Storm damage

I didn't know insurance companys would handle everything. Every claim I ever had car and home was get estimates (more than one) than see the adjuster and cut a check.
I always had to arrange for repairs myself. Do ins. co. really want to be hiring contractors?

crankbndr wrote:I didn't know insurance companys  would handle everything. Every claim I ever had car and home was get estimates (more than one) than see the adjuster and cut a check.
I always had to arrange for repairs myself. Do ins. co. really want to be hiring contractors?

I'm with you. I got a list of recommended contractors who were not willing to work on my house because I was not local to ANY of them. A check was cut and I ended up doing the work myself.

Now for perspective I have only had 1 homeowner's claim ever, and I am with a different company now because of "too many claims" (due to car claims, including severe hail damage on a new truck)

I really wish I knew how this stuff was supposed to work...

Phil

Most likely the contractors hired by the insurance company were to assess and recommend remedies, do emergency portion, like tree trimming and bring in a temp storage unit. We had someone like that when we had an unrealistically heavy hail storm, a roofer. That roofer provided an estimate and description to the insurance company. After that, we found a roofing contractor we had sufficient confidence in whose bid was agreeable to the insurance company and they did the work.

We'll probably find out more when Roddie posts.

GallopingGhostler wrote:Most likely the contractors hired by the insurance company were to assess and recommend remedies, do emergency portion, like tree trimming and bring in a temp storage unit. We had someone like that when we had an unrealistically heavy hail storm, a roofer. That roofer provided an estimate and description to the insurance company. After that, we found a roofing contractor we had sufficient confidence in whose bid was agreeable to the insurance company and they did the work.

We'll probably find out more when Roddie posts.

Yes.. that's pretty much the way it's gone thus far. The tree has been removed.. and a temp. storage unit is in place. Now it's a waiting game. Neither my wife or I has made a claim like this before.

The weather has cooperated.. and tonight after work, I removed some more items from the shed that could be damaged if they got wet.

The old shed will be disposed of.. although I'd like to save it. My wife wants a bigger one.. "for me"... she says... "You could have your workshop out there".... Yes.. I could.. if there was electricity.. which there isn't. I mentioned getting a "second-shed"... and repairing the original.. but that didn't go over too well..  

That's ok... I'm not going to bicker about it.. I've done what I needed to do.. and now it's time to start putting some spec/product (reed-valve) engines together for my old airplanes that I used to fly. I have six brand-new back-end (carb) assemblies waiting to be mated with crankcases and a variety of cylinder-porting combinations to try-out.

My "OCD" nature will likely track the differing assemblies for performance. I don't have any fresh fuel.. but what I do have, should be able to establish somewhat of a baseline between them.

I also want to test my muffler-design "in-flight"... with a pressure-feed.. to see how the engine runs-out the tank, in a C/L stunt configuration.

Marleysky wrote:Ouch! Looks like a whole bunch of work in your future!!  Do you burn wood? If so, you have lots of BTU's laying down across your shed!   It would be a shame to have all that nice oak tossed into a dumpster   I was just wondering what the final result of your mid winter pool implosion was. Did it stay up the remainder of the winter 1/2 full of water? Did you fill it back up and let Your wife have full use of the pool this summer?  Very glad you didn't have any major loss of airplanes or items of value in the shed.....or did you??  
Reminds me of long ago the place I worked for sold kitchen cabinets, cupboards, sinks and stuff. During one strong summer storm the roof in the "old" warehouse sprung a major leak. The Owners son, VP, CFO, instructed the warehouse manager to move all the "old stock" poor selling kitchen cabinets into that section of the building. Which they did, and wrote off as water damaged a boat load of ugly inventory to the insurance co.  

