Now I know the true worth of a contractor. It's not just how good a job they do, it's how they respond to adversity. Rick Owens may be the best contractor ever. The sink broke Friday night. Rick came over then and again on Sunday evening to discuss what we'd do the next day.
Monday morning at 8:00 he was here with Mr. Plumber. We decided to keep the fixtures (I really do like them) but they are now attached to the water supply much differently. We have been declared water-tight.
Also here at 8:00 were Miguel and Juan who spent the day taking up the floor in the bedroom. Juan remarked that whoever put the floor down did a really good job :-). It was hard work. The glue scraped up better than any of us thought it would – maybe it hadn't had a chance to fully cure?
Today, Tuesday, Miguel and Juan got up the rest of the warped flooring…
Funny that I've never taken a photo from this corner of the bedroom. You can see into my studio on the right and down the hall on the left. The unaffected wood floor is just out of site in both directions.
State Farm has been out and that's in the works but you know what? I'm sure that Rick would have made this right regardless. So, if you are shopping for a contractor, try to find out what they have done for someone else when things went wrong.
I was talking about water things with Rick and did find out that we should have had our very fine tankless water heater flushed out annually. It has been at least 3 years since it's been looked at. Mr Plumber came back and it's now clean.
We're not doing this year, but Keven (Mr. Plumber) told me about a pan that goes under the water heater that has a sensor. It takes batteries or plugs in and is attached to a shut-off valve. If water hits the pan, the water automatically shuts off. Who knew?! Next year we're going to have that installed.
I spent today busy but I'm not exactly sure doing what. Oh! I know one thing I did… I had to buy a new iron. My $89 Rowenta succumbed to our lousy water. It started losing lots of water out of it's base (what is it with me a water?) and then it started spitting brown rocky grains of something. Probably calcium. I gave up and bought a classic Black & Decker. I'm sure I'll kill it too, but it is heavy and not that expensive.
I hope to be able to focus better tomorrow. It's nearly July and I have no idea where June went!
Piece O Cake Blog 
So glad to hear that you’re on the “road to recovery” with your flooring, etc.
I had to laugh when I read about your iron. After trying 4 Rowenta’s and having the same thing happen to them, I gave up and started buying the Black and Decker irons. So much less money and they last a whole lot longer. But, they still all seem to have the same problem with water. I honestly don’t think there is an answer. Things are just not made to last any longer.
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Sounds like June just floated away….. 🙂 Glad you have had so much support and that everything is getting repaired and fixed.
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Becky, don’t be surprised when State Farm pays they will probably try and get their money back from your plumber. That’s what farm bureau would do in a claim like this one.
Glad everything is being taken care of for you.
Also, the work that you and your husband did to stop the damage, you need to mention to your adjuster and they might not take your deductible. I worked in claims for 30 years and hope this helps out.
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I didnt pay a plumber. My contractor and the plumber did their thing without my input. And State Farm has come in at a low price – even I was a little surprised and Im not in the business. But Im not a home improvement stump either so I can tell they came in low. I know they dont want to overpay which is fine. But they do need to cover the costs, less our deductible.
Interesting thought about what we did to keep the damage down. I think they credited us with $120 for water removal but, by finding and sucking it up quickly, we kept the damages way low. It would be nice to be credited for what we saved. Thanks!
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So sorry this happened! Hot water can do a lot to undo flooring glue. I’m not sure the age of the glue has anything to do with it. Our ten year old flooring floated when the dishwasher flooded the kitchen and den.
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Re Rowenta irons. I’ve gone through several and will not purchase another. I’m a Black and Decker fan now. I can relate to your comments about a good contractor. When the new granite was installed in my kitchen remodel, the fabricator cut the hole for the sink about 6″ off the center of the window. I nearly pitched a fit but the contractor came through after several meetings with the fabricator. He now does not use that fabricator. It was a very expensive mistake. I’m glad you are on the road to recovery and love reading your blogs.
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Becky, did no one else notice? Looks like your bed doesn’t have a quilt on it!!! Oh, my!! (hee, hee) Anyhow, you certainly do have a great contractor. I can’t imagine what else you would do in your house – but I’d recommend that guy!
I’ve had a Rowenta iron and it went south really quickly. The gals at Joyful Quilter _Glenville, NY – use Black and Decker irons in their shop and they believe their the best irons. Heck, if you pay $25 for an iron and it lasts a year – it’s paid for itself. And they last longer than that!
Hope the floor is replaced soon!!!
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I have had irons die on me real quickly and the one thing that has helped it is to buy distilled water and use only that in your iron. No tap water. I keep a gallon in my sewing room. This has helped keep my irons going longer.
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I have to agree with Renae about the distilled water. I have irons that I have had for 20 years that work just fine and I have only ever used distilled water in them all.
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