You have quite a chore ahead. Take it one piece at a time. If you focus on too much it will be overwhelming. People always say 'I hope you had insurance', it's unfortunate that insurance rarely covers it all. The possibility of mold isn't something you needed but it sounds like you were due for a new roof Hilary or not.

I'm puzzled by the advice to fix the internal damage before doing the roof. What if it rains again? Surely the roof needs to be weatherproof before anything is done indoors? And wood, plaster etc need to dry out before any decorating can be done.

Insurance should take care of this. Flood is difference than water damage. Flood is water that comes in from the ground, this is water damage from a leaking roof. There is no reason why your insurance wouldn't pay for every bit of this minus your deductible, of course.

I love your attitude Lars.

I wish I could be more like you. I am way more like your brother. 😆

So sorry you are going through this. Stressful for sure, but there was nothing you could have done to prevent it.

You have a good attitude.

A few years back we had a tree fall onto our NY house while we were in Florida.

Luckily we only had damage to our chimney. Our silver lining was that now that that tree was gone, no danger fir it to fall on a more vulnerable part of our house.

Lars, often if a portion of the roof is damaged, insurance will replace the whole roof. You do not have to settle for patch work. If you and Kevin aren’t up for the stress of dealing with the insurance company, you might look into having someone do it for you. I can’t remember… is your sister a lawyer?

IME, insurance companies will attempt to wear you down and do an little as possible. When I had water damage last year, I finally had to shame my insurance company to get them to move on my project. It sat stalled for nearly 6 months!

Did Service Master give you any instructions on what temperature to keep the house to maximize dehumidification? I had water damage last year that required dehumidifiers from Service Master. There is a range of temperature that is optimal for dehumidification. IIRC it is in the mid-70s.

(((Lars))) I'm so sorry you have to go through this.

I've been in a horrific flood. They called it historic, and "thousand year flood". It pretty much ruined me financially, as it flooded at the end of a years long remodel, the weekend before I was to put it on the market. It was scary hearing helicopters all night long. We did get a brand new A/C, and that was so nice! Mostly, it was very stressful.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/1535247/i-spy-with-my-little-eye-water#n=12

All that is to say, I understand yours and your bother's position. Hugs to both of you.

I‘m sorry about all the damage, and I hope insurance makes you whole again.

I think that was fast service Lars - with as busy as everyone must be and I'm so glad they are addressing moisture in the walls.

ServePro is the company with the stellar reputation here but I'm sure they know what they are doing and you can feel confident with that.

I'm sorry your brother is feeling stressed, is there anything the two of you could do this weekend that would distract him?

When all is said and done, hopefully this won't be too difficult an experience for either of you. Life has its way of throwing these little challenges at us, and I don't mean to make light of it but it won't be long until you both can see it as 'little'. My BIL has a way of saying 'don't sweat the small stuff', and 'it's all small stuff'. 'That's what insurance is for' - as he leaves town not even remembering to lock his house! We go there (handful of blocks away) every time they've gone away and turn off the coffee pot, lock the doors, dry the load of clothes inevitably left in the washing machine. ( I do know you aren't that careless.)

You'll do an amazing job of rethinking that room, your color choices are always spot on. Be sure to keep us up to date so we can see what your strong artistic side has done with the walls, art.

Hoping all goes well Lars.

I will double down on how insurance often tries to wear you down. Stay Strong! Show them that you expect them to do their duty by you. Do not show gratitude when they do something. Expect more and say so. Be courteous. They need to get on top of fixing that roof asap.

Sorry. I went through a home fire once and the insurance was a nightmare. We did get everything covered but I swear it took years off my life. I watched people with ice storm damage being told by the agent that they were covering what they did as a personal favor to that person and not to tell anyone. These techniques are the norm. Still you could actually get a good solid professional who is there to actually make things right. Good luck.

I can also empathize with your brother's emotional reaction. I felt similarly when our roof started to leak. It's a good thing you live together and have such different takes on the situation.

Wishing you both the best outcome.

Sorry about the leak, Lars! That's the last thing we used to worry about in LA summers...😬

After the roof is fixed, take your time to make it right. It'll be even better.

It sounds like there was more than a drip!

