The Flood

Drama. What fun would life be without it?

A big part of our move was preparing the old Cleveland house for sale. We spent countless hours washing walls, fixing holes, painting, repairing etc, etc.  After several weeks of work, we had the Cleveland house in beautiful shape! We hired a real estate agent and he came and took pictures and listed the house.  To help skew things in our favor, we also enlisted in the help of St. Joseph, burying him in our front garden per our pastor’s instructions.

A couple weeks past. I visited the house several times a week just to keep an eye on things, take out the trash, mow the lawn. Then, one day I parked in the driveway and noticed something funny. “What the heck is that?” I thought, noticing the  siding on the house. I thought our bad neighbors sprayed something on the house.

Siding on Cleveland house
Siding on Cleveland house

I though little more of it other than how I would need to clean it off and went inside…

flood 01

Our carefully cleaned house for sale was ruined! It was raining in the kitchen. I allowed myself just enough time to expel some expletives then ran upstairs. The tub supply had sprung a leak. I shut it off and ran to the basement to shut it off there too, just in case. It was raining in the basement, too

This was not good.

Cell phone. “Hello, Carol? Call the insurance company. We can’t fix this one ourselves.”

I immediately set about trying to save what I could. It was a fools errand, but I had to try.

cleanup
I mopped and put out buckets and set up a huge fan. I prayed and I cursed, but nothing was gonna save this mess.

The entire kitchen ceiling eventually wound up on the floor. The floor itself, buckled pretty badly, 1/2″ plus. The counter top swelled and warped. The window wouldn’t open. The cabinets were popping apart before my eyes. The electrical circuit breakers popped. The dishwasher was filled with sludge. Tiles and paint were popping off the walls. There was a water fall down the basement stairs. The rooms in the basement were an inch deep in water. The upstairs bathroom floor was buckled as well. This was not a good day.

The next day it looked like this…

Yes, That is the kitchen! The contractors tore the kitchen out--down to the studs on the first day!
Yes, That is the kitchen! The contractors tore the kitchen out–down to the studs on the first day! Looked like a cabin in a horror film!

It was shocking to see how it was all just gone.

DSCN5402

Everything was removed.

The bill closet was stripped down to the lathe.
The bill closet was stripped down to the lathe.
Oh what a mess!
Oh what a mess!

We hired a general contractor to manage all the destruction and construction crews. We had to pick out new cabinets, counter, lighting, tile, paint, carpet…everything. Lots of decisions.

Eventually it all came together.

Like a magazine!
Like a magazine! Its extra wide because we eliminated the closet. It’s for sale!
New sink, faucet, dishwasher, garbage disposal.
New sink, faucet, dishwasher, garbage disposal, tile, under and over lighting and more!
Kitchen floor was saved!
Kitchen floor was saved! New recessed lighting makes it bright and big.
Living room and dining room are looking good too!
Living room and dining room are looking good too!

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