Hi Rene.. I wanted the Oak-tree cut-offs.. but my wife didn't...  A husband agrees to these things... to sustain "harmony"...  We only burn wood in outdoor pits/chiminea's... so there was no real point in harvesting what had fallen. We buy wood in those small $6 bundles that they sell at the convenience-store..  Regarding the swimming pool... I'm tired of being the "pool-boy"...  This last Winter's events were over the top dude. The pool has been open since that episode.. because the cover was wrecked. All the grommets tore-out.. so I've had to keep it clean throughout the Spring-season. We wouldn't normally have even opened it until around now. We've been running the filter 24/7 for weeks.. and adding chlorine like it was peak-season. The caterpillar-infestation hasn't helped matters either. There's lot's of leaf-fragments that fall into the pool because of that. The skimmer gets clogged every day. Luckily the liner wasn't damaged when the cover fell-in last Winter. I refilled the pool when that happened.. because the cover-pump emptied all the water out...  in a matter of hours. (you know the story..) The pool-water is crystal-clear now though... The ladder that was in the shed-loft is undamaged... miraculously... so you'll be able to come over and take a dip..

No.. there was no loss off the models within the shed. Most were in the house (basement).. but there were three airframes out there that I cared about. None of those were damaged... thankfully. I spent this early-evening transferring weather-sensitive items into a storage-unit.

7 weeks have gone by.. and this afternoon (without notice..) a truck showed-up with a container for the shed-demolition. The driver said that the fella' who hired him was on his way too.. so we had him off-load the container onto the driveway.



Soon after that.. we got a visit from a contractor and his partner, who will demo and start re-building the shed tomorrow. It was previously determined by the adjuster/contractor, that there were no "pre-built" sheds that compared with our sheds' configuration.. therefor it would be rebuilt to spec. We wanted that same configuration; having two doors on the front-side.. with one extra-wide door/ramp for egress of a snow-thrower.



There were a few items remaining to be removed from the shed.. so I did that this afternoon after the contractor left. Being the "scrounger" that I am; I removed all the shelving and hardware when I was done. FWIW.. there was some useful wood that I wasn't willing to see thrown-out.

The damage is significant.. although some of these photos don't depict that..

The left side doesn't look too bad at all..




but the "right-side" is where the 16" tree-limb fell..




a view from the back-side..



more to come.....

What a lovely old shed roddie, it's a shame that it has to go.

Lacking common sense, I would be in there with hammer, nail, shingles, and if needed a little Waynescot and two by fours and sixes and fix it up. Then I would take the insurance settlement and buy me another ratted out MG.

Bob

rsv1cox wrote:What a lovely old shed roddie, it's a shame that it has to go.

Lacking common sense, I would be in there with hammer, nail, shingles, and if needed a little Waynescot and two by fours and sixes and fix it up.  Then I would take the insurance settlement and buy me another ratted out MG.  

Bob

Lynne didn't want to go the "repair" route.. although it certainly could have been accomplished. It was very well built. My brother offered to help me.. and we could have ended-up with either "two" sheds.. or taken the ins. $$ to possibly rebuild our aging deck.. which will be our next project.

The workers were here at 7:00 am this morning.. and the old shed is just about gone..



Regarding MG's.. I've seen a few nice ones on the road lately Bob.. including a Midget. There's a fellow in our area who did a V8 conversion to a "B". I'm not sure what's under the hood-scoop.. but more than likely a small-block Chevy or Ford engine. Of course it could be a 4.0L V8 Rover engine.. which IMO would be more appropriate..

like this 1967 B (Richard Cradick's)

Good they're getting underway, Roddie. Won't the fact the contractor is doing the work instead of you give you more time to build, plus keep the wife happy with more time for her honey-do's?

Regarding the V-8 MGB, seems like a lot of engine for such a small car, wouldn't that defeat its sportiness?

Here in Clovis, sheds without utilities under 150 SF do not require permitting. They are now old, I see some shed work in the future, or as we say in music, more wood shedding?

It's the first and second pictures way above that got me roddie.

The little shed in natures perfect setting looking out towards it's eventual casket. And the frontal view that says, "hey look, photograph me!" The central window and the flanking doors just fit together so well. Maybe I just miss Rhode Island.

