well I have been saving my house for the last two weeks. 5 feet of water reduced to 6 inches of bay mud and crap. I am back in hilton head for a couple of days. the house withstood the storm well. the house in intact and the roof is there, lost quite a few slate tiles, but the contents of the house are almost all lost. I have already ripped all the wallboard out of the house and I am now lettingit dry before rebuilding. The914 and the 911 are both totals. if you look caarefully in the first pic you can see the trunk of the 914 popped up. here are a few pics of the house and the neighborhood after the storm. Work also flooded up to 4 feet, they lost all the computers as well as the back up tapes(stupid MIS person decided to stay for the storm with the backup tped in her car). Her car flloded and now they are trying to recover all the hard drives as well as all thebackupp tapes.

more pics

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this used to be where all the bars were

more this used to be our fishing pier for the town, it was 1/4 mile long, now it is a lost cause

----speechless------


This sure put my petty little problems in perspective......

These photos seem much more profound in this forum.

Good Luck to you.

John

Wow that's tragic.

At least you and your family are ok.

I hope the insurance covers the damage...

QUOTE (olav @ Sep 23 2005, 01:11 PM)

Wow that's tragic. At least you and your family are ok. I hope the insurance covers the damage...

I'm glad you guys are safe...

QUOTE (tat2dphreak @ Sep 23 2005, 11:16 AM)

QUOTE (olav @ Sep 23 2005, 01:11 PM) Wow that's tragic. At least you and your family are ok. I hope the insurance covers the damage... I'm you guys are safe...

My heart goes out to you and your family. That living room and bathroom picture look all too familiar. I had four feet of water in my house from Hurricane Ivan last Sept. 16th and had water up to the headliner of my 914. I worked everyday after the storm (along with contractors) until we moved back in the house the last week of January this year.

If you haven't already done so, you need to pull out all of the carpet, clothes, furniture and rip out the interior walls and pull all of the wet insulation out. Spray everything with straight bleach and open all of the windows or turn on the AC if you have it. Later, get the dried out wood treated with a mildew killer by a professional ( I had a borate treatment on mine). YOU DO NOT WANT ANY MILDEW REMAINING!!!

Another lesson learned on the 914 (which I did not have time to look at until after I repaired my house). If you plan on salvaging the transmission you need to get to it right away. Salt water will corrode magnesium, BAD. It ate a hole all the way through the case on mine. Also, salt water got into the transmission apparently through a vent tube. My garage was coated with Swepco green tranny lube after the flood receded. I would flush it with mineral spirits and refill with a cheap lube until you get ready to run it.

Don't get discouraged at all of the damage. Work at it every day. The work will keep your mind occupied and make feel you are making progress, even if it is slow.

Contact your insurance company immediately and stay after them. If they stall on paying, contact your state insurance commision and write your senators and congressmen (cc the insurance company). I hope you had flood insurance on the house. Windstorm insurance does not cover flood damage. If you get help from FEMA, expect all lot of red tape and mindless bureaucrats (I speak from experience). They send a small check immediately after you register with them. You then have to show receipts for generators and such. If you buy a window A/C to dehumidify the house FEMA will reimburse some of the cost. They will help with rental of a temporary residence but only after you submit contracts, receipts, etc. They can also supply a travel trailer for you to live in. We still have people here a year later living in FEMA trailers.

Keep your chin up. Contact me if you need any help.

Jim Sterling

Milton, Florida

the family is fine, wife and animals have been in hilton head SC for the past 3 weeks. I am the luckiest guy on my block because I have flood insurance. I am the only house within 1/4 mile that has flood insurance. I hope they are ready for a big claim. The outpouring of support has been great. I have to thank all my fellow ameriacans for their support. I have met some of the nicest people that have come down to the gulf coast to offer assistance. One lady gave me 6 gallons of bleach and a garden sprayer to knock the mold down in the house. Everything in the house had at least 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch of mold and mildew. Even the framing of the house had that much mold under the wallboard. thank god for bleach. the thing that saved my house from floating away was the bottom of one of the fireplaces collapsed and allowed the home to equalize with the outside water. Some of the bricks were actually flung across the room 10 feet away!

Anybody have any ideas on how to save the engine in the 911, is there a possibility that it will run again, the car is very sentimental to my wife, it was her grandfathers car, I am going to buy it back from insurance and see what I can do with it.

Don't write off your adjuster before the claim starts! Insurance adjusting is what I do, and I do it well. Not looking for a pity party with my name on the cake, but slog thru the debris for a mile or so in my shoes. I may have to inspect damages for which there are no coverages in the policy. In a "business" relationship, you may have to deliver bad news to a supplier- you found someone cheeper/faster/whatever. In my job, its all personal. Folks are often very emotional about their situation, and rightfully so. Because this is such a "personal business" and not a "business business" (for me at least) being away from home for 3 weeks at a shift, working 12, 14, 16 hr days, 7 days a week, trying to help people get back on their feet can be physically tough, but mentally draining as well. If its personal to you, it ends up being personal to me. Now for this 3 week shift, you are expected to see 50-75 claims. Thats alot of destruction to sift thru, alot of lives to try to get back on track. With that much work to do, I'd rather pay a little to much than not enough and have to re-open the claim for a couple hundred bucks. That being said, I can't, and wouldn't, give away the store, but c'mon, each policy holder has their own little slice of h3ll to deal with, I just get to be involved with 50 slices of that cake. Thats alot of trouble to resolve in a short time.

The job isn't all that bad. There are agents who really know their stuff, and make sure their policy holders have all the right coverages, making my job worlds easier. And there are the families you can do everything for that you'd want done for you, they appreciate it rather than work you for more $$$, beyond what is warrented, and that makes for a good day for sure.

Just as not all car dealers wear plad jackets and smoke fat stoggies, not all adjusters are are jerks.

Now climbing off soapbox...

i am not writing my sdjuster off, I Just know that the flood insurance is the worst insurance that I have, no replacement costs like my other insurance. If this was my wind and hail policy I would be convered for a lot more money. This hurricane caused me to lose two porsches, 2 jet skis, and my boat that I just rebuilt, as well as all the damage to my house, and now being out of work for at least another month. But things could be alot worse, my house luckily was a 120 year old house made out of bardge board, it is one STRONG little house. I have a good support network of friends and I have two places for the wife and animals to stay at. I am very fortunate.

words escape me. that house of yours is a tough one. it's ability to take the storm and still look that good is impressive. i can't see anything that looks like a 914.

k

I'm moved by what I see, alot of work ahead and so hang in there. Your health and well being is the most iimportant think, you can alway rebuild.

It's right here Kevin.

QUOTE (mack914 @ Sep 23 2005, 01:04 PM)

I'm moved by what I see, alot of work ahead and so hang in there. Your health and well being is the most iimportant think, you can alway rebuild.

Best of luck to you.

i wonder what the bay area will look like after the next big earthquake ...