What happened.
While we were traveling visiting family, a pipe burst in the
house we rent. Our landlord found it
relatively early which saved us from further
loss. Long story short: the pipes run in the attic (instead of the insulated
walls). The temperature dipped down below freezing (a rare occurrence in
Seattle). We did have the heat set at a reasonable temperature, but my
suspicion is that the pipes were not adequately insulated (if at all).
We were not the only people caught with our pipes exposed in the cold. Many other Seattlites experienced a similar unexpected fate.
We were not the only people caught with our pipes exposed in the cold. Many other Seattlites experienced a similar unexpected fate.
So... it was basically like having a hose running in the attic.
Luckily the water found several quick paths to pour out of the ceiling, which
mostly kept the water from pouring down on the furniture, electronics,
etc. Most of our things were spared. Everything
on the floor got wet, and the built-in shelf in the middle of house had water
running down it, so we lost a bunch of nice books, and our record collection
got wet.
We haven’t had a chance to take an inventory of the damaged/destroyed items
as they have all been haphazardly stacked in the shed and my landlords garage,
so that emergency renovations could begin. The entire process of moving all
of our stuff out of the house took only
several hours, so you can imagine how unorganized it all is. It literally is just
a huge pile of stuff. Some in boxes (not labeled), some in piles. No rhyme or
reason to the process. Just a bunch of stuff…in a pile.
The aftermath.
Comparing pictures from the post about moving into the Bungalow, to post-flood demolition, you can see the extent of the damage.
Any of those who have stopped by the blog recently, may have seen the reupholstered rocking chair. It was mostly spared, but it has a water spot on it.
Our devoted readers may remember the kitchen shelves we built and shared here. Their purpose has been shelved. (bam! best pun of this post)
A serious inconvenience becomes a minor existential crisis.
You know that feeling when you are moving and you look around and at the crap you have accumulated and say to yourself: “What the $%^*? Why do I have these things? What is the point of these things?” You realize it isn't even worth the effort to move the things. You loathe their very existence. You are disgusted by the fact that you have accumulated all of it. Well, take that feeling of disgust and extrapolate it to the Nth degree and you have my feelings for the unorganized heap of my material things; where the perfectly-fine undamaged stuff is intermingled with the completely-destroyed crap in one unifying pile. I loathe it. I loathe it all.
Many relevant Fight Club quotes come to mind. Thank you Chuck Palahniuk:
"It's just, when you buy furniture, you tell yourself, that's it. That's the last sofa I'm gonna need. Whatever else happens, I've got that sofa problem handled."
“It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything.”
What now.
So far our landlord has been very helpful, generous, and
supportive. He is putting us up in a temporary place we found on AirBnB, while our old place is renovated.
We have all learned many valuable life lessons:
1.
Renter’s insurance. It’s a good idea. And it’s
very cheap.
2.
Always turn off the water-main when you leave
for extended periods of time. (If you don’t know where the water-main is, (like
in our situation) find out!
3.
If you have pipes running through the attic take
extra precaution. If you don’t know
where the pipes run (like in our situation), find out!
4.
Don’t own things.