Bob

It's going to be nice having a new one Roddie! Are they building it with the exact same dimensions? Or can you make it a little larger?

George, believe it or not the aluminum V8 actually weighs less than the 1800 lump it replaces. Even a 260-302 Ford V8 swap is only marginally heavier the the B block. So if anything it actually makes it more "sporty"

GallopingGhostler wrote:Good they're getting underway, Roddie. Won't the fact the contractor is doing the work instead of you give you more time to build, plus keep the wife happy with more time for her honey-do's?

Regarding the V-8 MGB, seems like a lot of engine for such a small car, wouldn't that defeat its sportiness?

Here in Clovis, sheds without utilities under 150 SF do not require permitting. They are now old, I see some shed work in the future, or as we say in music, more wood shedding?

Hi George! Nice to hear from you! What is "wood-shedding"? (I don't get out much.. )

Yes I agree.. a front-mounted V8 engine in a lightweight/short-wheelbase automobile isn't a recipe for ultimate handling.. or else we'd see more of them. I kinda' wish that "Bob" (rsv1cox) had bought that old Corvair.. (pokes Bob.. )

Yea.. regarding permitting on out-buildings/sheds; I haven't looked-into this. The insurance company has handled everything. The ordinances vary from town to town.. state by state. My brother told me that you can have several small sheds on your property.. without being taxed on them. That may be so where he lives.. but I can't assume that the same applies here in N. Smithfield, RI. My brother lives in Massachusetts.

Cribbs74 wrote:It's going to be nice having a new one Roddie! Are they building it with the exact same dimensions? Or can you make it a little larger?

We probably could've opted for larger Ron.. but yes; it's being rebuilt to spec. dimensions. It will be big enough. There was a LOT of crap stored in there.. as well as less than optimal utilization of the space. The nice thing will be a "tighter-structure" to help keep out the mice for at least a few years. There was a ground-hog and rabbit-family living underneath. They were obviously displaced today. The ground-hog has been there for 3-4 years. He (I'm assuming.. never having seen any young..) would "sun" himself on the left-side ramp frequently.. sprawling himself out.. and just lay there. The rabbits are recent inhabitants.. but the two have apparently lived in harmony up until now.

I have four bicycles that I should really get rid of. They're "space-hogs".. (similar to model-airplanes... I hope you guys can't reach me when throwing tomato's.. ) Don't worry.. none of my model-airplanes are going anywhere.. except hopefully to the flying-field.

Yup, Roddie, building codes can vary between cities and counties. RI can have different rules than MA. I researched City of Clovis and found their rules, so I know I won't get hammered if I abide.

Some jurisdictions (somehow NY City rings a bell), you need to be a licensed plumber to change a faucet washer.

Ron, some like them hot. I was referring more to the HP output in such a small vehicle. Road rally racing is one thing, an afternoon ride on a winding countryside mountain road is another. The fun is upshifting, downshifting, wearing a hat suitable for a retiree instead of a helmet, etc.

rsv1cox wrote:It's the first and second pictures way above that got me roddie.

The little shed in natures perfect setting looking out towards it's eventual casket.  And the frontal view that says, "hey look, photograph me!"  The central window and the flanking doors just fit together so well.  Maybe I just miss Rhode Island.  

Bob

I know it Bob... we really LOVE IT here.. and having this happen to our shed was a shocker.

I had today "off".. and periodically looked out the window to see how long it took the three young guys to demo the shed. They started around 8am.. and just finished around 1:30pm. One kid was whacking the bottom of the L/H door-casing (double-studded) with a hammer trying to remove it. I thought; "just cut it off with the sawz-all".. (which one of the other guys did..) then the same kid starts hammering on it "again" (I'm watching and thinking; "watch your balls kid".. ) and don't you know; the double-stud kicks-out and catches him right there in the man-berries.. (you can't make this stuff up.. ) He did his best not to show the obvious agony he must have been feeling... but didn't jump right back in help too quick..

