Column: Wet ‘n Wild
Life lessons in water. That’s what this is about. It’s a journey that involves heartbreak, fantasy, abuse, waste, and some degree of financial ruin. Now, if there was a little illicit romance, it might sound like a lead-in to a Netflix limited series. Well, it’s not. It’s the kind of problem that makes third-world countries hate us.
When COVID was just beginning, we hired a local cabinet maker to build a wall of bookcases in our previously unused basement. It ended up being a magnificent wall which then required new carpeting, paint, furniture, and a television.
A few rainy days after he finished, for the first time ever in the 20+ year history of this house, our basement flooded. It was a Sunday, and no one was available. So when we finally found an expensive emergency plumber, he walked through the three inches of clean rainwater to our circuit breakers and turned on the single breaker marked sump pump. That water event was caused by that “who knows how the heck that breaker tripped” situation, an anomaly. (He said.)
After days of industrial-sized fans and humidifiers, the workers had to cut out the drywall eight-inches up, remove and replace insulation, and repaint. Our insurance claims covered the majority of the repairs, but we still had out-of-pocket costs that could have either paid to buy food for a family of four for a few months or a few hundred gallons of gasoline.
Then, months later on the day the local Dam almost gave away from excessive rains, the unthinkable happened again when another three inches of rain flowed into that finished basement. We did the complete construction dance all over again.
Of course our home owner’s insurance had gone up exponentially since the first incident, but we still had coverage, and this time our out-of-pocket for additional materials was over $5000. Those costs were primarily because another plumber told us our sump pump was not sufficient enough to handle that much run-off. Consequently, he placed not one but three large sump pumps in the outdoor sump pump well. That would be the end of that nightmare forever? Nope.
Seven months later, none of those sump pumps turned on, and when we attempted to claim damages from the plumber’s insurance company, things turned very “Jason Bourne” DARK. Here’s where the lesson comes in . . . Just like the attorney commercials say, “Don’t talk to the insurance adjuster. Don’t let them record you. CALL us FIRST!”
The recorded exchange that occurred with the adjuster started out very professional but turned hostile within seconds. To say that he was an aggressive, obnoxious, well-practiced bully would be a huge understatement. This guy made Heimlich Himmler, head of the SS troops seem like Elmo. He obviously made a career of being a passionate defender of profits for his company. Each innocent statement became, in his words, an unfounded, unprovable accusation as he seemed to be attempting to eviscerate me, via verbal disembowelment by drilling into every word, every breath, every utterance. I kept hoping the HULK would come, rip off his shirt and smash this pompous bast***.
Bottom line? Cheated by a plumber about whom we have 60 pages of text and email exchanges for a job that was never completed, we are now facing thousands of dollars in additional preventative measures in order to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Lessons learned? Three sump pumps won’t fit or work in a sump pump well. No matter how many powerful sump pumps you have, a two inch pipe can only handle two inches of water at a time, and your downspouts should not flow into your sump pump pit? Plus, a back-up battery only works when it is actually purchased and put in a battery holder. But the biggest lesson? Some insurance companies, almost like a bad movie, rip-you-off just because they can.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Nick Jacobs column about basement flooding and insurance claims
