The pit is dispair

[AlexWyattMommy]

If you visit the living room, you already know my finished basement is now a danger zone. If not, here is the cliff note version
1-completely finished basement - built in bookshelves, big screen tv, all the boys military toys with dressers to store & built in tables to play on.

2-slight flooding 1/4-1/2" of standing water in Spring due to gravity drain backing up.

3-Early summer found some mold smell around one support beam, thought it was due to my putting Seven dust there before the flooding.

4-last week smelled mold through floor about 5 feet away from pole while putting together an exercise machine.

5-took every piece of furniture & toy upstairs or up-upstairs

6-DH took apart pergowannabe flooring (got to number all those babies 40 rows up to J)

7-DH took up subflooring squares (25 rows up to E, there are more but I didn't have to number them anymore :sad1: )

8-found mold on this side of the room, opposite corner from where smelled.

9-dried basement for a few days but still smelled mold pretty strong through AC ducts.

10-DH took covers off outlets last night at 9pm and said he could smell it through them.

11-I *think* DH spent the whole night tearing down the drywall. It sure sounded like it. I'm too scared to go look. That and the last thing I want to do is breath in mold filled drywall dust.

So what does this all mean to you? Why would I bother telling you? Because this will seriously curtail my future involvement in swaps. If it is a swap that I can't use up my stash and make Cricut pieces for, I won't be able to join. I also won't be hostessing anymore this year after my current commitments - sports, t'n't & pass it forward - are complete. I will be able to complete the ones I have signed up for as I have already purchased most of those items.

We've already paid for the package for WDW so thankfully DH hasn't suggested cancelling that. I don't know what we will end up doing with the basement. I know a new drain tile will need to be cut in the concrete floor inside and we will probably have to dig outside to be sure it isn't damaged.

I just wanted everyone to know why I would be absent after all my looking forward to new swaps. I think the only new one will be TinkerBean's because I already bought paper for that one and I can use my Cricut to make the embellishments.

Thanks for reading. :hug:

[party of 3]

so sorry ann. you must be so upset with what's going on over there. i wish there was something i could do to help out. do you want me to help with the topper and tag swap? can i do anything there for you? i know you have all but one of the sports so not much there. unless you want to mail it all in one box and i'll swap that out for you. whatever you need, i'll help! just let me know.
:hug:

prayers and pixie dust that you can get it straighten out quickly. with no more surprises.:wizard:

[TinkerBean]

OH Ann, did the drywall stuff happen after we got off the phone last night?

Jeepers Creepers Girl. I just may need to come help you out there...

:hug:

Rhonda

[AlexWyattMommy]

OH Ann, did the drywall stuff happen after we got off the phone last night?

Jeepers Creepers Girl. I just may need to come help you out there...

:hug:

Rhonda

Just about right after. We stopped talking at 7 minutes till 9 and about 10 minutes after he went downstairs.

I need to call the insurance company when they open at 8:30. We already know our insurance doesn't cover mold, did you know most don't? But we want to have someone come out and see how extensive the mold damage is to the rest of house. Hoping they can give us a good recommendation so we don't end up with some yahhoo who wants to bilk us out of our money.

Thanks Holly. I'm sorting the sports right now. I have a pretty good system, so the sorting part isn't bad at all. I like being able to ooh and aah over all the great work. It feels good seeing it. But if things to get hairy when the t'n't one is due, I will definitely send you my lists and all the items in a UPS box. :hug: Thanks. I will not let my woes hold up any of you guys.

[123SA]

:hug: Please let me know how I can help.

[SusieStone]

My mold in a room was treated after a water heater busted becasue it was due to that. Is yours because you had a defective drain?


Just about right after. We stopped talking at 7 minutes till 9 and about 10 minutes after he went downstairs.

I need to call the insurance company when they open at 8:30. We already know our insurance doesn't cover mold, did you know most don't? But we want to have someone come out and see how extensive the mold damage is to the rest of house. Hoping they can give us a good recommendation so we don't end up with some yahhoo who wants to bilk us out of our money.

Thanks Holly. I'm sorting the sports right now. I have a pretty good system, so the sorting part isn't bad at all. I like being able to ooh and aah over all the great work. It feels good seeing it. But if things to get hairy when the t'n't one is due, I will definitely send you my lists and all the items in a UPS box. :hug: Thanks. I will not let my woes hold up any of you guys.

