update on D*I*S*A*S*T*E*R

Made another trip to Charlotte today, to pick up a small truck load of a bed, and a couple dressers. Restoration crew had been there overnight, pumped pretty much continuously with two gasoline powered pumps. Water is more like 4 inches in the basement instead of 4 FEET. Basement is complete disaster. Lots of water flowed across the yard overnight. They stripped the carpeting out of two rooms, had 3 file cabinet sized dehumidifiers going. Unfortunately the portable furnace they brought wasn't working, and boss was headed to Ohio for another. They were using a truck mounted vacuum cleaner to suck the water out of the basement, and had vaced as much water out of the remaining carpets, floors as they could. Condensation on walls/ceilings was diminished. Temps in the house were right around freezing, today with no heat, so I have concerns that dehumidifiers will be of minimal use, until they get the temps up. Unfortunately, with the 4 feet of water in the basement, about everything there is ruined, including water pump, sump pump, water softener, furnace, 2 freezers.

One of the first things the restoration boss checked was the thermostat setting - 62 degrees. Where the water line failed was in the middle of the house, and unlilely that it was result of freezing. He is also going slow, documenting all damage, step by step. So hopefully, things will go OK. Sis-in-law checked the insurance policy, and we have full replacement cost. And this one will cost plenty! But life goes on. Not much use to cry over spilt water!

i sure feel for you and your family.hope everything works out for you. RICK

Glad to hear you have insurance to cover repairs. I would get them on board as soon as possible. Stan

We went through a similar experience in 1985 with a leak on the second floor in a two story home. The insurance adjuster and carpet contractor tried to convince us the blower dryers would dry out the carpet and pad. After three days we checked the padding and it was still soaked so we pulled it all out. We should have done the complete carpet removal when we first spotted the mess. We also pulled down all of the ceiling drywall that was affected since we didn't want a moldy mess in the ceiling and walls later on. We also had the replacement insurance coverage suffix 'B' so it was all replaced with equivalent products. It still was a two month repair process.

Item of interest. Freezing pipes will usually not break the pipe at th point of the ice. as the water freezes it expands and pressurizes water in the closed end of the pipe some times far and away fron the cold. Pressures can be 2000 to 4000 psi or more on the water in a system down stream from the freeze. I have seen all the soft copper in a building expanded to 15% bigger than its original size and not rupture. Any mediocre solder joint will burst.
This is factual info. look it up if you want, JimN

Do they have PEX piping? There is a lawsuit against one makers fittings which had a high zinc content and fail in aggressive waters.