When there were two leaks in my parents’ house (plumbing, not rain), we opened the ceiling a bit since a portion would have to be cut out anyway for replacement. We kept the ceiling open for several days with fans blowing to allow the cavity above to dry, before closing it up with drywall and paint. Perhaps you can do the same. I don’t suppose your attic is floored (for storage) but perhaps it has, or you can place. boards to set a dehumidifier on?

Will insurance cover storing your furnishings? Could they be stored somewhere else in the house or at the office? Be sure to include a good cleaning afterwards, that repair dust goes everywhere. In fact, maybe move more things to storage (or to CC).

And, I hope the CC property is fine!

@Lars, I’m hoping your insurance company will make repairs and cover all your costs, but nothing can compensate you for the stress you and your brother will go through to get the project completed. Good on you for looking at the positive outcome of loss creating an opportunity to repaint and redecorate. I look forward to seeing how you progress.

I'm sorry to read that the damage was so bad. I hope the repairs are fairly stress free for you both.

Lars - So sorry that you and Kevin are having to go through this. I can totally relate with Kevin on the stress this brings due to our similiar issue.

Your idea chosing the paint from blue in the painting will look great! Love your taste.

I am sorry that you experienced so much damage from the hurricane. I hope the art and anything else irreplaceable isl ok.

I worked with a roofing company that specializes in negotiating with insurance companies to get our roof replaced. It had some storm damage, but no interior damage like yours. The roof was almost 20 years old and the roofline is steep and complicated so we felt very lucky that eventually the insurance came through. But it required several submissions and tenacity on the part of our roofing contractor after the insurance initially denied the claim.

Many years ago I discovered that my main waste pipe from the second floor to the main floor behind the laundry room wall had been leaking and seeping into the wall and flooring. It was completely invisible so we had no idea. The insurance company told me that a "sudden" event of water was usually covered but not something that occurred over time like mine. So I'm hopeful your case will be covered. It was a pain to repair but I discovered it while I was planning to replace the laminate flooring with tile anyway. I ended up having to remove sheetrock a few feet up the wall and replace baseboards, repair subflooring, and of course put everything back. I also had a similar remediation company come in and help dry it out and clean the framing (once I'd removed the sheetrock myself) to prevent mold growth. It'll be a process, but if you were already wanting to make some changes in the room I bet you'll be really happy when you're done.

I agree with the comment that insurance should pay for all the damage less your deductible.

We've made significant claims with our insurance 2 times. Once when the roof leaked from a storm that I described in your other thread. And another time when my washer overflowed (for hours) and a lot of tile had to be ripped out and replaced. In fact in that case, the carpet in one room got wet. My DH bought a large fan/blower to dry it even before the adjuster came. They actually paid us for the fan/blower because that was something they would have done if we hadn't. And if we'd waited for them to come it might have been too late to do that since mold could have grown and the carpet would have had to have been replaced. The fan was cheaper than that so I think they were happy to pay for that.

In both cases, the contractor I hired dealt with the insurance company and fought them over anything that needed fighting. The insurance company gave us a list of their approved contractors in my area and we picked one after doing some research. Maybe we just got lucky, but she (yes, she!) was fantastic and did all the communication with the insurance company which was a big burden off of our backs.

All we paid in both cases was our deductible.

I hate this for you and Kevin. I hope that your brother can feel some calm as time goes by. I’ll be thinking about you two….it WILL get better soon.

Today someone is coming out to check for asbestos and lead paint because the house was built in 1950, but I told them that the damage to the house is in the addition built in 2003. They told me that there is no public record of this addition being built and so they have to inspect the house anyway. Vicente will be here between 3:30 and 4:30 today to do this inspection.

I am very happy that the insurance company is being very diligent about proceeding with this, and so far, the indication I have is that they will pay for the repairs, minus our $1,000 deductible.

In the beginning, Kevin thought we were going to have to pay to get a new roof, and he evidently had forgotten that we had insurance!

It is good that I can be at home for all of this, at least so far. They have not scheduled the roof inspection yet, but I did call and request that. I just hope that the roof gets fixed before we have any more rain. There is an 11% chance of rain for Friday, which 97% humidity and a dew point of 63°, but I feel that we would at most get a slight mist and no measurable rainfall.

Typically, September is warm and dry (our hottest month), and no rain is forecast for L.A. for this September, but my microclimate near the beach might be different. It is not as hot and dry where I am as it is for most of Los Angeles.