[PrincessNancy96]

So sorry to hear the damage is so extensive. I hope that insurance will possibly pay for a mold expert to come out and evaluate. Be sure to contact the BBB regardless to make sure there are no complaints against whomever comes out. I know we have started that with any work we contract out... thank gosh for us FIL does all this kind of stuff (minus the mold stuff){ drywall, carpentry is his forte} on the side.

Hope everything works out and if you need anything from me, please let me know. Also, let the worries of home slip away on vacation... don't worry about home, worry about family fun and make sure your DH does the same!!

[SusieStone]

This really is the pits.

I am so sorry.

Wish I could help you.

It's the hostess curse I tell ya'.

[AlexWyattMommy]

I now believe in the hostess curse. I had too many swaps before where nothing happened. It all waited for this one. :sad2:

Here is what I just saw looking out my front door.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q179/alexwyattmommy/101_2616.jpg

DH said it isn't all down yet.

It was the gravity drain due to the poor drainage by the road. Short of sueing the township, who has no money and it would only raise our taxes, it'll all be out of pocket expenses. We aren't sueing kind of people. We'll just take care of it ourselves. I'm just praying it is normal mold and not the deadly kind. My boys are already getting shots for mold. I don't really want to have to live somewhere else while this is being taken care of.

[ddavis860]

:hug: I just feel so bad for you guys! Hopefully you can get something from the insurance!

[Michellepooh]

Oh Ann, that's terrible!!! We had a similar mold situation a few years ago. The previous owners had put an addition on (kitchen) and didn't put any sort of ventilation under the addition, so you guessed it, mold!!! It took the men in white suits and about $3500 to get rid of it!! Nope, insurance wanted no part of that one. At least I managed to get a new kitchen out of the deal (won't mention how much that one cost....love my Corian countertops...;) ). It stinks that this is coming right before your big trip. Good thing it's paid for so you won't feel guilty about spending the money...it's already spent!

Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you. Been there! :hug:

[calanniebu]

I have no good words of advice but I wanted to send you lots of :hug:

[MazdaUK]

Poor you! :hug: Hope it can be sorted

[DisneyIsTerrific]

What a mess you have to deal with and a costly one at that. I've never had to deal with mold before so I have no advice to give, but I'll give you a big hug:grouphug: .

[party of 3]

i totally agree w/ nancy. try to put this out of your mind while on vacation. focus on your men and have a great time!!!

i don't think i like the sound of the hostess curse :scared1:

on a brighter note i love your front yard. it looks like it goes on for miles! very pretty!

[lewdyan1]

:hug: I just feel so bad for you guys! Hopefully you can get something from the insurance!
Well said!:wizard: :hug:

[AlexWyattMommy]

Thanks guys. I am getting a free inspection out of the insurance. :thumbsup2
They will be here in the hour. I'll let you know how it goes. They said we've already done most of the costly stuff by getting the floor and most of the walls down and out of the house. Well, the drywall is still downstairs. Guess we will be renting a dumpster. :sad2:

I am soo looking forward to my vacation.

[bearbear]

So sorry for all this added stress. I hate when houses go bad. We are all here for you. Sending good thoughts to you.
Cindy

[aroyer]

Hugs AWM! :hug: That just totally stinks! Man, if we all lived closer, you would have a whole army of helpers!

[Arizona Rita]

Ann, I feel so bad for you! Sending you lots of:grouphug: !!

[momx3boys]

Wow Ann I'm so sorry that is happening to you. Hugs and good thoughts that it works out. :hug:

[AlexWyattMommy]

Well that was an interesting waste of time. Glad we didn't pay for it.
They don't know why our walls had mold on them. Nor why the insulation had the mold smell in it. Can't see the mold on it, but it sure does reek of mold. There is no evidence of water sepage through the walls. The only thing we can come up with is the floor was so air tight with the dricore subfloor and foam backed pergowannabe that the water vapor from ground water traveled up the wall. The good news it didn't travel all the way to the ceiling. No mold evidence up there so our first floor walls are fine. Totally worried that we lose it all.

So after we get rest of the dry wall off the walls, off the floor and out the door; clean up the drywall dust; we need to spray the walls and wipe the spray off to remove the dead mold. Then we need to spray the floor and wipe that up too.

My basement will now be just a basement until we can afford to do the french drain inside. Still need to keep the swapping to a minimum until we save up enough for the work to be done.

My head hurts. :headache: Not sure if it is the stress or the mold fumes or psychosomatic.

