Home Improvements

[phillymic2000]

We have a big ass zapper. This year its been really wet and we have a wooded lot, so its been working non-stop. The kids love hearing the little bastiches fry. It seems to work pretty well, but next year i will try the spray too. Thanks for the advice on it PPinDC

[shorebird]

I've used mosquito traps similar to this one and they work fine. Thing loads up with 'em.

[mussa]

re-grade the yard to get the water out of your yard or you can install drainage wells and have Dio dig the ditch to run the pipes

[Sgt PSN]

Farg that....just cover your yard in kitty litter to absorb all the excess moisture. 

[SunMo]

So, I live in a twin in an area where no houses have basements, everything is on slab.

During all the rain last week, the carpet in my living room was soaking wet right at the wall connecting the two houses.  It started at the wall and came out about 2 feet and was along the whole wall.  So I spent a lot of the weekend using my carpet shampooer to pull up the water as best i can and keeping a fan on it.  However, it's already starting to smell like mildew.  Is there anything I can do, short of ripping up the carpet, to fix this?

[hbionic]

I'm no barber...but u should check with a contractor or landscaper about the grading outside the wall where the water came through...unless the leak came through the roof...u should also talk to the occupant of the other dwelling and see how much damage they got. But problem is with grading...u will continue to have stink-carpet every time it rains. Also...get rid of the drywall and carpet unless u love mold and respiratory diseases.

[Seabiscuit36]

who doesn't love respiratory diseases

Best thing you can do Sunny is rent an industrial carpet shampooer and get some large fans.  If you have insurance i'd call  them up and see what the damages  to your deductible would be as they can send out ServPro or one of the restoration companies and rescue your carpet, if the adjuster thinks thats a waste, they'll just pay for new carpet.  Chuggie is right as far as prevention, you should regrade the yard away from the house, and talk to your neighbor about it as well. 

[Diomedes]

by "twin" you mean a duplex?  something like this?



if so, and I'm reading your post correctly, then grading can't be the issue because the side that's wet does not have exposure to the exterior.

and if all that is so, then obviously your neighbor has a water problem, and thanks to that, so do you.

yay trying to get neighbors to spend money to fix problems that affect you

[SunMo]

yes, Dio, you are right on, that's the situation.  unfortunately the neighbors are eldery chinese people who speak broken english so my attempts to communicate have been a struggle.

my girl called her insurance agent and she said this isn't covered, all that's covered is water damage by pipe bursts, water heater leak, etc.  not rain/flood.  i told her to call the insurance company herself and get it directly from them.  i did call ServPro to come look at it, but they have a waiting list so it wont' be until like Wednesday.

my girl has a client who is a carpet installer and *shockingly* he thinks we should replace the carpet.  I just hate to rip up a 20 x 20 room of carpet for about 40 square feet of damaged area. 

[hbionic]

Sun...do u own the property? If so...I would think twice about rushing to call ur insurance agency. I don't know how real estate is practiced over there...but if u try to sell ur property...and there has been an insurance claim within 5 years of the transfer...u have to disclose it and if the claim was due to water intrusion which could potentially lead to mold...the prospective buyer may have a very hard time securing insurance against the property as companies will consider it a high risk...and u may have a hard time selling ur place. Call around and find out with insurance companies what their policies are concerning properties that have a history of water damage/intrusion. They fear mold and want to avoid potential lawsuits.

[SunMo]

my girlfriend owns the house so that could be a concern.

[hbionic]

http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs26-CLUE.htm.

just a little info and the potential effects of filing a claim.

[SunMo]

thanks hbionic...

So i have two different restoration companies that will come out and the carpet guy coming out...whoever is cheaper wins.

[Diomedes]

Difficult as it will be, thanks to the language barrier compounding the "other human being" barrier, I think it will pay to do your very best to communicate with the neighbor.  Perhaps their water heater shat the bed?  Perhaps the grade on the other side of their unit is funnelling water against their foundation, causing their basement to fill?  You're going to have a hard time addressing anything beyond the symptom (your wet carpet) without gettting some facts and cooperation.

[SunMo]

yeah, i will go over after work.

the thing that really gets me is that nobody has basements in my area, everything is on slab.