Lars, my sympathy to you and your brother for having to deal with this damage and repairs.

I had a 23 year old roof replaced in 2020, and experienced quite a price shock. I knew prices were going to be higher, but not by that much, and the house isn’t that large. So congratulations on having a cooperative insurance company.

Lars, I’m very sorry you have to deal with all this damage, but you do have a great attitude about it all. It is really a good thing about the dehumidifiers, even tho they are loud, they do the job of drying things out and preventing mold and further damage from that, which you surely do not want. I hope the roof assessment goes your way as well. Yes, your insurance should cover he interior damages and possibly will cover the roof too.

We had a plumbing leak at our condo a few years ago, which we discovered just after it started thankfully, but it had already started leaking into the dining room below. We cleaned up the water and went to bed basically, dealt with things the next morning witn a contractor we knew. Thankfully we didn't have to stay there while the big fans ran, as it does get very dry inside also.

Best of luck to you and Kevin. And try not to stress too much. You hopefully will find more silver linings as you go (like the paint!).

After reading about so much hail damage and flooding that others have had, I feel like our situation is rather minor, but I really was not expecting to have to replace drywall in the studio/dining room. I think we are lucky we have as little damage as we do.

I'm going to discuss new colors with Kevin this weekend, and perhaps that will help distract him. He is stressing because he had wanted to re-landscape the back yard, as we have let weeds take over the grassy area. It has been hard for us lately to maintain yards at two locations, but now we are just going to hire someone to take care of this here. We already have a yard maintenance person in Cathedral City, but we need one in L.A. even more. We used to think we could do it ourselves, but it has become overwhelming, possibly due to recent rains.

I'm so sorry Kevin is having a hard time with this. I'm so sorry it happened at all. Hope your insurance comes through for you. All the best.

You say the insurance company knows of no public record on that addition? So is it insured? Have you been paying taxes on the additional square footage?

It sounds like a mess, but presents opportunities for change. Wishing you the best. Your desert home is okay? I saw some footage on the news and thought of you.

I am so sorry to hear about the damage, Lars. We had an extensive plumbing leak a few years ago and our homeowner’s insurance covered everything minus our deductible. The process of working with them was very easy. They even reimbursed all of our hotel costs when we had to move out of our house temporarily. I hope all goes smoothly for you and Kevin as well.

Lars, once you select a roofer, if they cant get to it, immediately, ask them to tarp it for you, just in case, you get more rain. Do not start on any of the other damage, until the roof is totally repaired, so it doesnt damage it all over again. Sorry, all this is happening to you and your brother, and your beautiful house. It will all get better. I had a similar thing (no hurricaine, just some pretty nasty weather), 2020. Once the new roof got installed, the rest went pretty quickly.

Sealavender, how was your drive?

I'm going to try to get the roof fixed before any interior repair gets done - that's what makes sense to me also, but that's not what the guy from Service Master told me. Perhaps after the roof gets inspected, it will get fixed first.

sealavender, We will inspect the desert home in Cathedral City when we go there for Labor Day. We have a concrete tile roof there, and so that should not be a problem, but I do not know what has happened in the pool patio area. We've had minor flooding there in the past, but only in the area next to the wall with the neighbors to the east of us.

Lars....my man! Your on top of the situation! Exactly....you have the order of repairs planned out....your taking it ALL low key...that alone should help Kevin's stress. I'm sorry you have to deal with it all....but your doing a great job!

My roofing guy is coming over today....I'm making him lunch....changed the menu, now I'm making a pepperoni pizza and sweet tea.....giving him a grilling spices gift bag with a THANK YOU note....and getting started on another roof repair for a 2nd rental house. The fiberglass gutters are shattered....not the least bit usable. The roof is 18 years old. The insurance company is over-nighting a check to me, should be here today. What a hassel ALL this is....

Edited to say: Just got the insurance bill for renewal and it only went up $19 from last year....even tho I had a roof claim!

The remediation company will be here tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 8:00 to pack up whatever is in the dining room and put into storage. This means Kevin and I have to get busy, but he is still at work. We will have to disassemble his drafting table, and that will take some work.