Very good observation Robbie

Long ago and now a lost argument... My Lampasas Texas county Tax assessor banged me real hard
In that case they decided to triple dirt values..."to get back on par with surrounding counties"

Historicall as a soldier, I had placed all sorts of sheds/barns/storage building on many different properties in several different states/counties over the years. Most of the time...only having to pay attention to "set backs" and never any concern with the TAX Man

Most of the places, considered an off site built building as NOT real property or Temporary...no tax impact

Other places, defined a temp or non permanent as; NOT on a foundation- OR not connected to utilities

So I deliberately had this shop I am in built on Site BUT on skids
and over the years Bought two pre build sheds delivered on truck for yard tool storage
A year or three back wife agreed to it being my turn for a proper wood working shop...

So now we have
Main house....taxed
On site cement slab 30X40 Drill Stem and Tin garage/shop that was here when we bought, also taxed

The two 10x12 Jackson (local) off site built sheds
A 16 x 24, 2 story barn/shop I had constructed on site on skids
And a 14 x 30 lofted barn wood working shop built in Dallas and placed where I wanted also on skids

Also, over the years, I bough into 2 Carolina Car ports...typical tube steel and tin.
One is 20 x 22 with concrete park pad for the cars
The other monster is 15 x 41 by 19 feet tall, on concrete pad, for the RV (now gone)

Yes Virginia the Sat view looks like a small military compound....Grin ....and it is

Point of all this:

Texas passed a law that all county Tax costs are frozen when a home owner turns 65....I am 62

I have never seen a county tax assessor here in 23 years of owning the property ----and have twice went into town to challenge some increase...once I won, and once she held firm

BUT last month, before my birthday...I got beeped at to open the front gate.

Tax assessor babe...wants to measure, take pictures, and see all the improvements I made since 1994

I have no idea what this mess is gonna increase to--- but I know it will
Taking to my VFW buds... the Tax office has a program to do this for all home owners nearing the frozen tax rate at 65

So back to Roddie's note

I found out from the Tax babe... skids, no skids, off site, on site, connected, makes no difference
Every thing, even my 800 feet 10 foot wide asphalt drive way is an "Improvement" with a taxable value

wife and I are freaking a bit...cuz we have sunk well over $80k in all the improvements all these years...

ON the other hand my taxes here are one of the big reasons for being here

last year simple county and road tax was $540
School tax eats us a bit at $1900

I remember in New Port News VA, 1987~1990 my $95K house taxes being over $5000 per year and had New Jersy Friends with a annual tax rate in the $15K range

GallopingGhostler wrote:

Ron, some like them hot. I was referring more to the HP output in such a small vehicle. Road rally racing is one thing, an afternoon ride on a winding countryside mountain road is another. The fun is upshifting, downshifting, wearing a hat suitable for a retiree instead of a helmet, etc.

I'm always up for this type of conversation. My uncle has a 1965 MGB that's been under a tarp in his garage for 45 years. I was 12 years old (1972) the last time it was registered. He's since driven "Miata's" and had x2 of them.. (pokes Bob again..) and now has a BMW Z3 or 4.. (not sure which..) that resides in the garage next to the Morris. The MG has "Iris Blue" paint.. knock-off hubs, L/H drive and looks a lot like this one..



Years ago.. I worked at a Pontiac dealer in Norwood, Ma that had also been a "British Leyland" dealer though the early 80's and the demise of the MG. One of the mechanics there at the time (a very skilled mechanic..) was also an MG enthusiast.. and bought-out much of the dealer's parts-inventory. One of his daily-drivers was an MGB-GT. He later opened his own auto-repair business in Easton, Ma which specialized in foreign-car repair. This was a long time ago.. but he had a good stock of original MG parts at that time. I know that the MGB's early front-suspension incorporated a lower control-arm/shock-absorber assy. that soon became very hard to source as an original replacement. J.C. Whitney offered a "retro-fit" assembly back in the day.. but it was not something that a purist would have bought.

