The Money Pit

      As some of you know we spent close to $40,000.00 remodeling our home a few years ago and just installed a $7000.00 Fence, a pool and and deck for another $15,000 last spring. Well on May 3, 2017, Janit came to bed after putting a load of clothes in the washing machine that was only 1 yr old at the time. At about 1:10 am Janit woke me up and said "Chris I hear electricity popping or something going on in the house." So I laid there a few minutes and listened. I realized I was hearing water not just dripping but running. 
      We sleep in a waterbed so I got up and walked all around the bed looking for a leak but found nothing until I got to Janit's side of the bed which was close to the master bath. There the carpet was soaking wet. I turned the bathroom light on and the floor that was soft Heart Pine at the time was curled up and buckled. I went across the room headed to the other bathroom to get some extra towels and walked into the living room that was flooded with water. As I turned towards the dining room I found it was also buckled and standing in water. You could see the water running down into the AC vents and I could see the kitchen floor was buckled up and full of water. Our entire home had soft, really old, heart pine floors in every room. We had covered the living room and the bedrooms with Wall to Wall carpet to protect them as we have dogs that live inside with us.  
      As it turned out the washing machine was still running but it was just filling with water. It had failed to go into the wash cycle. Turns out the pressure switch had gone bad on the machine and so it overflowed non-stop for more than 4hrs. 
      I called USAA my Insurance company and reported the claim. At 7:30 that morning Service Master was at my door with fans, dryers and dehumidifiers and began a 12 day process of drying out my house, before a contractor could begin work restoring the home.
      That same morning, Service Master ripped up floors, tore out cabinets, removed carpets, and left us with two bedrooms and the guest bathroom to live in for the next 5 months on a contracted job, not Service Master's contract, that was supposed to take roughly 1 month to complete. It was pure hell people, let me tell you. Two adults, and 4 dogs living in one guest bedroom, while setting up a door on boxes to hold food and prepare meals in the other guest room was no picnic. 
     So of the 6yrs we have owned this house more than 18 months have been spent in reconstruction mode. Walking around equipment, going outside to wash clothes and to get to the refrigerator, and making bathroom schedules.  We are basically just starting to live in the house we bought in 2011, in a little more comfort, knowing we are termite free, with water damaged roof, floors and walls having been replaced. It is starting to actually feel like a home.