Well crud....son's bedroom flooded

[ktgrok]

It was pouring rain here, and son was at a friend's house. After it stopped he rode his bike home and went in his room, only to come out and ask for towels. The floor was flooded, and so is the wall around the window. It looks like it may be the roof leaking there, but not positive. Paint is bubbled out with puddles of water behind it. We took pictures, and cleaned up as best we can, but will be calling the home owner's insurance in the morning. Not sure what on earth to do. 

 

Oh, and we just shelled out money to fix my car, because the gas pump or something was broken...it said I had a 1/4 tank but ran out of gas. Well, today, it said I was empty, and I still had a half a tank! So it's still not right. I didn't even tell DH...I'll tell him in a day or two. And oh yeah, we were denied a car loan from our bank, found that out today too. Also didn't tell him that. 

 

And it will probably rain again tomorrow, if not again tonight. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

How are the gutters above his window? 

[kbutton]

Water damage is the pits, but homeowner's insurance should be able to get someone out asap if your agent is on the ball (or if you can call the company directly). They can get someone who will have commercial dryers and who will come out to measure the moisture left in the wall and things like that. 

 

You might check your gutters. I hope the source of the problem is not an extensive repair.  :grouphug:

[ktgrok]

How are the gutters above his window? 

 

No gutters. 

[trulycrabby]

Oh no! I'm sorry. :grouphug:

[Katy]

Sounds like a fuel pump on your car.

 

Sorry about the flood in your son's room.

[itsheresomewhere]

Fuel sending unit.  Those can come in bad.  

 

The leak could be from the window itself.  One tiny little crack around it can cause a lot of damage.  

 

 

[Caroline]

It was pouring rain here, and son was at a friend's house. After it stopped he rode his bike home and went in his room, only to come out and ask for towels. The floor was flooded, and so is the wall around the window. It looks like it may be the roof leaking there, but not positive. Paint is bubbled out with puddles of water behind it. We took pictures, and cleaned up as best we can, but will be calling the home owner's insurance in the morning. Not sure what on earth to do.

 

Oh, and we just shelled out money to fix my car, because the gas pump or something was broken...it said I had a 1/4 tank but ran out of gas. Well, today, it said I was empty, and I still had a half a tank! So it's still not right. I didn't even tell DH...I'll tell him in a day or two. And oh yeah, we were denied a car loan from our bank, found that out today too. Also didn't tell him that.

 

And it will probably rain again tomorrow, if not again tonight.

This is going to sound crazy, but try driving your car over a speed bump or two. The 'float' might be stuck. That happened to my sister.

[ktgrok]

Thanks all. They replaced the fuel pump and sensor, supposedly. Oddly, what happened today was it was at 1/4 tank. Then at a stop light it went down to E and said empty. Then went back up to 1/4. Then did it again. Then I got gas and it let me put in only 11 gallons in a 20 gallon tank, so I actually had 1/2 a tank, not 1/4 OR empty. 

[mamiof5]

Ughhh!!!! Sorry!!! Hope everything gets fixed/falls in place asap

[Jyhwkmama]

If that is an exterior wall, the insulation will hold water. You need to rip out the insulation and drywall ASAP before you get mold.

[BlsdMama]

If that is an exterior wall, the insulation will hold water. You need to rip out the insulation and drywall ASAP before you get mold.

 

 

And, strangely, you can find a YouTube video for it I'm sure.  Drywall tearing out and replacement sounds like a nightmare but isn't horrible.  We just installed windows in our basement and built walls and I expected it to be crazy hard.  Although, obviously if your home insurance will cover it all, a pro is fool-proof.

 

Sorry about the car.  I'm an idiot with that stuff and no help at all.  But if you just paid for repairs and it isn't right, I'd call the garage ASAP.  Surely they have some kind of guarantee with their work?  I should hope so.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Yuck...sorry to hear that.  We are having issues with flooding in our basement.  We plan to install a sum pump and do some weather proofing on the inside and outside, but for now that's really all we can manage. 

[ktgrok]

yup and I'm reading that home owner's insurance won't cover damage from a roof leak if that is what it is. So not sure I want to advertise to them we have a roof problem if they aren't going to cover it anyway, and risk losing our policy. Going to call a roofing company we've used before and trust, and see what they say is the problem, then go from there. 

