November Rain

"And when your fears subside and shadows still remain, oh yeah
I know that you can love me when there's no one left to blame
So never mind the darkness we still can find a way
Nothin' lasts forever even cold November rain"  --Guns N Roses

If you live in Western Washington then you know that we've had a lot of rain recently, hard pounding rain with blistering winds and occasional thunder and lightning.  Normally, I find this a little romantic and fun--a little hot cider, a cozy blanket, maybe some board games or a good movie.  It's not like we live in a valley or flood zone......

Backtrack.  A few weeks ago I noticed that the floor molding in the guest room was coming away from the wall. I was worried maybe something was wrong with the foundation.  I tried to get a hold of several contractors, but no one seemed to want to call me back.

Monday.   It rained and rained and rained and rained.  It was practically right out of "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh."  Monday afternoon I walked downstairs and I noticed foot prints in the carpet.  I thought to myself, "That's weird.  I hope no one broke in again, but why rob the mostly empty guest room?"  I went to investigate.  As I stepped onto the carpet, the squish it made beneath my feet became unmistakeable.  The guest room was wet.  Further investigation revealed that parts of the main room were wet too.  Panicked, I called Dave and then tried another contractor recommended by a friend.  Miracle of miracles, he answered the phone and offered to come out first thing in the morning. Meanwhile, it continued to rain and the basement got wetter.

The contractor determined we had drainage problems on the north side of the house and a back drain.  We needed to construct a new drainage system.  Tuesday night a guy from a water damage company came out to review the situation.  He told us it was a category three. I asked if that meant it was not so bad.  He responded, "Uh no, that's the worst."  Wednesday a sewer guy came to snake the back drain only to find that it didn't need to be snaked, because it was really just a hole to nowhere, hence why it always overflows in heavy rain.  He was nice enough to not charge us.

On Thursday morning (Thanksgiving) Dave and I moved everything out of the basement.  We got creative with where to put stuff.  We used it as an opportunity to lose some furniture we had been thinking of getting rid of and dust some of those hard to reach places.

Right now we are waiting for bids.  Unfortunately, this all happened the week of Thanksgiving so everyone is not working.  Additionally, since a giant rainstorm happened lots of other people are dealing with water damage too.  The house smells like old wet towels.  It's gross.  We are looking at costly repairs.  In addition to a new drainage system we need to get new carpeting, take the wall of the bedroom down to bedrock, remove all insulation, and rebuild.  Costly repairs, probably not covered by insurance (we are waiting to hear from the claims adjuster).

On this Thanksgiving evening, I am trying to remember to be thankful.  I am part of an amazing family, I am able to stay home with my kids, and we have a house to name a few.  I am hoping that the carpets will be removed soon because then I can work on the improving the smell.  I fear our basement may be out of commission for a while.  I'm trying to stay positive.  I had been thinking it would be nice to replace the carpet and put on some fresh paint downstairs.  Nature has just forced our hand a little.