Popular Post Raefco Posted June 28, 2015 Popular Post Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 A lot can happen in the blink of an eye, In the 8 hour safety orientation I must sit through once a year at a steel mill I work at occasionally, the instructor likes to say repeatedly, the lost of life or limb constitutes a bad day, everything else is just stuff, their goal is zero bad days. Yesterday when I logged on to Facebook I was greeted by this picture from my wife's timeline, it is a "time hop" photo from 3 years ago to that day, this is what I came home from a 3 week job in Michigan too find this… I knew exactly where everyone was and it was not here, well except the animals, 2 cats and a dog, so not such a bad day right? We lost every thing we owned except the things in 3 of our cars, the car in the car port was not covered. Mia, the family dog made it out, 3 hours after the firefighters arrived one walked off caring her, the days getting a little better, the cats were not so lucky. After being investigated for arson for a couple months, because it is so easy to burn your house down from another state, we started the recovery 10-30 yd dumpsters later And so it begins, reconstruction I had a dozen or so pics here, it said "that's too many pics"… I have thousands of pics and even more man-hours then that, to get here from there. From the time I started the demo till today, it has been 2 years 8 months, I hired 3 people, a framer, electrician and a drywaller and the wife and I done the rest. 80 plus yards of concrete, 2500 block, 27,000 brick and a whole lot of stuff in-between. If your up right and never give up, its never as bad as it seems… here is the obligatory feet up pick from one night last week, Im about done with sitting back and ready to start on something new, a shop maybe… 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted June 28, 2015 Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 Mark, that was a heck of a recovery. Just say 27,000 bricks, wears me out. You and your wife did a great job and have a beautiful new home. Well done but sorry for the loss of the two cats. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted June 28, 2015 Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 Wow. Alot of hard work went into that house. It must feel amazing after everything that you went through. Congrats on the beautiful new home. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted June 28, 2015 Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 Every time I see a home that has been burned I can't help but think about the family that has been instantly displaced and the lost of all possessions. I can't imagine the feeling. Mark that new home looks fantastic. I would imagine with what you have been through you and your wife don't have a house, you have a home. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raefco Posted June 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 Mark, that was a heck of a recovery. Just say 27,000 bricks, wears me out. You and your wife did a great job and have a beautiful new home. Well done but sorry for the loss of the two cats. Thanks Coop I am exhausted but we are nearly done, got to build the smoker/oven on the back porch, hoping to get to that in the next couple weeks ill post pics… Wow. Alot of hard work went into that house. It must feel amazing after everything that you went through. Congrats on the beautiful new home. Yes it does, we are very proud of it and the fact that we kept the kids on track, one finished college and the other has a year to go and is looking at grad schools. Every time I see a home that has been burned I can't help but think about the family that has been instantly displaced and the lost of all possessions. I can't imagine the feeling. Mark that new home looks fantastic. I would imagine with what you have been through you and your wife don't have a house, you have a home. I know what you mean, my wife has a hard time holding it together every time she sees smoke, we were already a pretty liberal bunch but after this we are far more charitable. You only think you are self sufficient till something like this happens, I may not have had a lot of physical help but the out pouring of support was amazing and we have done our best to pay it forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted June 28, 2015 Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 Good on ya! Many would have given up and just hired it all out and nobody would have blamed them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raefco Posted June 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 Good on ya! Many would have given up and just hired it all out and nobody would have blamed them. The way the powers that be are aligned today it is almost impossible to do something like this yourself unless you really know the construction process, pay cash, or both, the bank and the insurance company fought us every step of the way. Even with replacement value insurance, they depreciate the heck out of everything and don't pay the balance till proof of replacement is supplied. We were on a mission to not let them put us further in debt than we were before. the insurance companies stance was "you can't profit from a lose" apparently labor, skill and knowledge have no value when use for personal gain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted June 28, 2015 Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 Way to bounce back and the new house is beautiful! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted June 28, 2015 Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 I noticed the arches over most openings. I think a mason had to put in a few details to make sure it had his fingerprint visible. Looks great ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye Posted June 28, 2015 Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 Mark. The house looks fantastic. You and your wife should be extremely proud of it. Why would they suspect arson? Did they ever determine a cause? