Well the rain cometh. It made for great sleeping weather but considering that I was late in getting to bed I didn’t really want to get out of bed. However, Gator and crew had other plans for me. They harped on me until I had to acquiesce and accommodate their morning hunger. To my horror I found my temporary gutter solution had blown off and was laying on the patio as if it was laughing at me saying try again fat boy. That just made me mad.
I fed the kids and then got dressed, had my medicine and grabbed breakfast. I talked with one of the regulars and got a referral to a local handy man. He can probably get me a final solution that will be permeant. As I ate my breakfast, I kept thinking about the damage being done at home and when I was done, I opted to go home instead of going to the grocery store.
I arrived home and opted to try to find a solution because the rain was falling and like grandpa always used to say, the water has to go somewhere. I was hoping that I would be able to resolve this myself with the parts I had and there wouldn’t be a need to call someone. However, sad to say but home repairs unless they are truly simple are beyond me. I know my limitations but that won’t stop me from trying and that usually makes things worse.
I’ve got a couple of those flexible downspouts but the problem is if they are curved the water sits and won’t drain. That acts like a weight and eventually they collapse. So, they have to be straight or they just won’t work. Well I rigged up a system and have something in place that works for the moment. There are some leaks but the bulk of the water is now going where it’s supposed to into a black drainage hose. I did all of this in the pouring rain having to run from the back to the side of the house and I got soaked pretty quickly. Thankfully once I was a little wet, I had the foresight to remove my phone and wallet, otherwise this could have created a bigger problem. I’m sure if they neighbors were watching me; they got a hell of a laugh but it matters not to me. I managed to do damage to my back and I kept brushing against this bush with my face. I know for a fact there is poison ivy there, I just kept cussing up a storm and using what little strength I had. Eventually I had something in place but it wasn’t perfect so I tampered with it a little to try to make it better, that caused everything to fall apart and I had to start over. I did that 2 times and eventually said fuck this, get it to work to take the bulk of the water and call it a day. No sense in trying to make this perfect because that won’t happen until it’s truly fixed. I was moving and almost fell in the mud, that’s where I think I messed up my back. I also had a muscle spasm in my upper legs which wasn’t fun. Tomorrow is going to suck extra because of the aches and pains I am sure this old body will have.
Finally, I was done tinkering with this and came inside. I got undressed in the kitchen and then walked to the bathroom and jumped in the shower. I was mostly wet but I had all sorts of dirt on me and just felt the need to be clean. I put soap on my face and made sure to rub it around my eyes so that if there was any poison ivy oil it would wash it away. I got myself clean, toweled off and saw Gator waiting for me. She was looking at me like why are you showering now, you usually do that later in the day. Once I got some underwear on, I just had to sit down. I rested up with Gator in my lap I began browsing on my phone. I needed to get to the grocery store but wanted to catch my breath first. I gave it a ½ hour, then put one foot in front of the other as I went to the grocery store mad.
Turns out two times when I shouldn’t go to the grocery store. First when I’m hungry. Second when I am mad. Why? The results in either situation is the same. I bought a bunch of unhealthy food that I really don’t need. Like this huge platter of cookies, they were only $10 but it’s a fuck ton of cookies. I thought maybe they would have prepared sandwiches this week so I could skip making my lunch. Nope the fuckers didn’t have one. That made me angrier. Then I got to the check out and the total price made it worse. However, I was talking with the cashier and she told me that she went on a cruise came back and heard this hissing sound. Turns out she had 6 pipes in her crawl space that burst. They had to shut off the water, she called a plumber and then had to take out a loan. It was 6 thousand dollars. In some ways I would trade my problem for hers but the total no way. I hope to make it out of this mess for 2 thousand or less and I am leaning heavily on the less side.
If there is a different problem and it’s not the gutter and its siding or foundation related insurance may help with the cost but my deducible is a thousand. They won’t cover the mold at all so that would be my responsibility but you have to learn to walk before you run and right now it’s just a matter of taking this in steps. I fucking hate waiting I want to fast forward to the end so I can put this behind me but that isn’t the way life works. The problem here is the longer this lingers the greater the possibility that the problem will get worse and that means more money out of my pocket.
Needless to say, since the original temporary solution failed me more water got in and I have no idea if my problem is fixed with a gutter or if there is a larger issue. Next step is to call the handy man and see how much this is going to cost and get the gutter fixed. Then let the wood dry out again and wait for the next rain. If water is visible then I’ve got a bigger issue that needs to be fixed. If not then I’m good and can call the demo guy to come back and remediate.
I just called the “handy man” turns out he’s a plumber. Not sure if I got a good referral but I know I can always find someone on my own. I left a message and we shall see what happens.
I am trying to breath and remain calm but it’s not easy. It’s also difficult not to be depressed by the situation. However, in the end I am the master and fixing this is my responsibility. This is one of those times when I wish I could just call 1 person and then the problem would be fixed. I know I am repeating myself but I’m ready to move on. Please Lord Jesus make this go away and cheaply at that. I can say for certain that this makes me appreciate what I have even more.
Now you know how things went for me. Come back and I will be sure to keep you posted. Rain is done for now. Next chance in the forecast according to my phone says Friday. Perfect Friday the 13th and the day of the full moon. I wonder if I should worry more now? Thanks for stopping by!
No comments:
Post a Comment