Check if your water softener discharges to your sump pit. If so, then the salt will accelerate corrosion of your sump pump. Especially if it is cast iron or stainless. I don't know about all plastic.
I just put in a fancy Blue Angel, and they said salt from water softeners voids the warranty. Most sump pumps have warnings about water softener brine corrosion.
Also some municipalities don't want water softener discharge to sewer. And the salt can damage your lawn or plants. So it should discharge to storm drain if possible.
Plumber came back and exchanged sump pumps. Put in a Zoeller. I think I will recharge the softener manually myself, and make sure I flush the pit with water after it's all done, esp. in summer when there is little ground water.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Carpet
sample sent to ITEL http://www.itelinc.com/
Adjuster's estimate for replacing carpet looks minuscule.
Carpet Weaver guy told us the same story; he has to fight with State Farm all the time, and often doesn't win.
Adjuster's estimate for replacing carpet looks minuscule.
Carpet Weaver guy told us the same story; he has to fight with State Farm all the time, and often doesn't win.
Drywall-insulation work
Removing the lower 2 ft of drywall and insulation to avoid mold issues.
The previous owner did this basement finishing himself and the drywall mudding was terrible. There were bulges over studs. Also the electric boxes were all floppy.
So with the drywall removed, I tried to stabilize the electric boxes. A switch to a light that wasn't working--I found a wire had broken off, and fixed that.
We had to pay extra for them to smooth out the drywall above the 2 foot level.
Painting the areas mudded over paint produced a little pocking. The just sanded and repainted over that.
So we changed the color from a blue to a light yellow (off white) which makes the room brighter, appear larger, and hides imperfections in the drywall better maybe.
Carpet will be light blue.
Electric boxes that don't come out level with the drywall--you can buy these plastic spacer things to bring the outlets out. to help the covers fit and look better.
The previous owner did this basement finishing himself and the drywall mudding was terrible. There were bulges over studs. Also the electric boxes were all floppy.
So with the drywall removed, I tried to stabilize the electric boxes. A switch to a light that wasn't working--I found a wire had broken off, and fixed that.
We had to pay extra for them to smooth out the drywall above the 2 foot level.
Painting the areas mudded over paint produced a little pocking. The just sanded and repainted over that.
So we changed the color from a blue to a light yellow (off white) which makes the room brighter, appear larger, and hides imperfections in the drywall better maybe.
Carpet will be light blue.
Electric boxes that don't come out level with the drywall--you can buy these plastic spacer things to bring the outlets out. to help the covers fit and look better.
Contents
ACV, RCV, and Depreciation
ACV-actual cash value is what it would cost to replace it today minus depreciation based on how many years you had it.
They write you a check for ACV. If your policy covers replacement value, when you buy a new one, they pay the difference (the depreciation). If you don't buy a new one, that's it.
State Farm gives us 2 years to claim contents.
Buy a new treadmill.
An antique table was standing in the water and all the feet split.
We took it to an antique woodshop guy. He said it wasn't cost effective to fix.
SF asked for a professional to document what replacement cost might be. and sent us a check for that amount.
ACV-actual cash value is what it would cost to replace it today minus depreciation based on how many years you had it.
They write you a check for ACV. If your policy covers replacement value, when you buy a new one, they pay the difference (the depreciation). If you don't buy a new one, that's it.
State Farm gives us 2 years to claim contents.
Buy a new treadmill.
An antique table was standing in the water and all the feet split.
We took it to an antique woodshop guy. He said it wasn't cost effective to fix.
SF asked for a professional to document what replacement cost might be. and sent us a check for that amount.
Phase 2 The Adjuster
So the adjuster finally comes after more than 2 weeks. Drying has been complete. The adjuster inspects for an hour or so. Then goes off for 2-3 hours to complete a report. Comes back with the report and writes a check on the spot.
Gotcha #1: If the amount is >$7500 the check is made out to the Mortgage company as well.
What does this mean?
When you dig into this, each mortgage company has different rules.
Our mortgage is with CitiMortgage. You hunt and hunt on their website, try some phone numbers and get a call center in India. They give you a web address of http://www.mylossdraft.com/ with a pin of cm001. If you put in ch001, you get Chase mortgage.
