Behind on the puddle drama? Check out Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 to get caught up!
It’s been almost three weeks since my last report on the puddle. I am pleased to say we are back in a mold free house. 90% of what I own is in boxes and bags but I am making it work. I am thankful that the kitchen and bathroom appear to be untouched so I don’t have to pack all of those items up! In a world where chaos reigns you just want to be able to use your own shower and stove.
I actually managed to take apart the dresser damaged by the mold (I cannot tell you how impressed I was with myself) and throw it out. I also hauled out the damaged carpet and shoved it in bags which were picked up by the trash guys (bless anyone you know who does that for a living).
About ten bags of items have been taken to Goodwill. A bag of electronics was dropped off at Best Buy to be recycled. Progress is being made.
Here are some other things going on:
The Puddle’s Good Deed
The three remaining pieces of furniture not ruined by the water were in fantastic shape (other than some cat hair). They are the pieces I bought with my parents help 15 years ago when I moved in. I spent the first six months sleeping on a twin mattress on the floor and living out of a suitcase until I had saved enough to pay for about half. Being frugal even back then we got a FANTASTIC deal on two dressers, a bed, a night stand and a desk (the one I run my business off of actually).
Knowing that my flooring was going to have to be replaced I kept racking my brain trying to figure out what to do with the furniture. My place is so small that there isn’t really anywhere to move it while flooring is being done It’s bigger and bulkier than I actually need. It’s not the kind of stuff you paint or change it’s appearance. I figured I would probably just try to sell it once the time came.
And then I saw a message from the Virginia Beach Justice Initiative in my Facebook newsfeed. They had rescued a girl from sex trafficking and were setting her up in an apartment. One of the things they badly needed was furniture. I took it as a sign and sent them a message.
So this morning they came and picked up my bed, dresser, night stand and kitchen table and chairs (which haven’t been used in years). I am so incredibly thankful to be helping out someone who has been pushed around by so many people. The people who came said she has never lived on her own- this will be her first furniture too. It’s great to know someone will hopefully love the furniture as much as I did when I got my first place. I prayed over it before it left the house and I hope she receives so many blessings in her life.
I Bought A Bed
In order to not go mad during this whole process I have been looking at furniture, flooring and paint. So that once we get to the fun part I will have some idea of what I want. My goal with this is to use as many recycled or re-purposed items as possible purchased from local places. Being a small business myself I want to try to support other local businesses.
While I am still wishy washy about some things I knew for sure I wanted a wrought iron bed. I started looking online and people have tons of issues with them getting scratched during shipping and being difficult to put together. New ones were CRAZY expensive at the local stores I visited. So I figured something would pop up if it was meant to be and moved on with my life.
Then when I got home from rehearsal Monday night there was a little blinking light on my Facebook Marketplace icon on the bottom of my phone. I clicked on it to find a really nice wrought iron bed on sale for $80. $80! I figured I was going to have to spend $400 to get a used one!
So my amazingly patient sister drove me to buy it from a complete stranger and tetris it into her mini van. This was NOT an easy task. Fortunately it’s not very heavy but it was awkwardly shaped and much wider than anticipated. I will post a picture in my next update of what it looks like put together.
This will be the only furniture in my bedroom until after the floors are put in.
The Insurance Company
Meanwhile my insurance company has been ROCK STARS so far. I was able to go ahead and submit my property damage claim because the only thing destroyed was one dresser. About a week later I received a check in the mail for that amount minus my deductible. My adjuster and I are now on a first name basis.
We are in a holding pattern with the remaining funds until I hear back from the remediation company. They have offices in Fort Lauderdale and Houston so to say they are busy right now is an understatement. Until I get the estimates from them we can’t move forward. And it’s a good thing I haven’t yet because….
I Found More Water Damage
After my furniture was hauled away it was time to get to work in my room again. After I threw the curtains in the washer (I don’t want to THINK about how long it has been since I did that) I went to pulling up the remaining carpet. And saw this.
After smelling it to make sure my cat had not been peeing under the bed for a few years I went over to wall. And saw this nice spot- slightly damp to the touch.
It’s in just the right spot to be from the same water source. Fortunately I see no mold indicators in the wall or under the carpet so the damage is not nearly as bad. Unfortunately it means someone is going to have to come back out and look at the damage. Sigh.
Meanwhile My Neighbor
While all of this is going on the people working on the unit remain firm in their belief that the water is not coming from my unit. They even tore up a little extra on some of the walls to double check. And even with the new water damage it still HAS to be coming from one unit.
I don’t want to get into my neighbor too much but I can give a little info. He is a nice guy- we have had many pleasant parking lot conversations over the 8 or so years he has lived here. He’s a unit owner like myself so we may be neighbors for quite a while and I really want to get along with him.
When all of this first started (on a Friday) he agreed to let my contractor into his unit to look for the water source on Monday. By Saturday he had text me to let me know he would bring in his own plumber to look at things and let me know if anything was wrong. Besides being nice and being a veteran there is one other thing I know about him- from his car and his patio he seems to have a difficult time throwing things away. I have always imagined the inside of his unit looks the same way.
Sunday night when I went to put my garbage on the curb to be picked up Monday there were about 25 big black garbage bags full of things also set out. I later found out they were his. So he did some serious housekeeping that night. Tuesday he text me to let me know his plumber found nothing wrong in his unit.
Since we still can’t find the water source I wasn’t able to take his word for it. But I also didn’t want to intrude on his life personally or stress myself out trying to manage all of this. So I reached out to my Home Owners Association. They have been able to get him to agree to let a contractor in (one of their choosing- I don’t want to go into the unit and infringe on his space) to check things out.
Our by-laws protect us legally from each other- my insurance company can not sue his if he did cause the damage. We just need to know that the source has been taken care of. If he has damage to his unit he chooses not to fix that is fine as long as the water has stopped damaging mine. So now I am waiting for that to be scheduled.
And That Is My Life Right Now
That is where I stand right now. A friend is on his way over as I write to help me haul out the remaining carpet and put the new bed together. I have e-mailed the pictures of the new damage to the insurance company and the estimator and get to do the thing I do so much of right now… wait.
