Lessons Learned

[Hobie]

- military ammo cans work to keep water out (but I already knew that)
- most commercial "totes" do not work to keep water out especially from above
- the plastic bottles/jugs are wonderful for storing reloading powders
- it CAN happen to you
- water off when you leave the house

I'd tell you "don't ask me how I know" but...

Back in April we came home from a vacation. We'd left the water on because we have hot water radiator heat and, well, didn't want pipes to freeze. Opened the door to find water running through the house. Nut on supply line to the UPSTAIRS toilet had broken allowing the supply line to fall away from the toilet and spray water which made its way through most of the house. We think about 8000 gallons. Despite immediate response by a local mitigation team it took 3 weeks to dry out the house even with the walls stripped to the studs and floors stripped to the sub-flooring. Those of you who have experienced flooding understand just what happened.

Water had "rained" into the basement. If there was a hole in any container that container had water in it. Plain cardboard was mostly mush, waxed cardboard mostly survived as did the contents. Some store light bulbs had water INSIDE the bulb. Fortunately I was able to mitigate almost all problems in the loading area. I was well prepared for rising water but not for falling water!

We've been busy rebuilding the house after moving certain "items" to a secure location. We hope to be back home by Christmas. Currently living in a hotel (with kitchen). Happy that I "over insured".

I am an advocate for the MTM Ammo Crates or, failing that, any plastic container the lid of which overlaps the sides by as much as possible.

[Blaine]

I've been following that horror story at "The Other Place" you hang out. You have my prayers.

[gamekeeper]

I had something similar happen to me once, luckily I I was only away a couple of days so the damage was light. Certainly makes the phrase "keep your powder dry" relevant.
Good luck with the rebuild Hobie, good to see you posting again, hope your next post is more firearm related...

[Pitchy]

Good to see ya Hobie, thoughts and prayers from Norma and i hope things get back to normal soon.

[2ndovc]

As a restoration contractor, I see that stuff everyday. Broken water lines can do almost as much damage as fires. It can be heartbreaking when people lose family photos, antiques and heirlooms or collections that have taken a lifetime to assemble.
Best of luck on the re-build!!! That can be just as difficult. Find the right guys for your personality and be patient. The dry out is the easy part. Putting things back together is time consuming and can be very frustrating. Especially with certain insurance companies.

jb

[AJMD429]

I've known people who withstood pipe-bursts and it isn't pretty.

One only was gone 20 minutes to go get some cigarettes, but came home to find their downstairs ceiling drywall on the carpet...

"Some store light bulbs had water INSIDE the bulb".....

If you have a burglar alarm, you CAN set it up so that once armed, all the non-essential water shuts off (ideally ALL water inside the house), but you have to argue with some of the alarm companies or pay huge 'hookup' fees just to get an electrically-operated valve installed and wired-in to the system.

[piller]

Prayers up. That is a terrible thing to have happen.

[fordwannabe]

Sorry to hear about this Hobie. Thoughts and prayers your way.

[Sixgun]

That's sure an incentive for an inventor.....automatic shut off switch which works on any release of water when the switch is turned on. Even if you hit the main water switch by the breaker box there's still enough pressure to pump out a hundred gallons.....we have a well and pressure tank.

They probably have things like that but I never looked into it as there's most always someone here and in Hobies case, it wouldn't have done much as he needed the water for heat.

What I do like is my new $26 water timer for the hose.....forgot how many times I turned on the hose for the horses trough and walked away later realizing I'm watering the whole pasture.---6

[jeepnik]

I have a system that listens for alarms, water, fire, co etc. It notifies me via a phone app. It picked up the beeping from a smoke alarm when the battery went dead so I know it hears those. I've set the others off to test and it works on those as well. Cheap gadget that plugs into the wall and also alarms when power is lost. Connects to the house Wifi which is on a UPS. The system is called LEEO.

[Old Savage]

We were under insured, took a law suit to recover the money. Coming home today from LA, condo sprinklers are flooding the grounds.

[Nath]

That's a bum wrap Hobie
Best wishes friend.

N.

[OldWin]

So sorry to hear. That's just awful. Prayers for you all.
I will never buy a toilet supply line with those plastic nuts. I had one fail last spring in a bathroom down cellar about 10ft from my gunroom. Thank God I came home from work, went downstairs to take my boots off and heard a hissing. Couldn't have been going long. Just luck.
Also had a plastic supply line for the fridge water get a pin hole. Caught that too.
Then last spring had a big warm up and melt. Water ran down the sides of the foundation and got in. I did get some in the gunroom but no damage and cleaned it up myself.
It's a constant battle. I always shut off water when gone and have people check the house.....a lot.
Water is the most destructive force on earth.