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Thread: Lessons learned from taking a direct hit by a Cat 5 Hurricane- ground zero, USVI

  1. #91
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    I'm sure that fixture let out a sigh of relief! (Or maybe that was the homeowner... )
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  2. #92
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    I'm sure that fixture let out a sigh of relief! (Or maybe that was the homeowner... )
    Better than the fan that was literally dripping water during the first storm- it was stuck. I gave it a push and it started spinning, but with a horrible grinding noise. No surprises there. We knew it would be toast, hence I very carefully turned it on as I monitored it.

  3. #93
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    Yea, I'm sure that there are going to be a number of things that are good candidates for replacement rather than trying to baby them back to working "correctly"...nature of the beast and "nature".
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  4. #94
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    Great to hear things are progressing. Heck, we had our power go out for ~24 hours and it was nothing compared to your ordeal.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  5. #95
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    It is Sunday Morning, January 7, 2018. I just returned from my daily morning walk on Oak Hollow Street in Dickinson, Texas. It is dry, and our house has been repaired.
    A neighbor's house across the street has been repaired as well. My oldest, being a contractor finished repairing the house. We had to remove sheet rock on walls and ceilings and replace it.
    New insulation was put in as well. We had 33 inches of water. There is a water line on the brick. I will scrub it off sometime.

    I wakened at 3 AM in bed and I was wet.

    Thing are good. One of my grand son's is here practicing his piano He is in the fourth grade. He lives 5 minutes from us. My wife has been taking him to
    weekly piano lessons for two years.

    Things are back to normal and life is good. Our lesson learned is that recovery is possible. It may take a while, but it will happen.
    Last edited by lowell holmes; 01-07-2018 at 12:10 PM.

  6. #96
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    Quote Originally Posted by lowell holmes View Post
    It is Sunday Morning, January 7, 2018. I just returned from my daily morning walk on Oak Hollow Street in Dickinson, Texas. It is dry, and our house has been repaired.
    A neighbor's house across the street has been repaired as well. My oldest, being a contractor finished repairing the house. We had to remove sheet rock on walls and ceilings and replace it.
    New insulation was put in as well. We had 33 inches of water. There is a water line on the brick. I will scrub it off sometime.

    I wakened at 3 AM in bed and I was wet.

    Thing are good. One of my grand son's is here practicing his piano He is in the fourth grade. He lives 5 minutes from us. My wife has been taking him to
    weekly piano lessons for two years.

    Things are back to normal and life is good. Our lesson learned is that recovery is possible. It may take a while, but it will happen.

    From my damaged home to yours, I sincerely give you my deepest regrets for what you have had to go through. Our museum downtown where I volunteer was completely flooded, and I know what an awful mess that can be. I was amazed how well it bounced back. You were wise to remove sheetrock and insulation. Happy to hear your positive attitude. Believe me I know the importance of that, and how these storms bring you to realize what is really important around you- i.e. family and friends, and not stuff.

  7. #97
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    Someone shared this story from an Atlanta TV station regarding Home Depot destroying their entire inventory. It is a real sore spot with locals. I was told that their insurance company made them do it, and blamed the insurance company, but their statement seems to suggest that they made the decision on their own. I personally saw this- their entire back lot was full of items being destroyed before going to the dump. They said mold caused liability concerns and they chose to destroy everything. They are still not fully open- all the back rows of aisles are closed. They gutted the store and literally destroyed the entire inventory. They had crews in the back lot sledge hammering stuff before it went to the dump.

    http://www.wsbtv.com/news/2-investig...cane/691725218

    This is a tough one. I can't boycott them because I need them. The locally owned Ace Hardware sure didn't do me any favors- charging $3 each for D-Cell batteries, and $79 for a 5 gallon plastic gas can. They (Ace Hardware) were the only store open after the storms. Also after waiting in line 1 hour to get in, they refused to let me bring my 4-year-old daughter in the store and wanted me to leave her at the door. I raised nine kinds of heck and they finally let me bring her in but I had to carry her on my shoulders. She was not allowed to walk. Apparently 4-year-old girls are really big security threats. So Ace isn't really on my good side either. Other than the local lumber yard, which was awesome after the storms, that's my only choices. The lumber yard only sells building supplies like lumber and roofing- no tools, paint, or hardware.

    Ironically, I'm headed to HD in the morning to take advantage of a deal on a saw. They are the only game in town if you want a table saw. The only other option is pay to ship one down, which for the smallest portable saw would cost me $150 or more.

    By the way, they mention in the above article that Walgreens donated their damaged goods to the Salvation Army. This is 100% true. I sit on the advisory board for the local Salvation Army. They received pallets of goods from Walgreens. Yay Walgreens!

  8. #98
    Quote Originally Posted by Malcolm Schweizer View Post
    Someone shared this story from an Atlanta TV station regarding Home Depot destroying their entire inventory. It is a real sore spot with locals. I was told that their insurance company made them do it, and blamed the insurance company, but their statement seems to suggest that they made the decision on their own. I personally saw this- their entire back lot was full of items being destroyed before going to the dump. They said mold caused liability concerns and they chose to destroy everything.
    Somewhere in that mix is probably lawyers pointing out liability issues that could arise out of selling inventory possibly tainted with mold. During my years in construction, I saw the working environment change (for the better) because of rising insurance premiums. The contractors told us they were concerned about our well being but in the 8 years I had left the field to work in the office it was obvious it was the cost of insurance and company lawyers advising CEOs it was cheaper to provide a safe work place than it was to face potential lawsuits.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  9. #99
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    Quote Originally Posted by Julie Moriarty View Post
    Somewhere in that mix is probably lawyers pointing out liability issues that could arise out of selling inventory possibly tainted with mold. During my years in construction, I saw the working environment change (for the better) because of rising insurance premiums. The contractors told us they were concerned about our well being but in the 8 years I had left the field to work in the office it was obvious it was the cost of insurance and company lawyers advising CEOs it was cheaper to provide a safe work place than it was to face potential lawsuits.
    I blame our litigious society more than I blame HD or their insurance company, but it sucked as I scrounged for items to fix shutters and roofs and gutters while they threw it away.