According to the mylossdraft website, for CitiMortgage--if the amt is <$10K, send them the check (do not endorse it), and they will endorse and send it back. If the amt is >$10K, you endorse the check and send it to them. They put it into escrow.
You send them a whole list of documents:
Your current mailing address and phone number, and loan number.
[Loss Summary Worksheet] (Required only when contractor is being used for repairs.)
List of repairs from Insurance Company (Adjustor's Worksheet)
A signed copy of the Contractor's Contract
Paid Receipts, required only when the Homeowner is making the repairs
[Statement Of Self Contracting] (Required only when Homeowner is making the repairs)
[Conditional Waiver of Lien]
[Certificate of Intent to Repair]
[Certificate of Completion of Repairs] (To be signed only when repairs have been completed)
Then they send you 1/3 or 1/2 the money.
When the work is about complete, the MortgageCompany will send out an inspector to verify, before sending the rest of the money.
So why do they do it this way? Something about the mortgage company having an interest in the property being fixed properly. If the work is not done and verified, you don't get any money. If your contractor does it for a lesser amt, escrow will only pay that amount. If your contractor estimates it costs more, you go back to the adjuster to negotiate.
Gotcha #1: If the amount is >$7500 the check is made out to the Mortgage company as well.
What does this mean?
When you dig into this, each mortgage company has different rules.
Our mortgage is with CitiMortgage. You hunt and hunt on their website, try some phone numbers and get a call center in India. They give you a web address of http://www.mylossdraft.com/ with a pin of cm001. If you put in ch001, you get Chase mortgage.
According to the mylossdraft website, for CitiMortgage--if the amt is <$10K, send them the check (do not endorse it), and they will endorse and send it back. If the amt is >$10K, you endorse the check and send it to them. They put it into escrow.
You send them a whole list of documents:
Your current mailing address and phone number, and loan number.
[Loss Summary Worksheet] (Required only when contractor is being used for repairs.)
List of repairs from Insurance Company (Adjustor's Worksheet)
A signed copy of the Contractor's Contract
Paid Receipts, required only when the Homeowner is making the repairs
[Statement Of Self Contracting] (Required only when Homeowner is making the repairs)
[Conditional Waiver of Lien]
[Certificate of Intent to Repair]
[Certificate of Completion of Repairs] (To be signed only when repairs have been completed)
Then they send you 1/3 or 1/2 the money.
When the work is about complete, the MortgageCompany will send out an inspector to verify, before sending the rest of the money.
So why do they do it this way? Something about the mortgage company having an interest in the property being fixed properly. If the work is not done and verified, you don't get any money. If your contractor does it for a lesser amt, escrow will only pay that amount. If your contractor estimates it costs more, you go back to the adjuster to negotiate.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Flooded Basement sump pump failure
12 inches of water snuffs the furnace and water heater end of December.Luckily no blizzard or extreme cold.
Due to a 1 day storm through the entire midwest that melted snow and dumped several inches of rain.
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lsx/?n=12_27_08
27 December 2008: Severe Weather and Flooding Event
SIX TORNADOES OCCURRED OVER PARTS OF EASTERN MISSOURI AND WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS LATE SATURDAY MORNING OF DECEMBER 27 2008
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/12/27/news/doc495640ff2c2af572598254.txt
Central Illinois received a reprieve from ice long enough for severe thunderstorms to pummel the area Saturday afternoon, damaging buildings and trees, knocking out power and toppling semitrailer trucks on interstates. About 2 inches of rain fell in the storm that packed winds of up to 65 mph to 70 mph in some parts of Central Illinois, said Patrick Bak, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Lincoln. The rain on top of melting ice and saturated or still-frozen ground Saturday left Central Illinois watching for flooding, especially along the Mackinaw River at Congerville and the Vermilion River at Pontiac.
What do you do with a foot of ice cold water in the basement and all your stuff floating around like the Titanic going down? And you're afraid to turn on lights because it might electrocute you. I look in the yellow pages, and call the 24/7 number for Peerless. They say nothing they can do on a Sunday night. Plus, you got to get the water pumped out before they start. That means an electrician and a plumber. Bummer. I had shutoff the water and drained the pipes before going on vacation. How to turn the water back on? Water's really cold for wading, and not sure if there are outlets under water. No longer have fishing waders.
