I’m pretty tired, but thought I’d write this post in case someone has any suggestions we might be able to use.
I smelled smoke as I was going to bed last night. Turns out the ceiling fan wiring was 10. Injures away from being flames. The wood was singed and insulation starting to just burn. Got the firefighters there just in time. There’s a huge hole in my master bedroom ceiling and they had to cut wood, etc. place is a mess. House is all smokey, carpet ruined.
Met the repair guy today and he has to meet with the adjuster when she came out. No electricity of course, he’s coming tomorrow. We can’t live there until adjuster / repair decides place has been cleaned. Service pro said they clean the whole house. Even all of our clothing, shoes, purses…everything!! Give them 2 weeks emergency clothing and it will be done in 48 hours.
Anyway, we are in a hotel. Any suggestions for me to be aware of with adjusters, insurance, etc? I know this is not a tragedy, it could have been…it’s just an inconvenience.
One major bummer is my son stopped working last week so he’d have this week to hang at home before going back to school over the weekend. It’s silly for him to hang at a hotel, so he’s going back tomorrow. I’m so disappointed I didn’t have to him for a few days to just be around.
Wow, that’s scary. A few months ago, our neighbors had a similar fire that originated in a bathroom fan. The volunteer fire department did a great job of responding immediately and putting it out.
I’m glad you are all fine, and am sorry about what happened. My home disaster right now is water. Basement system not working for unknown reason so we ended up with a swimming pool down there. Also in insurance adjuster and clean up hell.
We once had what’s called a “puffback” from the furnace. Soot over everything. The insurance company sent a clean-up crew – four people in our house for four days – and they wiped off aboslutely everything. The only thing they didn’t clean was my box with Christmas gift wrap, and the only way I knew that was that, months later, I went to wrap a gift and was horrified at the soot! It showed me what a good job they had done!
So sorry about the inconvenience, @conmama, but glad everything is OK. Except for your son leaving early.
So very sorry, @conmama. I know it could have been much worse but I’m sorry for what you’re going through. And same to @cptofthehouse.
Last September our lower level flooded and it’s been a really, really rough process. I won’t share my sad tale of woe here but our recovery involved several steps. First was clean up from the water damage which insurance helped engage the company and paid them directly (easy). That company found asbestos between layers of linoleum over which we had (now ruined) carpet. Insurance company helped arrange for asbestos removal company and paid them directly (easy). Once all the damage was mitigated, it was time to find a contractor to put things back together which is when things got rough. Insurance offered what seemed like a low amount. (Without me asking, they cut us a check which we did not cash for months.) I had several contractors bid on the work and the difference was $12k+. Insurance company has a company (Lionsbridge) they contract with to help people find contractors and they had no one in my area. Ultimately, insurance came up with one contractor via Lionsbridge that told me they “had to” take my job. They ended up sub par and it’s been months working with the contractor, Lionsbridge and the insurance company to get my house fixed in a satisfactory manner.
So, my advice relates to being careful around whether the insurance company will cut you a check and you’ll pay vendors in which case do you know if it’s enough (we had replacement coverage). Or, if they’re going to pay directly, do you have the opportunity to vet the company (check reviews, references, etc.). In my case, I think the local company sent out a questionable foreperson with a crew that he picked up who knows where so I really don’t know how I could have foreseen the problem because the reviews on yelp (for water mitigation not for remodeling) were okay. The red flag was the difference between what this company was getting paid for the job and the amount other local contractors were quoting. But, again, not sure what else I could have done. Almost everything they did had to be redone (tile, electrical work, plumbing, closet organizer install) so I’m sure the local contractor lost quite a bit of money on my job.
I do wish you good luck and hope your process is a smooth one–certainly much smoother than mine has been!
I am glad everyone is okay and the damage was limited, My advice would also to be careful about insurance. What is your deductible and how much is the damage? If you file a claim now will it work against you later in the form of higher premiums or even having a hard time keeping coverage. And as noted above, will the insurance company pick decent contractors or should you pick your own?
So sorry about your dilemma. You ahould go to the city building department to find out what’s required to restore based on current code. They may want you to put a sprinkler system and that is going to be costly, in addition to the asbestos
The home needs to be repaired…not rebuilt. A sprinkler system? Sure @conmama check what you need to do. If you are getting contractor estimates, hopefully your licensed contractor will know what is needed.
This is an electrical repair…have your insurance company recommend a licensed electrician to do the work.
Follow your insurance company recommendations. They will know what needs to be done.
No suggestions on how to deal with insurance but goodness - hugs. Hope the repair process will be relatively straightforward. So glad no one got hurt and that the damage is minimal considering what could have happened!
Note to all: make sure you have a fire extinguisher rated for electrical fires AND know how to use it!! Cut the power off if you are not sure prior to using your extinguisher!!!
Wow I’m so glad you caught that before heading to bed! And good warning for us all - I’ll admit we often leave ceiling fans whirling for long periods of time even when not in the room.
Does still sound like a mess and you’ll have some replacing to do. Human life of course is most important -but I am wishing you some quiet uneventful weeks ahead - you have had so much to deal with the last few months! Sending another hug. <3
Our house didn’t burn but the wildfires came very close. It was our insurance company that suggested looking at the attic insulation. It was covered with soot and ash and needed to be replaced. Insulation that is really dirty doesn’t insulate properly. So check that out. We were able to replace the insulation with a better type and got a rebate as well.
If your insurance company isn’t responsive to what you think needs to be done or is trying to cheap out on you, consider hiring a good public adjuster.
Yikes! So glad you caught this in time to save your house, not to mention your lives! No advice (all of our claims have been ice dam related), but don’t be surprised if your insurer drops you after paying this claim.
You’ve definitely had more than your fair of difficult stuff going on lately. I know it’s a pain having to even be living outside your house, but I hope it all gets taken care of fairly efficiently and you can move on to more normal worries soon.