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raefco Posted June 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 I learned they always try to pin it on some one or somthing to get out of paying, the federal inspector told me, for example, if he could pin it on the TV or a cordless charger they would go after the manufacturer and they usually just paid the policy rather than fight, so it did not matter if they pinned it on me or somthing else they were just grasping for straws to get out of paying. The house was build in the 1890's most probable couse was wiring... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raefco Posted June 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 Steve I had planned more but was just ready to be done, I have about 1500 brick to go in a fancy outdoor kitchen and we will call it good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janello Posted June 28, 2015 Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 Very nicely done on the new construction. That's some accomplishment! Wishing you many happy years in there Mark. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mzdadoc Posted June 28, 2015 Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 Wow! Impressive!!! Don't know what the old house looked like but the new one is amazing!!!! Sorry about the cats! They're family too... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinF Posted June 29, 2015 Report Share Posted June 29, 2015 Man that's an amazing comeback! Insurance companies suck, all the money people pay, most never making a major claim, you'd think they would be right there to help you out, I understand they are in business to make money, just seems like thy would be more responsive to people that have just suffered such a major loss! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raefco Posted June 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2015 Very nicely done on the new construction. That's some accomplishment! Wishing you many happy years in there Mark. Wow! Impressive!!! Don't know what the old house looked like but the new one is amazing!!!! Sorry about the cats! They're family too... Thanks, the old house was nice, it was one of the oldest houses in my small town, the original two rooms were the local mortuary built in 1860 something before even the railroad came through, it had some history and had been added onto, the last time was in 1945. Man that's an amazing comeback! Insurance companies suck, all the money people pay, most never making a major claim, you'd think they would be right there to help you out, I understand they are in business to make money, just seems like thy would be more responsive to people that have just suffered such a major loss! Yes they do, insurance companies, I did eventually get nearly the value of the policy. if I would not have replaced that house in it's original location I would have never gotten more than 65% of the value of the policy unless I bought a new house, so now I own a house with a replacement value 4 times the fair market value, but its all good because I owe less now than I did before, but, I can not insure in for replacement value because "it would be worth more to burn it than sell it" insurance agents words not mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted June 29, 2015 Report Share Posted June 29, 2015 If there's an example of sweat equity, you and your wife are it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted June 29, 2015 Report Share Posted June 29, 2015 Man that's an amazing comeback! Insurance companies suck, all the money people pay, most never making a major claim, you'd think they would be right there to help you out, I understand they are in business to make money, just seems like thy would be more responsive to people that have just suffered such a major loss! I have to agree with Colin here. I can't even imagine what Mark went through with his house, I just had to do a claim with my car insurance over an accident in which I was the front car in a four car accident. I can tell you that at least my agent (soon to be ex agent) isn't anything like the way St... Fa.. portrays them in their add campaign. Every question that came up, she passed to others, never took my calls... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinF Posted June 29, 2015 Report Share Posted June 29, 2015 I have to agree with Colin here. I can't even imagine what Mark went through with his house, I just had to do a claim with my car insurance over an accident in which I was the front car in a four car accident. I can tell you that at least my agent (soon to be ex agent) isn't anything like the way St... Fa.. portrays them in their add campaign. Every question that came up, she passed to others, never took my calls...i have st... Fa.. Insurance, while I've never made a homeowners insurance claim, they have been very good about taking care of things when I made an auto claim, granted I've only had 1 accident that I was at fault in, and that was almost 21 years ago... Man I feel old now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raefco Posted June 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 I had motorist mu, I had a replacement value policy on the house and its contents. The house burnt and we called our agent, we did not even have the insurance provider we thought we had, do to a dispute between our agent and the provider. The red cross was there before the fire was out, with gift cards, care bags and hotel accommodations. They are awesome… The next day our adjuster came up and met with us, dropped a check for 5K (basic living needs, clothes, makeup