 

When we had a flood in the kitchen it was an appliance so homeowner's did cover it, but my husband did all the work himself. He can replace drywall, etc, but when he'll have the time I don't know. And my poor son's birthday is in a few days. 

[BlsdMama]

yup and I'm reading that home owner's insurance won't cover damage from a roof leak if that is what it is. So not sure I want to advertise to them we have a roof problem if they aren't going to cover it anyway, and risk losing our policy. Going to call a roofing company we've used before and trust, and see what they say is the problem, then go from there. 

 

When we had a flood in the kitchen it was an appliance so homeowner's did cover it, but my husband did all the work himself. He can replace drywall, etc, but when he'll have the time I don't know. And my poor son's birthday is in a few days. 

 

 

I wouldn't be so sure that it IS a roof leak.  You said it's the wall with the window in it, yeah?  So did the water come in from the ceiling area or where the ceiling and wall meet?  OR did it come in around the side of the window?  Because when builders install a window, the window isn't a perfect fit - it's attached into a hole bigger than the window.  Then it's sealed and trimmed out.  It can be that it isn't completely sealed any longer.  So look carefully to where you think the water is coming in at and know that water is going to go downhill.  It seems like common sense, but it isn't something you think about when something occurs.  So, for example, if you're seeing the ceiling wet, then the roof has most certainly let a leak in.  But let's say the bubbling starts half way down the wall.  Then it could be the roof or it could be the window.  Is it super close to the window?

 

And often, if you get up on the roof or in a crawl space above (but be careful if it's wet and soft - only stay on wood) then you can see the leak. (There's a video for that too.)  We had a leak in our house that moved (bathroom/living room/basement steps) and it was all the same leak (chimney caulk up on the roof) and it confuddled us to death.  Our roof was only 3 years old and we couldn't see any damage, nail holes, etc.

[ktgrok]

The window is set into the wall, and the leak is above the window...hard to describe. I'll post  a picture in a bit. 

I think I'll have someone look, then call a public adjustor I know who I've used for our other flood and ask him if we should go through insurance. He'll give me a straight answer. He got us a LOT more money from our insurance than we would have gotten otherwise, when he came out before. He's also worked with my parents and sister with water damage (what IS it with my family and water??) and was my sister's first kiss back in high school, lol. And he'll be honest, and if it isn't something to go through insurance he'll say that too, he did with one of my parent's other leaks. (yes, seriously, we have water issues in this family! leaking dishwasher, burst pipes times all three of us, etc etc)

[ktgrok]

As for storm versus rain...hard to say. I do NOT want to go up in the attic, as it is SO hot (heat index of 104 lately, and that's NOT in the attic) but I assume the roofer will. He we also trust, he actually came to last time and told my husband he could fix the cracks in the chimney himself, and told him where to buy the materials, etc. 

[zoobie]

If you recently made the appliance flood claim, you might not want to make another if it isn't major. We had two claims in 3 years (both storm damage), and our insurance dropped us. Here it wasn't a big deal to get another company with good credit, etc., but I know it can be a pain in Florida. A friend had tropical storm damage then an appliance flood there outside Orlando, and she got dropped and had to pay much more for coverage. The public adjuster may know more about the time frames there.

[Carrie12345]

Do you know anyone who works with a moisture meter?

A single wall could actually wind up being less than many homeowners deductibles.

[ktgrok]

If you recently made the appliance flood claim, you might not want to make another if it isn't major. We had two claims in 3 years (both storm damage), and our insurance dropped us. Here it wasn't a big deal to get another company with good credit, etc., but I know it can be a pain in Florida. A friend had tropical storm damage then an appliance flood there outside Orlando, and she got dropped and had to pay much more for coverage. The public adjuster may know more about the time frames there.

 

Very true. This was about 5 years ago though,with a different company. They did drop us the year after that. 

[ktgrok]

Do you know anyone who works with a moisture meter?

A single wall could actually wind up being less than many homeowners deductibles.

