Friday, January 27, 2017

TGIF

What a long week this was!  Between work and our water damage issues we are both exhausted.  So last I left off we had pulled up part of the kitchen floor and determined that the cupboards and wall weren't damaged, only some flooring.  Next up was for the plumber who installed the hot water tank to come back and try and help us find the source of the leak and fix it.


The only spot where water was found, back of stove area

He had the nicest tiniest little drywall saw and he was so neat - he did a far better job than hubby and I would have which will make this wall in the garage so much easier to repair with just a little drywall tape, mud and a sand.  Anyhow what we found out is....it isn't a plumbing leak.  We spent an hour and a half climbing around/under/cutting holes and feeling dark spaces (he did, I saw a freaking big spider in the garage so wasn't keen to do it myself and hubby was on a conference call).  He even looked up in the space above the attic because after all that we think it is a roof/vent leak that leaked down inside the wall directly to where the stove sits and leaked out onto the floor.  There is no black mold in the space, thank goodness and still just a little bit of moisture.  He gave me the name of a local trusted roofer (a good tradesman is a great source of referrals) and that guy should arrive some time today.  No ETA so I have to hang around all day, this week has been like that.

Unless there is a big issue up on the roof when all is said and done we should still be under our insurance deductible on this and not be making an insurance claim.  If there is more damage that we can't see at this point we can still open a claim.

***update - the roofer just left and is coming back tomorrow or Monday to fix our leak - it was a roof vent.  No damage to attic.  Only damage is the flooring - woohoo!  The roof repair is only $100!  Plus he inspected the 10 year old asphalt shingle roof (they have 15-20 year life) and it looks really good and all the other vents don't show any cracking like this one.  He said it was because the roofer used a nail gun instead of hand-nailing the vent area.  Sooooo happy!  So now our costs are likely well under $2000 plus the HWT which was a completely separate thing coinciding at the same time.  No black mold which was a huge concern due to hubbies allergies/asthma!  We have fans going and most of the moisture is already gone.  Hopefully there won't be any rain before he fixes it. 

I did manage to get a walk for Buddy yesterday after the plumber left - we had to wait as 75 ducks moved from where someone had fed them some grain back to the pond.  So glad Buddy is well behaved around ducks.  He just looks at them and is not worried as long as they keep their distance.  He hates crows though, they constantly try and break peanuts and chestnuts on our roof and they taunt him while he is in the yard.  When we cleaned our eaves out last year we found chicken bones as they had been mining someone's trash and eating it up there.

We actually received some good news this week.  The windshield claim from our rental car in Alberta on our December family visit has been 100% covered through hubby's credit card insurance.  We pay $65 a year for the RBC Avion and I honestly think it is the best Canadian credit card out there.  We get points that we can use towards travel with no blackout dates, only dollar levels that they will cover which means you can use any airline you want.  Now we saved a couple of hundred dollars from their car rental coverage.  They don't include liability but do cover physical damage and glass is zero deductible so a definite bonus for us as we were sure we would be on the hook for $200 deductible through our regular auto policy that covers car rentals.

I picked up the currency I ordered last week.  With Euros in my hands I can almost start counting down the days (might be a tad early as still four months away) until our trip to Greece.  I am going to fill out my passport application and take it in on Monday so that will be another thing off the travel list.  I have ordered a nice pair of comfortable sandals 3 times since December.  The amazon order got canceled as the 3rd party seller left them and they refunded the order.  The second time I ordered through The Bay and due to lack of stock they canceled the order  Then I ordered through Naturalizer and the same thing happened.  Today I stumbled on a great pair of leather sandals including shipping for $32.  That is cheaper than all the other orders I had made.  I don't think Sears has inventory issues so likely will actually be getting these.  While I find some shoes in excellent condition at the thrift store I haven't found any good sandals so bit the bullet and ordered them.  We have only one decent shoe store in town and there was nothing there that worked for me so online it was.

Hubby has worked really hard and I have tried to deal with all the tradespeople/damage issues so hopefully we actually get our first weekend off since January 1.  We both need it.  We are not even considering putting the garage back together/fixing it until we pinpoint the exact source of damage so that will likely  be dealt with in a few weeks.  Right now all the shelving units have been emptied where we cut holes so the truck will be parked outside for a while.  Usually our garage is pretty clean and tidy but I realized when I was moving everything that we need to have another garage declutter so that will happen when we put it all back.

Have a great weekend everyone!

27 comments:

  1. In each of our homes, our garage was clean and tidy once and only once. I admire you. Glad it's not a major plumbing leak. Hope it's a minor leak of some other kind.

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    1. It is difficult to keep the garage tidy but we like to keep both vehicles in it so that has to happen.

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  2. Garages are for cars? I hope you find the cause but enjoy your weekend off.

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    1. Sadly, I wish I was joking! It's been years since we had a clean enough garage to park 1, let alone two cars.

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  3. Sure looks like Buddy enjoy the geese.
    Coffee is on

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    1. Fortunately he is interested in them but not too interested

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  4. Hope the roof leak is it for the damage and everything returns to normal soon.

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  5. Our garage was always floor to ceiling end to end full of random stuff that found itself de-cluttered from the house. Now I don't have a garage just a lovely garden room as we incorporated the garage into our house extension with no clutter anywhere. Cars live on the drive and don't miss the garage one bit lol.

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    1. It's funny how cluttered the garage gets, I could live without one too

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  6. So glad your leak was found and not too expensive to repair! There is nothing as unsettling as a leaky roof. I'm always looking up when it rains and it rains pretty hard here sometimes, so I worry. Hubby re-primed and painted our stained kitchen ceiling, so everything looks normal again.

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    1. Glad that your ceiling got sorted. We made sure the roofer fully inspected the rest so that we don't get any further bad surprises. Now to wait for that area's floor to be dry, and for the new flooring to come in and be installed. We should be able to put the stove back in a couple of days though, hate not having a stove.

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  7. Overall great news but oh the time that was wasted :(

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    1. Yes, seriously. It was the flooring company, restoration company, us and the plumber who thought it was a plumbing leak...many days wasted.

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  8. Nice to see your life go back to some resemblance of normalcy... Roof leaks are crazy...

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    1. Thanks. It appears the rest of the roof has about 10 years left as it is only 10 years old now so hopefully this is the one and only leak we have. We take good care of our house, this was impossible to predict.

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  9. You have dodged a couple of bullets there! Thank goodness - it could have been so much worse. I hope you have a wonderful weekend - the cleanup can wait.

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    1. Yes, no one ever died because their garage was a mess :)

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  10. And I thought our dog was the only one to hate certain types of birds! Our Charley (a Chesapeake/Golden Lab mix) loathes doves, which he seems to view as the Spawn of Satan. He goes crazy when they have the temerity to sit on the phone lines (which they do a lot), and races up and down, barking at that. So far as I know, they haven't done anything to him, though the local squirrels have fun taunting him.

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    1. That's funny. The crows sit on our roof and the roofs of the houses around our back yard. They are little buggars for sure.

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  11. YEH!! Happy Dance that they actually found the cause!!!

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  12. It is good to know there is no big damage. The things can be fixed faster and costs less are really make us happy. Doing home repair in winter is a horror. Thank god your things are minor.

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    1. All our snow melted and it is only the occasional rain now - we are in for a few days of sun so hopefully the issue will be fixed today and we can breathe a sign of relief

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  13. I am glad you found the source of your home woes.
    Hom problems can be soooo stressful! Thanks for your nice comment on myt last post :)

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    1. Thank you! Your Dad seems like he was an extremely talented guy. I love that photo of him that you posted.

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