200 miles under the keel in one day ... or, how a house fire ruined our cruise

LaRea

Thanks.  I'm glad the fire didn't happen in March.  We would have had major problems trying to rebuild during the pandemic.  

LaRea

Today was a shi#tty day to be me, and I mean that literally. 

Overnight, 1000 gallons of raw sewage backflowed into my basement.  Yes, the same basement that I just finished renovating after the house fire.  We're talking five inches of ... well, there's no need to get graphic about it.  This wasn't storm water.  When the neighborhood sewage pumping station stops pumping, that stuff has to go somewhere.  In this case, it went into my house and two others.  

Carpet, gone.  Fans and dehumidifiers, running.  Drywall, getting torn out tomorrow.  

But I am an optimist and a positive thinker.  The county is taking full responsibility, which means I don't have to pay my insurance policy's huge deductible!  

Aqua_Aura

I always wondered how sewer systems worked with hills and houses at the bottom, I guess we have an idea now. Has this ever happened in your area before? Seems like a 1 in a million chance. Either way that is awful and hopefully you are not out in anyway and they cover all aspects of the issues. 

Ian

I guess in this case you were really trying to push s^%t uphill @LaRea ...

Sorry to hear and surprising there wasn’t some form of back flow preventer.

Handymans342

Dang Chris! You have a black cloud over your house or what? I’ve had to clean that stuff up before. The smell is horrible!

LaRea

The pump station is right across the street.  The same thing happened in 2014, and we thought it was a freak accident.  Backflow preventers are not required, but rest assured I'll be installing one.  

Such a hassle.  As just one example:  they have to move my driving simulator, so I have to take it apart (not an easy task) and then rebuild it after they finish the work.  I appreciate you letting me vent here on the forum.  

raybo3

@LaRea that really sucks. If it wasn't for bad luck you would have no luck at all. Wishing all the best for you and the family.....

LaRea

Not to mention, while I was on the phone with ServPro, I got the call from my mechanic that the crane was available to pull my engines.  I'd been waiting for a month to get him, so I jumped on it.  The timing worked out great ... I finished before ServPro got there, because they had to respond to the other two houses that got shitified.  

People who run tree companies never get a day off unless it rains.  Kudos to Rick Wright from Moore & Wright Tree Service for coming over on his day off.  

Liberty44140

Awesome that it worked out on the crane. You’ll be boating by Christmas horrible on the flood but it sounds like you have the right attitude. I would have melted down

Dream_Inn

Oh geez!  I'm so sorry to hear about another problem in that house!  You have such a beautiful house in a fantastic neighborhood.  Sure hope things get better.

aero3113

@LaRea , glad to hear everything is in the works with the clean up. 

LaRea

Well, we STILL haven't started basement repairs from the sewage backflow two months ago.  They'll be here Thursday to start.  Don't ask why because it'll only make me angry.  On the bright side, I did some upgrades (of course).  Installed shiplap on one wall, and built this Craftsman-style fireplace mantel to match window trim that I built a few years ago.  

Before.  Boring.



Ready for paint.  The shiplap will be the same dark gray as the brick, and the other walls will be a light gray.  Gonna look really nice.  

oscar1

great job 

aero3113

Very nice @LaRea

Handymans342

How much was that shiplap?

LaRea

The shiplap was only $325 at Home Depot.  Total cost for the project was around $800 (not including wall paint).  The mantel is made from primed finger-joint boards, which are reliably straight and easy to work with.  

reneechris14

Nice work.

LaRea

I didn't post many pix after the fire ... always worried about oversharing online.  This is the garage, with the attic where the fire started.  They were able to save the end walls with the original 1976 cedar siding.  Also shown is one of the many dumpsters that our neighbors put up with for eight months.  We have awesome neighbors.  



Here's some of the crazy-a$s plumbing I did for the master bathroom.  Tore out everything floor to ceiling.  



And here's the finished product.  Marble, marble, marble.  Double shower with six body jets.  The shower floor and niches are basalt herringbone.  Note the Craftsman trim around the shower, window and mirrors, like the basement fireplace. 

I am never doing tile work again.  AND THIS TIME I MEAN IT.  Tile saw for sale, cheap.  

YYZRC

Looks great. I’m surprised you can cut that sewer pipe into the joists without sistering them. 
 
The only thing worse than tile work is drywall work. 

LaRea

Here's the Dream Garage, version 4.0.  Everything you see here is work originally done by me and the Admiral, and rebuilt by the contractor.  Drywall, flooring, crown molding, cabinets -- we did it all over a period of ten years, and they rebuilt it for us.  The Admiral is the designer ... I'm just the engineer and laborer.  

Aqua_Aura

Never do tile again. I say the same thing after every project 😃. Looks great 👍

raybo3

Awesome job @LaRea. Very nice work 

Dream_Inn

That really looks great!  Love the tiles in the bathroom!

Willhound

YYZRC said:

Looks great. I’m surprised you can cut that sewer pipe into the joists without sistering them. 
 
The only thing worse than tile work is drywall work. 

I wondered the same thing. Maybe different code in the U.S.? Nice tile work. Agree on drywall. Hate doing the sanding.

LaRea

For the bathroom, we were able to reuse the existing holes in the joists.  The 3" holes at the top of the photo are actually sistered with pieces of hardwood flooring (from 1976) nailed under the holes.  

skennelly

"sistered with pieces of hardwood flooring (from 1976) nailed under the holes."

That not providing any support to the beam, but I guess it's help up for you up until that point.

LaRea

It was the 70's.  They were pretty high at the time.  

rasbury

congrats for sure! Good ending to a nightmare I'm sure...

Liberty44140

Overwhelmed with garage envy. Are those vinyl floor tiles pretty easy to install? Assume you need to level out the years of salt divets in the concrete first and then install? Once I’m done with this bathroom remodel I may have to do the garage! 

Handymans342

Use an epoxy