A Crash In The Night

My days are blurring together, but last week, in the middle of the night, my kitchen ceiling came crashing down.

I had just fallen asleep, after several hours of insomnia when I heard what sounded like an explosion. The cat was in that room and I thought maybe Jammy had knocked over something big. He's never knocked over anything in his life, so it seemed unlikely.

Then I thought, maybe some of my canned goods exploded, but I didn't have any in the kitchen.

We have a baby gate separating the kitchen from a hallway to keep dogs and cat separated, but I found I couldn't open the gate. Still groggy from my few minutes of sleep, I turned on the light.

My mouth hung open. In front of me was a sea of plaster board and insulation. The plaster board was barricading the gate.

Greg and I sleep in separate bedrooms because we both snore. We usually each keep a dog, but I've been keeping both lately because I don't want Nana trying to climb Greg's tall bed any more.

By the way, neither of the dogs moved an inch! And Greg didn't hear a thing. Blessed are the deaf, and dogs with servants who know someone will take care of whatever disturbed their beauty sleep.

I waded through the sea of water, sheetrock, and insulation and walked into Greg's room. I had to phrase what I said next carefully because I didn't want him to think I was coming to tell him Nana had died. At her age, it's a thought that's always on our minds.

I told him there was something I wanted him to see in the kitchen. He immediately asked about Nana.

She's fine, I told him. It's the kitchen. There's been an accident.

He got up and pretty much had the same reaction as me. What the fiddlesticks!

He went upstairs to the attic to see what had caused it and I started clean up.  

There's a plenum, a chamber that connects all the duct work to the HVAC, and it had ripped itself off, a water hose from the humidifier bled across the attic floor, just above my kitchen.

Greg came back down to report, then proceeded to call our HVAC people. They arrived at first light. The inspector got his crew working on replacing the plenum and reattaching the ductwork within a few hours. In the meantime, we had called our insurance company. The adjuster couldn't see us for a couple of days, but she wanted to call in a team to assess the water damage and get started drying out the area.

For five days, I had a nonstop headache because those dryer units are tremendously loud, like aircraft engine-loud.

We had to endure the ceaseless roar because if the attic and kitchen didn't dry out properly, we'd invite mold. 

Fortunately, we had tile floors installed so the floor was safe, but the baseboards and some of the crown molding had to be removed.

The worst part is that some of the water seeped into my upper cabinets. Some of the wood has already warped. I'm really bummed about that. 

Everything was going so well, and then this. Oy!

But that's what insurance is for. 

The estimators think it'll take at least two weeks to get the repairs done. I probably won't have much access to my kitchen, at least at the start, so I need to come up with some ideas that don't require a lot of work.

I am exhausted. Not because of the cleanup or the endless interruptions, but because of the dryer noise. I've barely slept all week, and I'm cranky as hell.

Having Vulcan hearing has its drawbacks. 

The irony was I had just finished painting half the eaves around this very big house. Rain was expected for the next four days (and it came down in buckets) so I wanted to get as much done as I could. I got a lot of it painted, but I probably still have another week's worth to do, depending on how difficult these taller eaves are. They're in kind of tricky places, so I'll need to be extra careful. 

I was beat, and my back and arms felt like they were encased in lead, but I powered through knowing I'd get some well earned rest during the expected rain. I had planned on four lazy days and Lord of the Rings.

Instead....dun, dun, dun! The ceiling caves in and it's been nonstop ever since. C'est la vie. 

What's new by you? Have you ever had to have those giant dryers in your home for water damage? What's the worst home disaster you've ever faced? What's the longest home renovation you've ever had to endure?

I am virtually brain-dead right now. Give me some ideas for easy, low prep meals. I bought some snacks in case we get the munchies but can't get into the kitchen, but I should plan on something more substantial for dinners. Any ideas?

 

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