and such) and instructions for long term living arrangements, up to 12 months, while we sort things out, so far so good. We rented a house and the insurance arranged everything down to linens and silverware, pretty cool. This is where you start seeing a life time of work disappear, local fire inspector, then state fire inspector, then federal combustion engineer from Louisville, this guy was young and actually very cool and he was pretty free with info, he was also very frustrated that they got him involved in a 145 year old house burning in the middle of the day on friday when the owner was 200 miles away. As soon as the investigators are done they send in a crew to inventory every distinguishable item in the house and put a value on it and then proceed to depreciate it between 20 and 70% About day 45, post fire, the insurance guy shows up, hands us a check for 40% of the replacement value of the house and 50% on contents, a 600 page list of the contents of the house and an explanation of benefits, in terms a bricklayer can understand. Too get the balance of your contents money you have to replace what you lost. Find the item number for that item in the 600 page list. Write that number on the receipt. Submit receipt. Wait The only way to get 100% of your money on the dwelling is to replace that house on that lot with one of equal or greater value, period, if you buy an older house they would use fair market value and depreciate it according to it age, it is guaranteed you will be far deeper in debt than before the lose if you do as your told. We had a mortgage with BoA, Bank of America gave us two options, a). Send them both checks and let them take care of it. b ). Pay off the mortgage and go away. We would not be allowed to handle our reconstruction in anyway if BoA held the note on the house, a licensed bonded, pre approved contractor would be required. Due to regulation we could not get a construction loan without hiring everything out, I would not be allowed to self perform any major task, no mortgage till the house was completed, turn key. So we did what anyone would do, we paid of the mortgage with the contents check and started tearing the house down, no stress here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted June 30, 2015 Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 Bank of America... Anything butt. The folks that work in the ones here speak very little English. And that's all I have to say about that! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinF Posted June 30, 2015 Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 Bank of America... Anything butt. The folks that work in the ones here speak very little English. And that's all I have to say about that! our mortgage got sold to them. Ugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 30, 2015 Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 That really sucks that your insurer raked you over the coals. Congratulations on making the best of it. Your new home is beautiful and it sounds like you did a great job with your kids. My sister's housed burned about 12 years ago. She had State Farm. They declared it a total loss and paid out the policy maximum on the building without much haggle. No arson investigation. It was likely an electrical fire. They earned my business for life after that. Maybe times have changed. My Dad worked in construction so understood the building process. He did pay a guy cash to do the demo, there was likely some asbestos here and there and it could have gotten real expensive if handled the proper way. The contents process was a little work. Pretty much the same as you describe. I helped her create a spreedsheet of all her belongings. The adjuster tried to inventory it but missed a bunch. The house was originally my parents, she bought it from them and they left a bunch of stuff behind that they did not want. She was able to get to depreciated replacement value of that stuff but did not replace it. Its ridiculuous, but you are better off storing a bunch of junk in your attic so of your house ever burns you can collect on old VCRs, tube TVs, treadmills and video tapes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted June 30, 2015 Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 Beautiful house, Mark. Love how it's all brick. You hardly ever see that anymore except in full-custom million dollar homes...and even then it's rare. I mean, why? If you have that much money, just do the damn brick. Bad taste I guess. Try not to burn this one down, m'kay? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 30, 2015 Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 Beautiful house, Mark. Love how it's all brick. You hardly ever see that anymore except in full-custom million dollar homes...and even then it's rare. I mean, why? If you have that much money, just do the damn brick. Bad taste I guess. Try not to burn this one down, m'kay? Its like they say Eric, you can't buy class! My area is still mostly all brick. You don't see a lot of brick front/vinyl sides. I think the more established towns in Cook County have code issues with that. But if you head out the the collar counties and the tract developments there are rows and rows of 4500 sq ft vinyl boxes. My sister had to get a variance to build a house that was 100% cedar sided. In her town they specify new construction must be X% brick, which means most houses are brick all the way around with some siding on the second level. Cook County building codes are dictated by the unions, which means brick houses, rigid pipe electrical conduit, and mostly copper/cast iron plumbing. We allow some PVC now, but still no pex. Mark - don't mean to jack your thread, I just find local building practices interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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