    ...and then there's the Budweiser super bowl commercial saluting disaster victims in California, Texas, and Puerto Rico. Um... ahem... Did we forget someone?

  10. #100
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    As I sit on my porch admiring the blue water and green islands, it’s almost hard to believe what we went through. The island has very much bounced back. Anyone without power are ones that didn’t fix their weatherhead or had damages that made power unsafe. Now the issue is all the “blue roofs” that still have tarps on them. Most folks here get water off their roof. I did for 12 years before I moved downtown, where there is city water. (Only downtown has it). So we have some ways to go, but we are “VI Strong”. I was just looking out thinking of these things and wanted to say thanks for all the well wishes, thoughts, and prayers. Yes- we needed thoughts and prayers! Please keep Tortola in your prayers. They are still struggling. Many friends there still without power. Puerto Rico as well.

    Many sailboats in Charlotte Amalie Harbor dodging the 18 foot seas from the Nor’easter you guys had. We had huge breakers on the north side, but south is flat as a flitter.

    7231F613-3585-4836-BE29-C137B1F7C9BC.jpg3115F844-838C-4FA5-876C-AAA3F9D63C24.jpg

  11. #101
    Glad to hear things are returning to normal, Malcolm. Many of my IBEW brothers and sisters are working in PR to get the power distribution lines back to normal. In some areas, every power pole had to be replaced.

    Though we didn't get nearly the hit you did, there are still some roofs here with blue tarps. Let's hope Mother Nature has a restful upcoming summer.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  12. #102
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    Good day all: A year ago today, I was making the final preparations for what would be one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic. Never could I have imagined that shortly after we survived that one, another would make a second near direct hit. It is amazing that it's been only a year. It seems like forever ago. I went from Sept 6th to Dec 28th without power. I learned to make a meal out of Vienna Sausages. It was a wild ride.

    There are still numerous homes with "blue roofs" (tarps) and a lot of homes still damaged as we enter the worst part of hurricane season. The store where I used to do the majority of my grocery shopping, Cost-U-Less, is now an empty lot- completely leveled. Caneel Bay resort is completely gone. Westin has still not opened. Ritz Carlton, Sugar Bay, Marriott- all still closed, except Mariott opened the Vacation Club timeshares. Only boutique hotels are open. This helped the Air B&B folks out, but also it drove up rent prices considerably; especially in St. John. Everyone converted long-term rentals into Air B&B rentals, and apartment prices have skyrocketed. I'm blessed to have bought a home.

    The harbor is almost empty of boats- seems many more people left this year for hurricane season. Grenada is packed with boats all trying to get below the magic 12 degree mark. Streets are quite empty this year- I can get to Home Depot in record time!!! I guess that's a plus. Our airport is still being repaired and has no A/C in the waiting area. AA has cancelled morning flights ever since the storms because the only hotel available is not approved by the pilot union. This has been a big impact on my frequent travels. It has also put a big dent in our economy, but we have bounced back amazingly well. Many restaurants open and actually doing very well. Downtown merchants are not doing as well- they depended very much on hotel guests. Cruise ship passengers don't typically spend as much on jewelry, which is the main commodity downtown.

    They cut down the mahogany trees in front of the Legislature Building. I only wish I had a portable mill!!! They are gorgeous. Much fewer mangoes this year, as many trees were damaged, but mango trees actually kind of seem to like adverse conditions. Hog plums are coming back. I have not seen any kids selling genips (little fruits that grow on a very large local tree) this year. I don't think they have bounced back yet. There are still empty swaths on St. John where tornadoes cut through the bush.

    Considering what we went through, I feel we are doing very well. Once the hotels open again things will be much better, but that is at least a year away for Ritz and Westin, and nobody knows about Marriott- word is the property was sold. It doesn't appear they have even started restoration of the hotel.

    There are still two people missing: One is a homeless individual that our church was assisting. We saw her after Irma, but she has not been heard from after Maria. It is possible that she took one of the mercy ships off island after the storm, although her family has not heard from her. Another person missing is Hanna Upp, an individual who suffers from a condition that causes amnesia when she undergoes stressful situations. She has gone missing before for months, so there is a possibility that she took a mercy ship and is in Puerto Rico or the US and is still suffering from amnesia. Her mother has moved here to look for her, and I ask that you keep her in your prayers. I can't imagine what that is like to not know if your child is alive or not, and if alive, whether she is ok or not.

    Again I say thank you for all the thoughts, prayers, and well-wishes.

  13. #103
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    Happy to hear that the recovery is progressing, albeit slowly after Irma & Maria. The drone video of the aftermath was painful to watch. Keep the faith and get that Whaler in the water!
    Please help support the Creek.


    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
    Andy Rooney



  14. #104
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Page View Post
    Happy to hear that the recovery is progressing, albeit slowly after Irma & Maria. The drone video of the aftermath was painful to watch. Keep the faith and get that Whaler in the water!
    Thanks, Bruce. Got the final quote from Boulter Plywood and ordering all the wood tomorrow. Centerboard is on the way. Exciting and scary- exciting to be building this boat (finally) and scary to spend this much $ for a pile of wood and a chunk of metal!!!!

  15. #105
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    Sorry to hear about Cost-u-Less. I like that store, right next to Orchard Supply Hardware which will close by year end. we live about 50 miles from the only one on the mainland USA. We stop on our way to the mountains every month or so.
    Bill D

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