I do have 9 groups swapped amongst themselves for the sports swap. :thumbsup2

[party of 3]

well the good news is that the 1st floor is ok! you must be so glad about that! i glad for you. i keep telling my dh that i want to refinish our basement and he is so afraid of water and mold that he keeps putting me off about it. i totally see why now.
i'm sure your head hurts. that is a ton of stress to deal with all that. just keep telling yourself that you'll be on vaca real soon!!!:cool1:

[rlovew]

I am so glad that it wasn't through the whole house. I wish I could do more but i'll be praying for you.

Rebecca

[AlexWyattMommy]

It doesn't get much better than knowing someone is praying for you. I'm not a religious person, but I believe in the power of prayer much more than in the power of my own abilities. I couldn't ask for anything more uplifting than your prayers.
Thank you.
:flower3:

[jennyL]

So sorry your having to go through this. It sounds like a real pain.

[BernardandMissBianca]

Well that whole things stinks Ann! I hate mold,scares the crap out of me. I hope you get it all squared away soon. You can vent some more at Breakfast!

[TPCShauna]

I am so sorry to hear about this whole thing, Ann! I'm starting to believe Susie's hostess curse idea. What a horrible thing for y'all to have to deal with.

:hug: to you, dear.

[MomOf2DisneyKids]

oh AWM, I'm sorry you're dealing w/all that!! :grouphug: :grouphug:

[Kim1964]

Wow, I am so sorry about all of this!

[Michellepooh]

Thankfully the damage was contained to the basement. I couldn't imagine having to rid the whole house of mold!!! :scared1: It's still such a yucky situation to deal with. :hug:

[New England Eeyore]

Oh, AWM, I'm so sorry! :hug: And what crappy timing. I wish there was something I could do to help physically. Let me know if you need any help on the swap side of things.

[Mickster]

Ann: I'm in the same exact (well, almost) boat as you...While the kids and I (my DH didn't go...) were in Maine, a seal around a pipe broke in our basement and we got water...while they were cleaning that up, they found mold. :eek: Lovely. Fortunately it doesn't seem too bad, but my basement, where I work, is now under construction too. Large sections of drywall are gone. Bookcases are moved. Plumbers and contractors are coming. Oh, the joys of homeownership!

Also, a few weeks ago, the glass on our front door leaked. I contacted the door manufacturer and the glass was replaced (after keeping it covered for 3 weeks) and we thought we were in the clear. The same storm that broke the seal made the door leak again! Yes, again! :scared1: So now, it is covered and we are waiting for a new glass to begin, but I am pushing for a new door. The door wasn't cheap!

[AlexWyattMommy]

Ann: I'm in the same exact (well, almost) boat as you...While the kids and I (my DH didn't go...) were in Maine, a seal around a pipe broke in our basement and we got water...while they were cleaning that up, they found mold. :eek: Lovely. Fortunately it doesn't seem too bad, but my basement, where I work, is now under construction too. Large sections of drywall are gone. Bookcases are moved. Plumbers and contractors are coming. Oh, the joys of homeownership!

Also, a few weeks ago, the glass on our front door leaked. I contacted the door manufacturer and the glass was replaced (after keeping it covered for 3 weeks) and we thought we were in the clear. The same storm that broke the seal made the door leak again! Yes, again! :scared1: So now, it is covered and we are waiting for a new glass to begin, but I am pushing for a new door. The door wasn't cheap!

:hug: Oh Mickster. I am sorry they found mold, but I am glad they found it before it spread too far.

We put an air scrubber in the basement. It has a HEPA filter. I didn't ask what it cost. DH was hoping to find a unit that would suck the air out of the basement to the outside, so this was a compromise. Hopefully that will clean out the air while we figure out what to do with the drywall pieces. $600 for a dumpster for that little bit of drywall is just crazy. Unfortunately we don't have a dump nearby. I have to call the garbage people and see what our options are. Maybe I can break the drywall up into smaller pieces and put them in garbage bags. IF the garbage people will take them.

All the plastic is off the was between the studs & cement walls. I get to pick up screws/nails later on today. :woohoo: Not. :rotfl2:

[New England Eeyore]

$600 for a dumpster for that little bit of drywall is just crazy. Unfortunately we don't have a dump nearby. I have to call the garbage people and see what our options are. Maybe I can break the drywall up into smaller pieces and put them in garbage bags. IF the garbage people will take them.


I wish I could send you my DH for the weekend. He is the expert at dismantling things and fitting them into garbage bags. (I try to keep him away from home repair as demolition seems to be his specialty - and not always intentionally.) Technically we have thrown away many thing that they say they don't pick up, but as long as he only puts out a few bags at a time and they are tied shut, it's never been an issue.