They told me that they expect to have the job finished by Thursday, which is very quick, and I was told that this will include repairing the roof. I'm going to have to talk with some of them about the paint. I hope I will be able to buy the paint for them that I want for the walls. This is the color I want, but I have to get Kevin to approve it.

Lars....WOW! That is a GORGEOUS blue...has a little green in it....paint color! Very trendy. I LOVE IT! The gold pillow in the display pic just pops! You've got the eye of a designer.

I have to say that I would be a little leery of having roofing done by a remediation company instead of a roofing company. Or maybe they hire roofers? But even roofers have a wide variety of expertise and competence and since the roof is the most important part of this repair, I'd want to vet the roofers. I hope you feel confident about this company doing it. What is their warranty on the roof repair? If it fails, you'll be where you are all over again. I hope all goes well and it's all above board and top quality repair work.

As long as we are not paying for the repair, I will not be too concerned about, but I will consider having that part of the roof redone if it does not look right to me.

Service Master is doing the repair, and they have gotten very good reviews. I do not think that the insurance company wants us to have repeated problems, and so I think that they trust this company to do a good job. So far, my experience with them has been very good.

Nicole, I did not know that the color I picked was trendy, but if so, I hope the trend is a long one because we plan to sell this house around 2030-32. I should be pretty decrepit by then, but that is when Kevin will be able to retire.

Oh, I didn't understand the insurance company had hired the remediation company, That would make me more comfortable with it, too.

Service Master did a presentation at one of our HOA meetings. If memory serves, they actually contract out most of their work, so it may actually be a roofer that does that part of the repair. Great that the repairs can be done so quickly!

The work got started yesterday at 8 AM, and Kevin and I both had difficulty sleeping the night before because we had so much work to do go get the room ready. We wanted to move as much out of the room a possible (and were required to move certain types of objects), and we ended up storing all of the paintings in the office, which is now filled with items from the dining room/studio.

We ended up sleeping while the work was being started, and the workers left a note when they left around noon and said that they will be back Monday between 9 and 10. They only removed some of the drywall, and so I wondered why they did not stay longer and remove more.

Yesterday we bought the #6229 Tempe Star paint, and we decided on satin instead of flat because we want the walls to be more washable. My preference is for semi-matte, but that was not an option at SW. We did not buy ceiling paint or trim paint, and I will ask tomorrow whether we need to do this. We have some trim paint in the garage but probably not enough. I'm not even sure what paint was used on the ceiling before, but I would definitely want that to be matte.

Yesterday we also bought a replacement pendant fixture, Artika Hologram 5

at Home Depot, but I just noticed that it is now on sale at the Artika website for half price on a clearance sale. I tried putting this in a cart to see how much shipping would be, but the website appears not to work, and so I would not be able to order from them. We paid $199 for it at HD, whereas the Artika site has it for $105, but that is meaningless if the site does not work.

We might as well just keep the pendant at the price we paid for it - it is twice as much on Amazon, for some reason. I could save $40 if I returned it and bought it at BBB - would you do this?

I think we will hang the pendant with all lights at the same distance from the top, since the ceiling in the dining area is not that high, and I do not want the lights getting in my way, like the ones in the old fixture did. This is how the pendant was displayed at HD, and I liked it that way. In Cathedral City, I hung the 5-light pendant with five different lengths, but it was going on a slanted ceiling, and that made a big difference. Also, the lights were much smaller and round, which made the staggered lengths look better.

Lars, keep your receipts for the paint and the light fixture to include with your claim on your insurance. And any other receipts that have anything to do with repairs to your home that were engendered by the storm.

No, I would not buy the light fixture from BBB, if by BBB you mean Overstock. I made that mistake when I built my house. Light fixtures from Overstock come unassembled. I had to pay to have it assembled. In the end, it cost just as much as it would have cost if I had bought it from the local lighting store.

We decided to keep the chandelier rather than try to get it for a better price. I felt that HD deserves to get our business, since this is where we saw the fixture on display, and that is important.

The demo crew is back today, and they told me that after the drywall is down, they will have to make sure that everything is dry and that there is no mold. There hasn't been time for mold to grow, I think. Then the next crew can come in, which will be from Property Construction and Maintenance, and they will rebuild the walls. I believe that we will go to Cathedral City after the demo has been done and before the reconstruction begins.

hopefully all is well in Cathedral City Lars.