Please wait...
Those consumergrade dehumidifiers might be ok for a small moisture problem, but not for serious damages to the building. I use one in a cellar and it produces about 6 Liters of water during 24h. You want to get rid of 60L in 12h or even more.
Think of large and loud machines, the size of a fridge. The holes in the ground are made so they can better dry the floors. Also, think about the energy consumption, you do not want to pay that yourself.
We have a commercial-grade dehumidifier here at the moment.
Some folks came by with a shop-vac to get most of it out of the carpeting (where it was particularly bad).
An assessor advised me to remove the ceiling where we saw the water damage and replace all of it (even if it wasn't affected). Not because the non-affected part needs replacing, but because it's easier on labor, and may actually save a little bit of money, since drywall itself isn't that expensive.
I'm unsure about the carpeting itself. I doubt we'll have any problems with the newer carpeting in the computer room that was compromised, but I am concerned about the old carpeting in the living room. I need to replace it anyway, but after this incidence, I'm concerned it'll be more of a problem down the road.
I'm also a tad concerned about the utility room, where the bulk of the water ran down. He didn't mention it at all, but I might need to address it as well.
In any event, the guy on the third floor is going to have hell to pay. With me, they'll get off pretty easy. My neighbor upstairs, though, will probably kill him financially. He suffered a lot of damage.
I hope you do not have to pay for all of that. Wishing you luck.
Also, you should rather do more than leave something untouched, people I know from Kindergarten have shut half of their house down. Their floor in those parts is full of mold and insurance wont pay for it, since it rotted rather late and those are the rooms next to those rooms where the original damage occurred.
Surely there is some solid wood in there, but the two primary ass
supports were split in half and the beam between them had snapped as
well.
+100 to you for using the phrase "primary ass supports" as a technical term.
Not having to pay for any of this. The third-floor condominium will foot this bill (unwillingly), either through insurance or otherwise, or some combination of the two.
Ah, but the top floor guy will have to pay for all the damages to everyone below him.
Hard call, really.
Dear lazyweb:
What is this base underneath the tiles? I need to extend the tiles out a little more and so I need to build the correct base underneath.
[ If you can't see the photo go to https://plus.google.com/107027477281187068618/posts/P8mt1XqwLvQ ]
We found out yesterday that the house we wanted to buy is now in contract to be sold to someone else. Unable to unload the Mouse House in time, we've lost another one. This is getting very frustrating.
The new punch list:
- Refinish the floors -- pulling up the carpet on the 1st floor revealed old but decent hardwood floors
- New tile around the fireplace (see previous post -- there is exposed concrete that needs covering)
- Replace the toilet (wife cracked the tank lid and a replacement costs as much as a new can)
- New carpet on the second floor
- Paint everything
- Finally get rid of the stump in the front yard
Hopefully that will be all ... I've gotta get out of this place before mortgage rates go up to the point where I can't afford to move
Speaking of mouse house... What do you do when you find one in the basement. Not sure how they got it. Is "professional help" the only way to find out how they are getting in?
Wed Feb 19 2014 00:57:44 EST from ax25 @ Uncensored Subject: Re: arrghSpeaking of mouse house... What do you do when you find one in the basement. Not sure how they got it. Is "professional help" the only way to find out how they are getting in?
One is none. Get some trap and try to catch it. Clean up and see if everything is calm, I'd say.
There is some sort of poison, too, but then you need to find the corpse.
However they do not last long because the Mouse House also has cats.
We have a partial basement. About half of the house is built over crawlspace with dirt underneath, so I would imagine they simply burrow in. I could be wrong.
Actually she's had more than enough already. Tonight she called me in a panic and said that the basement was filling up with water. When I got home I found that I had forgotten to shut off the patio spigot from the inside this year, and the water-filled spigot reliably did its job and exploded, sending lots of water back into the house.
This is just what I needed the night before I have to get up early for a long drive. And I can't even run my pump yet because the hose it attaches to needs to thaw out.
But at least the mouse is dead.
at our location there is one way the mice can get in:
by taxi.
the one with the 4 feet.
most of them are alive, and are used as toy for the next weeks.