I grab two 5 gallon buckets, using trash bags->double bag my legs, and try walking in the buckets. Too much buoyancy, need some ballast. Wade over in the dark to turn on the water and kill the breakers to the basement.
Go to bed in a cold, silent house. Electric blanket works. Microwave works.
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Next day, go to Menards and try to rig up a sump pump to pump out of the basement window. Pumping 1 inch takes around 20 minutes. Going to take all day. Plumber comes in the afternoon. Peerless won't come until the sump pump is working again. Leave the pump running unattended over lunch.
By afternoon, finally get down to around 2 inches. Sump pump can't suck that low, and is overheating unless I cool it manually with a bucket. Found some rubber boots to walk around in--much better than the buckets. Binder's plumbing replaces the sump pump and cleans up the water heater and gets it to fire up. Halelujah--hot water tonight, at least.
Furnace guy won't come out until I blow air on the circuit board on the blower for 8-10 hours overnight. If it's wet, it will just fry.
Peerless guys come Monday evening, start extracting water from the carpet.
Still no heat that night. I ignite the gas log fireplace with forced air blower, and turn on ceiling fan. Temp rises from 48 to the 50's. Better than nuthin. Gas fireplace is a good backup heating system.
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Tuesday, Air King furnace guy comes out. Puts power to the furnace, board is fried. He has to go back to get a board, and then install it. Furnace is running again. It will run continuously all day and night to warm the house back up. Peerless guys warn that if the pipes froze, it might start leaking after the house warms back up. and they hate when it refloods, once they start the drying out process. Sump pump is starting to take breaks.
Start hauling out wet cardboard and stuff. Make a pile outside in the driveway.
Peerless guys say carpet is ruined, they want to haul it out. Carpet dumping involves a hefty dump fee. They had to pretty much dry the carpet before dragging it out of the basement because of weight and dripping.
Cannot remove baseboards until the drywall firms up. In after thought, it would probably behoove the insurance company to approve tearing out the lower part of the drywall to speed up drying. 19 blowers, 2 dehumidifiers, and 1 hepa air filter cost almost $800/day to rent. Opening up the lower part of the wall would definitely speed up drying if the insulation got wet.In the meantime, I keep pushing water into the sump hole with a squeegee. In after thought, I should have used a big shop vac to suck up the puddles. That would have dropped the humidity and sped up the drying process.
Tuesday had mild temperatures, so we opened up the upstairs windows to ventilate some.
Wednesday, 19 turbo fans running in the basement. Sounds like jet plane taking off.
House ducting is like a speaker system, you can hear it from the 2nd floor. Hard to sleep with that din. Sounds like water downpour, or a waterfall.
Name of the game is to dry the drywall and insulation, studs, furniture, etc. before mold sets up.
Treadmill was under water. Books and personal papers. Not tax returns.
House is warmed up. Kick it up towards 80F to help evaporate water. Trim the vents to direct most of the heat toward the basement and not so much upstairs.
Wednesday was frigid, and moisture was condensing on all the upstairs windows. I fired up a dehumidifier on the 2nd floor, and ran it in continuous mode, pulling a couple of gallons out of the air.
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Thursday, basement is really warm. Move wine bottles and some food stuff to the cooler area like the garage.
State Farm says they are swamped with claims from that storm and don't know when they can get an adjuster out. It will be a catastrophic claim, not an individual homeowners claim.
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I pry off all the baseboards.
Pressboard veneered cabinets cannot be dried, because the veneer doesn't allow water out.
Any place with a double layer of wood/drywall traps moisture and can grow mold. Open those up or drill holes through it.
Thursday, basement is really warm. Move wine bottles and some food stuff to the cooler area like the garage.
State Farm says they are swamped with claims from that storm and don't know when they can get an adjuster out. It will be a catastrophic claim, not an individual homeowners claim.
-----------
I pry off all the baseboards.
Pressboard veneered cabinets cannot be dried, because the veneer doesn't allow water out.
Any place with a double layer of wood/drywall traps moisture and can grow mold. Open those up or drill holes through it.