits.  Basically inside a box you get three clear sticky sheets, three tiny paint rollers and three tiny paint trays.  You buy a sample of whatever colors you like and take this all home.  Then you paint the clear pieces and hang them on your wall!  No having to prime and paint your walls and you don’t have to worry about dark colors bleeding through if you decide to go with something lighter.

I bought several of these kits.  And I now have a ton of paint samples.  But after phone calls and text messages and visitors giving their opinion I finally settled on Sea Salt for the walls and Eider White for the trim for my whole place (except my bathroom which is staying untouched).

I will be surviving without bedroom furniture until I find the perfect pieces but I am on the lookout.  I want to only purchase re-imagined pieces so nothing new from Target or At Home.  This means I need to be patient and find the right stuff.