Forever in Blue Jeans: This Summer Is Starting Off HOT!

So.. I haven't really been writing much.. sorry!

Here's what has been happening.. First, the longest news:

My cousin and I were going to rent out one level of my Grandmother's house for the summer, down in Utah.. Until, that is, the plumber caught the house on fire.

Yep. On Fire.

The fire began in my cousin, Heidi's room.. She lost most of her things, but the firefighters, thankfully, saved her $2000-$3000 camera.. She's a photographer by trade.. My room is right next to hers, had some fire damage, but mostly water from the firefighters and soot/ash. I didn't lose anything in the fire- I was due to move in a few days later.

Here's what we know from my aunts:

Update, May 28, 2010:

Hi to All

I want to give an update on what is going on with the house, and Mom.

Last night she went to Martha's seminary graduation program with us. I was so thankful she would go. My bishop will try to get her a key to our church building so she might be able to practice the organ in our church which is about 1/2 mile from our home.

Since the fire Monday, the wet insulation has been cleaned off the front and side yards and clothing has been taken by 1st Team to be processed for cleaning. Heidi and Mom have already received "urgent clothing laundry" back. I understand from Elaine that Heidi was very pleased and impressed with the quality and speed of the work. The refrigerator has been cleaned out (there is no power or gas in the home) and the East and West walls in the northeast bedroom (Heidi's) have had the plaster/sheetrock removed about 1/2 way down the wall. This is because of water damage.

Initial testing has come back indicating that the lead content in the walls (paint) is low enough (0.5) that the walls are not a concern for lead problems (results had to be less than 1.0) Also we have the asbestos report back...no asbestos in the plaster/lath in the ceiling, every one was very surprised with this result. This is practically unheard of in a house that was built that many years ago. The hall floor linoleum is made of 60% asbestos so some recommendations will be presented in how to deal with that. The test results make a huge difference in how they can remove things (walls, plaster, insulation etc. from the home....hazmat)

Today we contracted with DRS for the restoration work on the house. Carolyn, Elaine and I interviewed four restoration companies, checked out references, licenses, and insurance; then we discussed our evaluation with Mom. After evaluating their different approaches, guarantees and communication styles we selected DRS. They are located out of Layton and have been in business for 5 years, the owner working in the industry since 1983. We feel at peace with this choice and have confidence in their ability to do a great job.

The project will be rather involved and may take anywhere from 4-6 months according to the estimate we got today.

The "pack out" will begin Tuesday. This is where everything in the house and garage is removed and labeled--- restore, junk, and unsalvageable. A detailed record is kept and credit is given for depreciation costs. Everything is taken to the cleaning warehouse where all contents are cleaned to remove odor, and dust/soot. Then the contents are documented, boxed and labeled and stored in a trailer until the "pack in", after the restoration is complete.

Everyone that has been in the home has been amazed at the quality and care that was exhibited in building the home. The fire fighters said the ceiling was the toughest they have every had to get through,---pipes, plaster/lath and chicken wire. We received information from the insulation contractor that the roof had R64 rating in the roof...it only required R32. Dad sure wanted us to have a safe, secure and warm home.

The insulation man said that there was insulation melted to electrical wires in multiple locations throughout the attic.

An inspector and and electrical engineer will becoming on Wednesday to do a "cause and origin" investigation and present the information to all parties involved in the incident and those with a vested interested, us and the insurance company.

I keep thinking how very very blessed we have been through out this entire challenge. It could not have happened at a better time ---Day light hours, the quick response of the fire dept because they had just finished a call on a auto accident and had just returned to the fire station (most of the Kaysville fire fighters are volunteer, and we were told that a delay of 5 minutes could have resulted in a total loss of the home).

The fact that we will now have all new electrical lines throughout the house and these will be to code is truly a blessing, and the fact we learned of the rats and can have this all cleaned out and repaired. That we will be dejunking with Mom's blessing!!!! It is amazing the good that is coming out of this fire.

-Mary (My mom's sister)

Update 6-6-10

Hi to all,

Here is brief update on the condition of the home, including images and the current progress of happenings.

The cause of the fire was determined to be the actions of the handy man who was doing the repair work on the radiant heating system - probably sparking from propane torch.

They have begun to dry out the home. The east and west walls in Heidi's room, (the north east bedroom on the first floor where the breaker box is), have been taken down half way and the ceiling has been mostly removed. Large fans have been run in the room and in the attic for the past 3-5 days. Mary stated they sprayed anti mold growth substance in the attic over the bathroom ceiling. Portions of the wall in the wallk in closet in the North west bedroom have been removed, towards the top and fans have been running in that room for the past 3-5 days. (I have lost track of time and don't recall exactly when we received temporary power to the home and they were able to start up the fans.

Last Saturday, we noted that there was water damage in two of the basement bedrooms, (the north east and the north middle rooms), as well as moisture in the blue bath's ceiling and some walls. They marked the areas and then on Sunday morning removed the wet dry wall. Fans were placed in these areas on Thursday and a heater was put in the bathroom. This morning (Sunday) I noted that there is a fan that has directed air blowing into the space between the ceiling and the floor of the upstairs bathroom.

Last Saturday, Rebecca, Mary, Mom, Elaine and Carolyn all helped to clean out mom's bedroom. Mom had done a tremendous amount of work in sorting through papers and deciding what needs to be cleaned and what can be thrown out. We don't want to be using any insurance money to pay for cleaning any snickers wrappers! :) We are traking what is discarded for credit from the insurance company.

We also cancelled the contract we had made with DRS until we could do further investigation. There was a large discrepency between the estimated timeline for completion of repairs between the Phipps, who has been contracted to complete emergency repairs, and DRS. So Mary and I continued this past week to interview the companies, requested timelines, asked for additional references and proof of licensure dna insurance.

Elaine, Mom and Mary have continued to do a lot of sorting this past week, and have made a tremendous amount of progress. Elaine is taking care of mom's chickens and gathering the eggs.

I went out to mom's this morning, Sunday, and took more pictures. Please see attached. I have include images from Saturday as well as today of the attic, - they sucked aup all that would come up easy, and the rooms as they now appear. Let me know if you have any questions. We continue to feel many blessings of the Lord throughout this process.

Everyone has been so terrific! Thank you!!!!

Carolyn (My mom's sister)