Tuesday, October 11, 2016

A Step Foward and a Step Backwards

It is 3:38 AM and I am not asleep.  Usually I just lay abed because every movement in this camper is amplified.  And Frank needs to sleep.  He drives several hundred miles each day to see his
customers in the plants up and down the river.  He needs to be alert.  

That is a hard state to achieve now.  I worry when he is on the road, especially now with all the stress of this flood and our home.


We met with the cabinet company, Ourso Designs.  She had designed the layout based upon the dimensions from J4.  We spent 2 hours going through the layouts and moving things, tweaking dimensions and choosing where appliances would go.  Before the changes the price tag was $39,000.

That included the master bath, guest bath, two tall cabinets by the fireplace and the kitchen.  Wow.  That is a huge chunk of money.  I am certain that the insurance money will not give us that much for replacing the old cabinets.  The photos are the before pics, LOL.

I have spoken with several people who have gotten their settlement figures from their insurance companies.  Generally it has been between $60-80,000 for the building.  Nowhere near what it would cost to rebuild these houses.  It is not looking good when more than half your settlement is in cabinets.

Like I said, we are lucky we have the money.

When the plumber came to replace the hot water heater, he failed to secure a permit for the job.  We have a building permit, but the hot water heater is obviously not included for some reason.  So when we called the city about a gas leak at the meter, they turned the gas off until the permit is completed and an inspector comes.

Now the house has no hot water, which is not a big deal at the moment, since the house has no faucets.  But it does have a washer, thank goodness for the cold water washing we do now.  And gas will matter soon.  So that is another thing that goes on my list to check on, something the plumber should have done.

A different plumber is coming tomorrow to plumb the master bath and hook up the fireplace gas.  It will be the first physical progress on the house in over a week.  

I came across the photos from when we were evacuated. The photo in my header came from that group of photos.  I will have to post those for you soon.


It was a beautiful day for a boat ride.







7 comments:

  1. You worry about Frank and he is worried about You! I worry about both of you. Hugs!

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  2. You do know that the hugs and good thoughts from afar are continuing to wing their way to you and Frank, right?!? (we ran into the hot water installation snafu here too - and it included the disposal of the old hot water heater - had to have a special permit for the trash guys to take it away - sheesh!)

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  3. I know how you must be worried about Frank. I feel the same thing about my son. He drives fifty to sixty miles one way to this sales area every day and works long hours. I try not to think about it.

    Wow, $39,000 for cabinets! I bet they will be beautiful! Yes, you and Frank are smart and made a good life for yourselves including having a nest egg. I hope having to dip into it will not prevent Frank from retiring when he wants to. At least the house will be in excellent condition and should not need any major fixing for many years.

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  4. Oh Glen, sending you another huge cyber hug. It's just amazing you haven't exploded yet....I can't imagine the stress. Someday, hopefully in the not too distant future, you'll be able to create art that express all that the flooding has wrought on you, Frank and your community. Sometimes I find comfort in thinking up things to make, even if I don't ever actually make them. <<>>

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  5. Sleep eluded me last night as well. Did you contact the first plumber about the permit issue? They should know the rules. Any update on the mantel/brick issue?

    What a relief to have it all over soon so you can get back to life!

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  6. if it's not one thing it's ten. One day, one happy day, this will all be an unhappy memory.

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  7. Oh my goodness, just reading your post is frustrating. What kind of professional does not get the necessary permits to do the job? And what is this business of needing a separate permit for the water heater? A plumbing permit should be a plumbing permit. It's ridiculous how our government takes advantage of such things. You guys have been through so much already. The consolation is that you'll have a beautifully updated home and won't need to do any work for a very long time. Hang in there and feel the hugs from the peanut gallery.

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