[AlexWyattMommy]

I know how to order pizza, you can send me your DH for the weekend. :thumbsup2

I called the garbage folks and they said as long as double bag it, and the bag is under 50 pounds, I can put out six a week. So later on today I will be busting up drywall waiting on the garbage bags from hubby after work. This means I can definitely get the walls and floor sprayed this weekend. :thumbsup2

[Dreamer & Wisher]

I'm sorry about your basement. Good Luck with all the cleanup. I would love to come help out if I could.

Your front yard is beautiful. It reminds me of Illinois where I am from.:goodvibes

[AlexWyattMommy]

Thanks. We have 25 acres. The five in front is the soybean you see. Then there is about 15 in corn. We live on the other five. We are 500 feet off the road. There was a lot of rain to make the gravity drain back up that far. I think we will eventually have to put in a pond for the run off & extra drainage tile we will put in the basement. No sense getting the water away from the house if it has no where to go but back.


Oh and Mickster, I hope you understand why I won't tell my DH about your problem. He is already freaking out about leaving the house for two weeks. If I tell him about your leaking pipe, he just may make me cancel the trip. I'll tell him after it is over. That could not have been a pleasant homecoming for you.

[BernardandMissBianca]

Ann, I am the queen of water and flooding when a WDW trip happens. Just let it go and enjoy your trip. Tell DH I said to relax, I have been down that path and it will bog you down if you let it.

[AlexWyattMommy]

::yes:: It is so easy to bogged down in the "what ifs".

[BernardandMissBianca]

Hakuna Matata!!!

[4ltlTinks]

Oh my...I feel so bad for you!!!

Just reading this post is getting me anxious again. Last August 25, I woke up to the sound of a waterfall...the waterfall was water pouring into the finished basement (from the main level) of our brand new home! The supply line under the sink in our laundry room popped out during the night. Both our main level and our basement were destroyed and we had to live in the upper level bedrooms with no kitchen or laundry facitlities for 2 months! Even when insurance covers a water issue, they are extremely unfair in what they will cover...like a hotel!

I still worry about mold...it took Service Masters 2 wks. to gut and dry out the house, but the sheet rock in the basement wasn't replaced. The ceiling was replaced, but not the walls. We were assured that we wouldn't have to worry about mold because it was thoroughly dried out, but I'm still nervous. Mold issues are overwhelming!!! So sorry you have to go through this!

[AlexWyattMommy]

Service Masters is who came to inspect our house.
I think they were a bit disappointed in that DH had already gutted most of the basement before they got there. :lmao:

I've got one stack of drywall cut & slammed with fist broken down. That was actually kinda fun. But don't tell DH. Just finished dinner with Little Bit and now I'll go break up some more. Hopefully it is small enough. They are all 2x2 or smaller, I guess.

[party of 3]

to bad we could not all jump on a bus or a plane and come and help you AWM. between all of us we could have it bagged up in no time!!:hug: is it hot out there today? you must be so in need of your vacation.

[party of 3]

::yes:: It is so easy to bogged down in the "what ifs".

this is a very true statement!

[TPCShauna]

2x2 should be fine. You might also want to be sure to get those nice, strong Hefty (or is it Glad) Force-flex bags. They held full size pizza boxes without tearing.

[AlexWyattMommy]

He came home with contractor bags. They look like body bags. :scared:

The air scrubber is being rented for the week. DH said was $40 a day, but that the man gave it to us for 7 days for $120. The filters are $19 a piece and we have two extra. Hopefully that will be enough. The machine has a light that tells you when to change them.

I did a pile and part of another one with the busting them up. Fifty pounds weighs a lot when it isn't in the shape of a little boy. DH is busting up the rest and I will bag those up tomorrow. It'll take a few weeks of putting them out to get rid of them all, but at least we can store them in barn out of the house and it won't cost $600. :thumbsup2

Off to finish catching up and then I'm going to box up the rest of the sports swap.

[hopemax]

My sympathies.

As a non-home owner I can't commiserate. But every time I whine about not having a house yet, my friend gives me a laundry list of things she has had to do to hers this year.

[BernardandMissBianca]

Ann I hope you have respirator masks, not just the paper ones either. You do not want to breathe all that crap in!

[party of 3]

buffy-good idea. i never even thought of that!

[AlexWyattMommy]

That is what the air scrubber is for, hopefully.

I couldn't find the white paint ones and I just about suffocated myself trying to figure out the respirator. And it was just too stinking hot using a scarf. But I was the fashion statement. :rotfl2: