Building A Better Bumblebee

Let's see if I can pop in a few more photos.  



Flooring, insulation from under the house, wallboard and other crap in our personal debris field. It stunk to high heaven, too.



Scene of the crime, with the bathroom vanity pulled out.



What is giving the remediation crew the most trouble: The original vinyl floor was glued onto particle board, which in turn had been over-stapled and insanely over-glued to the subfloor. They hammer and pry like crazy, but can remove only chunks the size of playing cards.  Poor guys.

Mark - been following this saga a bit on FB.  Sorry to hear about the displacement, but it looks like you and your family are taking it in stride.  And besides, you (by which I mean Alita) wanted a remodel anyway, right?  

On a personal level, that floor picture is reminding me how much I hated certain aspects of construction.  You wouldn't believe how often you see stuff like that during TIs.  Ugh.

Mike MacLellan wrote:Mark - been following this saga a bit on FB.  Sorry to hear about the displacement, but it looks like you and your family are taking it in stride.  And besides, you (by which I mean Alita) wanted a remodel anyway, right?  

On a personal level, that floor picture is reminding me how much I hated certain aspects of construction.  You wouldn't believe how often you see stuff like that during TIs.  Ugh.

Sexist!

Remodeling was just about the last thing on either of our minds, and we are looking forward to it ... not so much. Still, we will make the best of it. We may have to spend a bit of our own money to get something a little better, but we'd be foolish to not do it now, when insurance will pay the lion's share of it -- or even all, if we can get a good deal.

I forgot about your construction work. Virtually nothing in construction works the way it should, but this floor work is particularly obnoxiously difficult.

One other forehead slapper: crew put a test hole in the ceiling, found wet insulation, and started taking down full sheets of drywall -- until they saw the only insulation was wrapped around the sewer pipe from the upstairs toilet! Derp.

Whoa....you do keep your blog interesting!

Sorry to hear about the flooding...good luck with the remodel/renovation work.

Hope you can find the time and desire to keep at the PT work.

nkrichards wrote:Whoa....you do keep your blog interesting!

Sorry to hear about the flooding...good luck with the remodel/renovation work.

Hope you can find the time and desire to keep at the PT work.

Thanks, Nancy! Never a dull moment when Fluff is involved...

We went for a nice walk along the Columbia River today. We walked for four miles, taking in the view while being buzzed by jets at PDX.



Later, we went to the Apple Store and were told that both iPads took water damage and most likely die an unpleasant death. We are gathering evidence for the insurance company in the hopes of getting them replaced. Hope so.

Okay, I think I have time for a Tuesday update.

Early today, Alita and I went to the fitness center in the hotel, and I managed to get 2 1/2 miles done on the treadmill. I wanted to do the whole run barefoot, but the treadmill belt got too hot and I gave up that after a mile. Interesting, because our treadmill at home does not heat up so much.

I have to admit, though, it was really weird watching myself run in the mirror. I can tell that my gait is not even remotely symmetrical. It threw me off a bit, until I started to ignore what I saw in the mirror and began to focus on just what was going on inside my body. No wonder I confuse people! ;-)



We ran out of our week's preapproved stay at the hotel, and we had a bit of difficulty convincing the insurance company to give us a little more time. They are not quite done getting the house to a level of habitability I would consider appropriate. It was a difficult discussion, but I think we are going to get what we need done accomplished. Then, unfortunately, we just had one that battle when we discovered that the hotel was booked for any additional time. Oh, crap.

After 20 minutes of talking with the front desk person, who is checking different properties, and me researching sites on my cell phone, we found another hotel, actually closer to where we live, that we can move to tomorrow. Woo hoo! It is a hassle, and it is not as nice as where we are now, but it will do. We hope to be able to move back home in a way we prefer before the week is out.

Insurance companies are such schmucks, most times.  Habitability was a good word to throw at them, as maybe 'not even close to being made whole.'

As long as Fluff is happy, then it all is worth it.  

ounce wrote:Insurance companies are such schmucks, most times.  Habitability was a good word to throw at them, as maybe 'not even close to being made whole.'

As long as Fluff is happy, then it all is worth it.  

Hey, Ounce. It seems like insurance companies have a very broad definition for what constitutes habitability. The term I had better luck with, however, was the word reasonable.

As in: I think it's not unreasonable to expect that we not have nails sticking up out of the floor to step on, and that the HVAC system is at least made to not vent into the crawlspace underneath the house and therefore circulate who knows what volume of dust, pollen, bad smell throughout the house.

He conceded, sort of, but you would have thought I had asked him to give me his liver.

The kicker is, that even with these extra modifications, we will still be going to a home with nothing but OSB subfloor, and some with an obstacle course of half-removed particleboard on top of that, as well as a completely nonfunctional kitchen.

At least they didn't disconnect the fridge, or the washer and dryer...

Barefoot run: 2.5 miles on the hotel treadmill

We had to move to a different hotel (they were booked and couldn't extend our stay) yesterday, so I got to try out barefooting on a different model. This belt didn't heat up, so I was able to do the whole thing. It's not nearly as fun on a treadmill, but it's better than nothing.

It went pretty well. I could feel where I had hurt myself, but it didn't rise to what I would consider discomfort. I'll take that as a positive.

I have updates in two areas today: Good news for both.

First off, I graduated from physical therapy today! The BT measured my strength in all of the affected areas and deemed that I was strong in all the places I needed to be. She noted that I still need to work on strength, balance and core strength, no big surprise there, and she gave me some exercises to keep doing at home. She seemed pleased with the improvements I made, especially in my wimpy little calf muscles.

Second, we are making progress on the homefront. The restoration people are mostly done, and the air duct people came today to repair the heating system so we are not enjoying every smell that exists in our crawlspace.

With the duct work in and the other main issues we had resolved about as well as they could be, it looks like we are on target to move back into the house once our time at the hotel runs out next Wednesday. There is a chance we might try to get out early, but we will have to see how it goes as we try to get the house ready for a new way of living in it. We are all crammed into one studio size room now, so a little elbow room, even in the middle of a disaster area, might actually be preferable. ;-)

We also met the contractor the insurance company decided to go with for the rest of the restoration work. They seem like a decent outfit, and the person we spoke with seemed professional. If it turns out we can't stand them, we still have the option of switching to our own contractor.

Alita and I went to get a first look at materials for flooring encounters and whatnot, and, of course, we're immediately overwhelmed by the possibilities. A lot will depend on exactly how much the insurance company is willing to spend, and how much we have to spend on top of that if we wish to make any upgrades.

We are thinking about keeping our countertops the standard formica type countertop, and spending any extra money we have on switching to more hardwood order laminate type of flooring. We've seen some bamboo flooring, and it looks pretty nifty. Price will be a big factor, however.

One nice thing is that the insurance company decided to allow recarpeting or resurfacing of the area outside all the bedrooms and on the stairs, as well. None of that area that was damaged by water, so it's a bit of a gift. We will take it.

That's great news!! congratulations on graduating. Does this mean that you will be able to up the intensity/distance of your runs?

In regards to flooring, a few years back, I tore up the carpeting on my main level and replaced it with laminate. What a big difference it has made!

Nick Morris wrote:That's great news!!  congratulations on graduating.  Does this mean that you will be able to up the intensity/distance of your runs?

In regards to flooring, a few years back, I tore up the carpeting on my main level and replaced it with laminate.  What a big difference it has made!

Hey, Nick! Yes, it does mean I am now able to begin building up mileage, and even some intensity. Of course, I need to be careful and not push it too hard, because my tendon, while better, is probably not 100% yet. That could take much longer.

Interesting about your switch from carpet to laminate. I am assuming that it was a change for the better? We both have allergies, Alita worse than I, and something that doesn't stockpile dust and cat dander is probably a good idea.

So both you and the house are going through restorative measures.  Great news on both.  I guess that you might be looking forward to new ducts with less crap flowing through the house.

ounce wrote:So both you and the house are going through restorative measures.  Great news on both.  I guess that you might be looking forward to new ducts with less crap flowing through the house.

You could say that, yes. When the ducts collapsed due to the flooding, the whole bottom floor of the house was exposed to whatever smell wafted up from our water logged crawlspace and through the heating duct registers in the bottom floor. It smelled pretty nasty. With the system restored and circulating air through the house, hopefully by the time we move back in, that smell will be safely contained to the crawlspace under the house.

It is also nice the house does not reek of wet carpet and insulation. That smell puts wet dog to shame.  

Mark B wrote:

Nick Morris wrote:That's great news!!  congratulations on graduating.  Does this mean that you will be able to up the intensity/distance of your runs?

In regards to flooring, a few years back, I tore up the carpeting on my main level and replaced it with laminate.  What a big difference it has made!

Hey, Nick! Yes, it does mean I am now able to begin building up mileage, and even some intensity. Of course, I need to be careful and not push it too hard, because my tendon, while better, is probably not 100% yet. That could take much longer.

