House flooded (3 Viewers)

[Complex Kid]

With all of the rain here in Lake Charles yesterday my house got 4 or 5 inches inside of it. We have insurance so we should be all good.

I know a lot of you guys on here have been through the same thing. Any advice or things I need to look out for going forward?

 

[buzd]

Get it dry and gut any wet drywall and insulation as soon as you can. Same if you have floors that will need to be replaced. Water will wick up drywall (and wood to some extent), so get it out.

Also, you will be surprised what you can save if you put it some effort.

 

[efil4stnias]

Get it dry and gut any wet drywall and insulation as soon as you can. Same if you have floors that will need to be replaced. Water will wick up drywall (and wood to some extent), so get it out.

Also, you will be surprised what you can save if you put it some effort.

this.

get some fans going as well to ventilate and evaporate the residual moisture. So long as the water doesnt sit/stagnate, doubtful you will have any mold issue. Especially if its all dry in a few days.

If carpet, remove carpet and the underlayment.

Photos/document everything that has to be tossed. Prepare for a process of adjustment, readjustment and final payment.

 

[Tater]

Take pictures of areas that have to be repaired before tearing anything out.
Flood insurance people take their time coming out to look at damages.
Look for a long dragged out process.

 

[The Moose]

Yes fans. As many as you can find.

If you can find them rent dehumidifiers.

Will dry it out fast.

Don't know how bad the damage in your area is but if you can find them do.

Everyone rents them.

Home Depot has one that pulls out 18 gallons per day from the building for 48 buck as day.

Dri-Eaz Dehumidifier 18 G/Day Rental F203-A - The Home Depot

Rent a Dehumidifier 18 G/Day Rental from one of our over 1,200 THD rental locations. Call your local store for same day pickup availability.

www.homedepot.com

The key is air movement. Lots and lots of fans.

If you get started fast enough you don't even have to rip out sheetrock it will dry it all out.

 

[MSUSousaphone]

Yeah. That was some super crazy rain.

 

[dtc]

Take photos of everything before during and after you remove it. Take pictures of the standing water and water lines.

Assuming you have a flood insurance policy, you need to know it's a bad policy. You're likely to be upside down on the cost to repair and the carriers who represent FEMA in your policy are generally filthy scum imho.

Goos luand and PM me if you need any help.

 

[MSUSousaphone]

Yeah. I'm in Sulphur. PM me if you need something to borrow or anything.

 

[gpupil]

I'm in Lake Charles too and I've flooded 4 times. Your AC is a great dehumidifier. Kick it way down to like 60. And like others have said, plenty of pictures. Don't bother with video for some reason they won't look at them. Once you've documented the damage and contacted your agent they will probably tell you to start the demo process
Start writing down a list of all contents lost as you go through it. They'll want a list of contents including its age and value

 

[sonicboom]

Don't panic and things will get better soon. Think of it as a hurricane stress test. I would talk to the other neighbors and see what their doing. Sometimes they have government programs that offer low interest loans to help with disaster relief.

Sorry to hear about the flooding, sounds like a nightmare. To be honest, I'm a little worried. It seems like anything goes, so get ready for fires, floods, hurricanes, meteoroids, sink holes, and any sort of extreme weather. I'm pretty sure California is due for a major earth quake, but who knows?

I was thinking about buying a Jon boat in case their is some crazy flooding in the near future. Just not in the budget right now. Stay safe everybody.

 

[insidejob]

Crap, man. Sorry to hear you got screwed by all that rain. How is your insurance claim going? Did it ruin a lot of your personal property? If so, you're going to get hosed on the payout for that. The contents are insured at actual cash value - not replacement cost like every responsible homeowners policy is endorsed for - because FEMA doesn't allow it. They're going to depreciate the hell out of any and all contents to the point that you are going to want to choke them. Still, I hope you at least got pictures of all you could and fare as well as possible with everything.

 

[Complex Kid]

We've got all of the flooring torn up and almost all of the walls ripped out. The adjuster came by on Sunday and from what it sounds like we should be ok and taken care of. It's not up to him though it's what the insurance decides but he was very nice and walked us through everything that we have to do. He said the same thing about the contents that the insurance will depreciate everything so don't be shocked when it comes back a lot lower.

We still have the AC blasting and fans going every where. Thank you guys for all of your advice.

 

[efil4stnias]

We've got all of the flooring torn up and almost all of the walls ripped out. The adjuster came by on Sunday and from what it sounds like we should be ok and taken care of. It's not up to him though it's what the insurance decides but he was very nice and walked us through everything that we have to do. He said the same thing about the contents that the insurance will depreciate everything so don't be shocked when it comes back a lot lower.

We still have the AC blasting and fans going every where. Thank you guys for all of your advice.

my buddy in Walker had no content coverage in Aug 2016. So we did the tear out, and some of the work so that when he got his contractor to renovate, less had to be done ( read: charged for ) and he used the extra funds toward replacing some of the content.

So the demo will save you couple thousand alone. But be sure to hire a LICENSED and INSURED contractor. There will be guys running all around your area from out of town looking to make a fast buck. IF you know a contractor, great. If not, dont settle for the first one. Ask him for a copy of his Certificate of Insurance ( feel free to PM me and ill make sure legit ) as evidence of proper insurance. Verify and re-verify. Times like these, shysters come out the woodwork.

 

[Complex Kid]

my buddy in Walker had no content coverage in Aug 2016. So we did the tear out, and some of the work so that when he got his contractor to renovate, less had to be done ( read: charged for ) and he used the extra funds toward replacing some of the content.

So the demo will save you couple thousand alone. But be sure to hire a LICENSED and INSURED contractor. There will be guys running all around your area from out of town looking to make a fast buck. IF you know a contractor, great. If not, dont settle for the first one. Ask him for a copy of his Certificate of Insurance ( feel free to PM me and ill make sure legit ) as evidence of proper insurance. Verify and re-verify. Times like these, shysters come out the woodwork.

My wife's cousin is a contractor and builds houses at Gray Wood Plantation (fancy smancy golf course/community) here in Lake Charles so we are probably going to go with him.

 

[efil4stnias]

My wife's cousin is a contractor and builds houses at Gray Wood Plantation (fancy smancy golf course/community) here in Lake Charles so we are probably going to go with him.

perfect. Cant tell you how difficult it is to navigate large losses where picking the contractor could be the difference between job done in timely manner and job never done and money gone.

Huge weight off your shoulders for sure.