Maybe I was a little to "out front" on the shed reclamation roddie, I should learn that my lost causes are not everyone's lost causes. But, I thank the day I gave up on that Corvair. As bad as this MG is at least it has most of a floor. That Corvair had virtually nothing from the internal rockers on down.

We drove past it last weekend, still sitting in the same spot rusting into the ground as it has been for the last 15+ years. Such as shame. I would have loved to had it when first parked.

Love that early powder blue MGB. If I ever get this mess back together again that's a color I will consider.

Bob I know you are old enough to remember back when we took on one of these these projects....the real issue was wiring

Today... DC electrics for older--- non computer--- cars are super easy ...especially with the various kit in a box options

and I dearly wish way back then I had all the instrumentation options there are today...I am an IssPro fan

not to stray too far

MY dream car is in the other direction---- away for the small sports cars I do love

59 Cadillac El Dorado, rag top, two door...white leather interior

BUT
With 100% current computer controlled engine drive train, air ride computer suspension, ABS, and all current in cabin creature safety and comfort crap ... I have come to appreciate a lot of these features in my newer cars...

I just want the BIG HONKING BOAT.... preferably with a Foose paint an finish styling touch

OH yes a Harmon Cardin or Bob Carver 650 watt tunes stereo

Some will wonder why not current high zoot stereo system with a bazillion watt base system with super caps in line and a flux capacitor*

Not needed --- I can still enjoy warp 3 music even tho all my nearby neighbors seem to need to exceed Voyager at warp 9.7


* in some circles a flux capacitor is a euphemism for 3ea 190 Amp alternators under the hood feeding a Bank of 8 deep cycle batteries in the trunk with welding cable wires

fredvon4 wrote:

MY dream car is in the other direction---- away for the small sports cars I do love

59 Cadillac El Dorado, rag top, two door...white leather interior

BUT
With 100% current computer controlled engine drive train, air ride computer suspension, ABS, and all current in cabin creature safety and comfort crap ... I have come to appreciate a lot of these features in my newer cars...

I just want the BIG HONKING BOAT....  preferably with a Foose paint an finish styling touch

OH yes a Harmon Cardin or Bob Carver  650 watt tunes stereo

Maybe something on the lines of these Phred? I took these photos during the summer of 2013 at a market and at a pub just down the road a bit.

Foose-style..



and classic..



The white one's a "60".. I'm not sure about the black one..

I bought myself an MGB similar to the blue one in photo when I was 17 ( could buy a really nice car for 3 or 4 hundred $) and drove the wheels off it.
It would hang a corner pretty good but when it broke loose you were going around for the ride. It came with a brass hammer for the knock offs.
The top was never up, the tonneau cover zipped down the middle when it rained I held it over my head.
I had to wrench on it over the weekend to drive it during the week, it had a lot of bugs in it. It had two 6V batteries, one behind each seat and a positive ground.
One night I was tooling down hwy41 with my gal and a jug of ripple between the seats and the hood came loose and ripped of the hinges, like a frisbee into the everglades it flew.
It happened so fast I was wondering why I was looking at my engine for a second. So off to the junkyard for a hood ( I really miss the old junkyards) and every hood had a crease where it had come loose and hit the top windshield. No safety latch.
I had fun with the MGB but sold because of constant mechanical problems.

I did a quick Images search for Custom 59 caddy and spent the next 3 hours doing same for other favorite cars... google images can get very addicting a lot like You-tube

fredvon4 wrote:I did a quick Images search for Custom 59 caddy and spent the next 3 hours doing same for other favorite cars... google images can get very addicting  a lot like You-tube

That's pretty WILD Phred! I agree regarding google images.. I've spent a good amount of time there myself. It's amazing what you can "stumble-on" when doing a keyword search. I've been sucked-into completely different subject-matter this way.