Interesting about your switch from carpet to laminate. I am assuming that it was a change for the better? We both have allergies, Alita worse than I, and something that doesn't stockpile dust and cat dander is probably a good idea.

Yes, it is definitely a change for the better. For starters, I think that it looks much nicer. It also is easier to clean and is much better at controlling pet dander and dust. You'll love it!

It has been a few days, so it's time for an update.

We moved back home on Sunday, and we've spent the past few days trying to get the house from the frantic "get it away from the water" state to something we can manage to live in for the next who-knows-how-long.

Here's our living room, which has been turned into a kitchen/eating area for the time being. The nearest water is a downstairs powder room, and the microwave is on the other end of the space.




I dug out some camping chairs for something to sit on besides some folding chairs, which makes it a little more comfortable.




And yes, I'm wearing my Lunas full-time now, thanks to the rough floor and random leftover staples. It's safer to be barefoot outside than inside now. Go figure.




Our dishwashing area. Very glad the original owners put a big sink in the garage. It's coming in very handy.



The view from the dishwashing area is a garage packed with stuff. All our plates, utensils, spices -- and toilet paper -- was neatly sealed in those boxes you see on the left. Oops.



Callie and Fluff were more than a little wary when they first came home. This was their first look at the aftermath.



But they relaxed pretty quickly. Fluff seems to prefer it.



I haven't had time to run or do any exercises lately, and I've been on the edge of exhaustion, so I'm trying to keep from overdoing it.

(Oh, and lest you think the whole house looks like this, it doesn't. Alec's bedroom is untouched, and the guest bedroom was nearly untouched. We're sleeping there. We fortunately have a bonus room upstairs (where the treadmill lives) that was untouched, so we have a more traditional space to relax and watch our Apple TV once we cleared out some of the stuff that we'd piled on the couches. Our office has about half its carpet removed, but I can use the computer. Our master bedroom/bathroom is thrashed, of course.)

Fluff looks so innocent...I'm glad that you guys are back in your house and at a somewhat livable condition.

Nick Morris wrote:Fluff looks so innocent...I'm glad that you guys are back in your house and at a somewhat livable condition.

Oh, he is innocent, in his own fluffy-feline-of-the-apacolypse sort of way. "Oh. I did that? Oops!"

We're somewhat settled in, though we could have done without today's 98-degree early summer scorcher. Especially since we don't have a/c. But we went out to dinner at the heat of the day, and then got the lad slightly sheared, to take advantage of somebody else's cooling system. And temps should be significantly cooler tomorrow, which will be quite welcome.

Did 50 one-legged heel lifts with my knee locked and could truly appreciate the explanation the PT gave me for locking, and why my body doesn't want to do it. Locking the knee takes a well-developed gluteus maximus for balance. Which explains why it burns as much in my booty as it does in my calf when I do them. Nifty.

Whose the model in the living room picture?

ounce wrote:Whose the model in the living room picture?

That would be Alita, my endlessly patient and long-suffering wife.

Barefoot Run: 3.1 miles (!)

Weather: Mild but muggy. 61 degrees. Gear: Bare feet, shorts, T. Fuel: Nada, not even coffee.

Got up earlier than usual today to try my first 3-mile distance barefoot. I need to start seeing if I can develop a routine in our disrupted lives, and today seemed like a good a day as any to start. This was my longest distance since late April, and my first official post-PT run.

I took it easy, keeping the pace lower than usual and the HR down. I know I'm under a lot of stress and don't need to add to it by pushing too hard. Three miles felt about right, with no real niggles, other than feet made tender by wearing sandals all day around the house for the past few days.

The irony is not lost on me that I take the sandals off once I got outside to run, then put them back on to head back inside again. Yeesh.

Regardless, it was a successful run. And it feels good to have accomplished something already.

Average HR for entire run: 135

Nice 3 miles barefoot!

Glad to hear that you are back at it!! Onward and upward

Jim Lentz wrote:Nice 3 miles barefoot!

Thanks, Jim! One other irony about being sandal-bound (even fancy barefoot-style sandals) is that the soles of my feet were more tender than usual out there on the asphalt. At least it kept me from getting carried away.

Nick Morris wrote:Glad to hear that you are back at it!!  Onward and upward

Indeed! The PT said a gradual build-up, with continued exercises of the calves and hips, should work. I'd signed up for a 50K in October, but I bet the RD would let me drop down to the 30K if I ask nicely. We'll see what I can accomplish between now and then. I have bigger priorities right now, so it'll be a matter of fitting things in.

Sweet!! Just given clearance and you already have a goal race. Attaboy!!!