Insurance says we're covered

 The insurance company says we have a valid claim.  This is good.

Now the fun part.

We have started emptying all the rooms.

They all must be emptied and the floor boards removed.  

How did we get so much stuff?  I thought I had been good about not keeping things.  I was deluded. We have way too many possessions. 

We have started the process of getting rid of things.  Some larger things went today.  The sofa bed in George's room is gone.  

The games trolley that held all the family games has gone.  The games themselves are going tomorrow. 

The piano is gone. Nobody plays anymore.

The 300 litre aquarium left this evening.  It's been empty for almost two years.  It took up a lot of space.  I loved having it, but I'm glad it is gone now.  I hope the new owner is happy with it.

Henry moved his record and CD collection.  He put all the guitars in cases and moved them to the loft.

Art has come off the walls and been stacked in the attic next to the guitars. 

We have a place to move the furniture.  That will be moved in the next couple of days.

I expect a few trips to the dump will happen and then the rug will be rolled up and the work can begin.

I don't know what stresses me out more.  The fact that our lovely extension has to be redone or the fact that there is way too much stuff in my life.

Do Over!

In February, we discovered that some of the oak floorboards in our lovely extension had started to warp.  

It was obvious that they were getting wet.  

I put a call into the plumber and he came out and had a look.

When he lifted the boards in the hallway there was a lot of water!

The plumber found the cause of the problem within minutes.  The hot water tank in the far bedroom (George's bedroom) had a faulty valve.  It had been running for weeks!  

Because of Covid-19 restrictions, George has not visited us since July.  We had no reason to go into that bedroom so we never heard the water running.  The water leak didn't affect the heating system or affect the water in the bathroom in that part of the house so we didn't notice anything was amiss.   

The damage to the walls wasn't apparent until furniture was moved! 

This meant a call to the home insurance company.  They sent a claims adjuster out on Monday.

We had to empty the office and the bedroom so that the adjuster could see the extent of the damage.

This is the cupboard that holds the hot water tank 

It was merrily leaking in silence for weeks. 

The insurance company says we have a claim.  The hard work and upheaval is just beginning.  The entire extension is going to be affected.  

The floors have to come up to allow the concrete to dry properly.  The walls have to have the bottom three feet of plasterboard removed and replaced.   

Every room has to be emptied.  We have to find a temporary home for all this stuff.

There is more but I can't bring myself to write about it yet.  It's like having a big "do over" with the entire extension.