Living Conditions part 3

 All the flooring that we had put in had done less than two years ago has been to be replaced.  Once again – are you kidding me?  Just fix the kitchen not the entire flippin’ house.  But no.  Thus were we down to no useable kitchen but had three days possible that the five of us might have to share a toilet.  Oh, no.  That didn’t sit well. Initially the insurance company was going to issue a 28,000 dollar allowance to pay for temporary housing and food that would supposedly last four months.  Four months?  Are you kidding me?  The water damage wasn’t only the floor but ALL of our kitchen cabinets would have to be replaced as well.  What a nightmare.

The insurance company talked Richard into staying in the house rather than use the money on temporary housing (which we had looked into and had come up with pricing) for the five of us (wait a minute – did I say that I had no intentions of sharing a bathroom?  Why couldn’t we just sent away the other three?) which didn’t surprise me.  

I had believed that we would be stuck with the expenses as I had absolutely no faith in the insurance company (and even less now)  The kitchen and lack of counter room has been a problem.  Hated the toilet sharing - but at least it was only a couple of days that we were without toilet and not the going on four months of no counterspace in the kitchen. But nobody was allowed to shower for those two days until Richard and I left to go out of town.  

I told Clair she could take her shower while we were gone and what a fun experience that must have been.  I don't think she realized how claustrophobic one may feel in our poor excuse of a shower (see here) But there bathroom now has a new toilet and are able to use a wider amount of space for their shower.

We picked out some flooring before the insurance had even approved us.  It was on sale.  We had to make a purchase.  I believe the flooring remained in our living room for over a month before it was slowly installed (did I mention that the contractor seems to have a hard time keeping employees?) and had gone down from four days a week to only one and then a few weeks without.  Turns out there was only one guy doing the floors for how many ever projects they have.  I don’t know if other clients are as nice as we are or if the reason employees are quitting is because they don’t need to put up with the abuse that I’m certain they are getting (they are just the messengers doing their job – they don’t choose where the contractor sends them)

Richard is to the point where he is fed up and has been less than pleasant to the workers trying to finish the job that they had personally not started.  I understand his frustration and reminded him not to take it out on the “kids” that are coming in.  I don’t really know how old they are but seem to be younger than the last ones who came out.  I wonder if the company is being sued if we would be able to hop on the band wagon.  We paid for a job that still hasn’t completed (though all of the initial replacement has finally been done - well of the floor that is) 

And then there’s the matter of the cabinets still.  And who knows when that will happen.  Hopefully before Jaime returns home from college but I’m not holding my breath.  The contractor had another call to report a fire damage that had taken place at the cabinet makers.  We thought it bogus as he had lied to us about other situations, but turns out there was a small fire that did some damage to the needed equipment used for finishing (he made it sound as if the entire structure and business had been burned to ashes) and so everybody in line for cabinets is now on back order. (How frustrating for the contractor as well as how many ever clients)

Bees Buzzing

         They’re really not.  It just sounds that way as our flooring is being ripped out.  Flooring that we just had put in.  But there was a leak.  And now the entire floor must be replaced – though I don’t think it does.  The flooring that needs to be replaced the most is in another area.  One that was serviced already but needs to be replaced again. 

I was going to take pictures of what is taking place but haven’t had the ambition.  I don’t feel well.  Didn’t each much of a breakfast because of aches and pains – that haven’t stopped.  Bonnie is currently in my room and is sad as she would like everyone in the house to pet her.  And there are a lot of them.  Or were.  Our life currently in boxes.  Buzzing bees.  I’m in a trance.

We Were/Are NOT in Good Hands with Allstate – That Was a HUGE Mistake

           So many complaints about Oligopolies (not quite a monopoly but somehow deem themselves as more superior) and it continues.  I don’t know why Richard decided to go with Allstate when we were already in Good Hands with Foremost.  They treated us right.  Allstate won’t pay squat!  They won't pay for what's under the house (our pipes that service the water to the house) What’s the point in having insurance if we can’t use it?  Allstate has failed us and I can’t say enough horrible things about them.

          Our first encounter was in the summer of 2022.  Richard had noticed a flood in our driveway. Where was it coming from?  We still don’t know.  We had called plumbers.  We had called a service company that works through insurance.  They had worked several hours believing that Allstate had given them the go-ahead even though we said we had an email that was contrary and Allstate WOULDN’T pay the damages because it was under the house and not in the house itself.  But the service company said that they would sue Allstate for the balance – which they did not.  Instead they came after us.  What we were quoted to be 3100 ended up costing us almost 10 grand!

           Four months later we learned we had to replace our fridge.  Plumbers had been called in to assist with connecting the water line.  They discovered some major water damage which they believed was connected to the initial water  leak that the service company had finished in September.  I personally think they want to take advantage of the insurance company – which is acceptable but not at our expense.  At first Allstate had agreed to a floor and cabinet replacement and hotel expenses as we’d be without a kitchen for up to four months.  I never did feel good about that.

          Meanwhile, the service company is backed up with work orders and are unable to get to us until February 6.  Meanwhile Allstate has decided to go back on their word and will pay for the kitchen, no plumbing, and we need to stay in the house.  Foremost would have taken care of us.  They did take care of us back in 2017 on a different water problem (here) 

Richard should have never dropped them.  But I guarantee that we will be dropping Allstate.  No more oligopolies for us.  We are NOT nor ever were in good hands with Allstate. If you are in the market of  insurance companies Do yourself a favor and cross Allstate off the list of any possible names you may come up with.

Good-bye Family, Hello Back Room

         As I had mentioned in prior posts we had wanted to redo our flooring and add a back room to the house.  Roland had taken time off work the last week of April as we believed that when the floors would be done.  That was the initial plan.  However the product we ordered had to be shipped – which added nearly another month before the floors were started.

Unfortunately it hasn’t been finished.  I don’t know if the error was with shipping product or inaccurate measuring so the correct amount of product had not been ordered to begin with or what exactly happened.  But we are still waiting for flooring.  The kitchen isn’t finished and the bathrooms have not been started.  The bathrooms were what I had been concerned about the most – particularly the master bathroom which I know has water damage.

We had hired someone local out of Winston.  I was impressed with him and do like his work.  Roland seems to want to sue as he is in breach of contract that Roland was insistent that be drawn up. True, the floor hasn’t been completed but we have not paid the full amount of cost so what exactly are we suing for?  So this guy will return to complete the job and may not be friendly toward us because we took him to court?  I don’t want to take him to court.

We’ve prayed and will continue praying about our decisions.  Meanwhile we have been told that he will be back in July to finish our floors at no additional cost for the material.  And now that Randy and his clan have gone back to their house in Utah, another individual has shown up to start on our back room which we could have used last week while the family was here so that they would have a bit more room and Jenna would have been able to use her room.

I felt bad that we were not able to give them their own room as they had for us when we had gone to New York.  We all had more space to move around in.  But then again their entire house was at least 3 to 5 times bigger than ours.  I don’t know what the size of their current house is.  I do know Randy wants us to visit.  But I suspect it will be a while.  We spent quite a bit during their stay and now the back room.  I really don’t like borrowing money but at the same time have wanted new flooring and a back room since we moved in over five years ago.

So that’s today’s post.  Worth the wait, right?