 

I think my husband just bought one last time..might still have it. He replaced a corner of the room in the other kids's bedroom when we first moved in and used it then I think. 

[mommyoffive]

UGH

 

That is your 3 bad things.

 

Why did the bank  deny you a loan?  Usually your own bank knows you better and your history of paying things on time and what not.  UGH.

 

[ktgrok]

UGH

 

That is your 3 bad things.

 

Why did the bank  deny you a loan?  Usually your own bank knows you better and your history of paying things on time and what not.  UGH.

 

Past delinquent medical bills. We've worked to get current, but still. My credit is great, but I have little to no income. My husband's income is great, but has bad credit. So we are kind of screwed. Going to just keep working on improving the credit. 

[hornblower]

ugh! no advice, just wanted to say flooding sucks! 

hope you can figure it out quickly & dry everything out. 

 

[ktgrok]

So, this shows the actual water pouring down, but the sides of the window area are also wet. 

SaveSave

[mommyoffive]

Past delinquent medical bills. We've worked to get current, but still. My credit is great, but I have little to no income. My husband's income is great, but has bad credit. So we are kind of screwed. Going to just keep working on improving the credit. 

 

Ugh.

I am sorry.  Yeah I would just keep working on his credit.  Do you have credit cards in your name?  Maybe adding him as an au would help his scores.

 

I know you said you wanted to get a new van, I hope you are able to figure out a way.

[displace]

Bummer :(. I hope the wall stops leaking!

[ktgrok]

Roofer will be out tomorrow morning. Probably going to rain again tonight though, around 5pm. Ugh. 

[Katy]

If the fuel pump thing was recent, that happened to me after my fuel pump was replaced, the gauge didn't work.  It was a faulty part, the shop fixed it for free.

[ktgrok]

If the fuel pump thing was recent, that happened to me after my fuel pump was replaced, the gauge didn't work.  It was a faulty part, the shop fixed it for free.

 

It was less than a week ago. Maybe that will be the case, that would make me happy. Oh, and the dashboard light behind the fuel gauge isn't lighting up. That happened immediately. So at night you can't see now much gas you have. I swear my car just doesn't want me to know how much gas I have. 

[ktgrok]

So, roofer came. We have a hole in the roof where the solar heater for the pool has worn away the shingles. They can do a big fix, where they remove the whole thing, remove the wood underneath, and reshingle it all, or they can just shingle over the areas that are worn. Which was actually what they recommended. He said no need to fix the rest of it unless you are trying to sell the house, then maybe do it, or work the repair budget into the closing costs or whatever. We also discussed if I should bother trying to claim anything on the homeowners, and he said what I was thinking, that advertising roof problems to them is a bad idea. They won't cover the roof repair anyway, and even fi they would cover the interior damage to the dry wall they'd probably require a roofing inspection first which would cost a few hundred bucks, etc. That plus the deductible makes it not worth it, not for the cost of some drywall and flooring (we probably still have matching flooring in the garage, if it needs to be replaced). My husband can do the work himself. 

 

Now, it's a matter of WHEN they can fix it. Could be this afternoon, could be in days. The guy is going to call me back after talking to the owner. 

 

Meanwhile the AC repairman is over an hour and a half late. 

[marbel]

Re: the car.  We drove for a few years with a faulty gas gauge.  I reset the trip meter every time I filled up, and filled up every 200 miles or so. That was between 1/2 and 3/4 tank for that car, so there was a margin for error.  Not ideal, but at that point the car wasn't worth getting that work done.  

 

Of course I do hope you can get it fixed, but if something comes up, it can be doable.

 

For all your troubles right now,  :grouphug: :grouphug:

[MerryAtHope]

I'm so sorry! I hate when everything seems to go wrong at once.

[ktgrok]

More good news! The A/C is not broken! It's just REALLY hot outside, lol. It's cooling as well as can be expected, and the only way to get cooler would be a bigger 4 ton unit, which he said we might not even be able to get a permit for from the county even if we did want to spend the money right now. In the future that should change, as they are going to change what the ambient outdoor temperature range is they use to calculate it, but for now we can just be a bit warm in the afternoons, which I'm fine with. Better than hearing it was breaking down!