…and around it goes

It’s been a while since I wrote anything here, but any readers, if there are any, now know this isn’t an extremely active blog.  I’m just too busy.  Anyway, some updates:

I finally waded through the mess and my house is just about finished, outside anyway.  Of course, it went way over budget because once sided, well the shutters no longer match.  Ok, new shutters.   New siding and shutters?  All that wrapping looks dull, so new wrapping.   Damn, now the gutters look old and look bad, new gutters.  Then it all made the doors look bad, all new exterior doors.   Oops, now we have to do something about that porch, all new framing, sliding door, new windows.  Uh oh, the steps tilt back in the front…rotted sill plate.  I now identify with that older movie “The money pit” and I have barely begun inside.

Went to Vegas for 12 days to get married.  Yes, again.  Missed my wedding when the limo didn’t show.  100 MPH cab ride, well at least it was the same day and right woman.  Vegas was great although 12 days is a little long to stay there.  I did meet Penn and Teller, that was my highlight (well, besides marrying my blushing bride…glad I caught this), love those guys.  Great show.  However, I probably should have worn my EFF.ORG shirt to their show instead of my Vegas gangster suit (black on black on black, white tie, black fedora).  I think I made their body guard nervous.  Saw many great shows (Chris Angel’s show not one…I saw it…figure it out) and drank way too much, including a couple $70 margaritas…yeah, my reaction was about the same, only slightly more slurred.   For hotel, we stayed at the Excalibur…don’t.

All through Vegas, and nearly everywhere I go lately, people come up to me with “You know who you look like”  “You know who you are the spitting image of?”   “Are you…umm…The Big Show?”  I’m not a wrestling fan, so I looked him up, yeah with his weightloss and my toning up, I do look like him…or should I say “he does look like me”  ;P   He’s taller by 4 or 5 inches, but I guess people can’t tell that.  I think I’m going to start answering those “Do you know who you look like?” questions with “Justin Beiber?  Yeah, people tell me that all the time”.  The reactions should be entertaining.

New features coming for Cotse’s mail that nobody else has.  Hopeful for release this month (testing is what takes the time).  Server upgrades planned for the winter with an increase for default quotas and such.  End result will be a completely revamped mail service.

That’s all for this episode, too many e-mails to answer.

Well, after steaming all last night about the quote, I sent a mail with my concerns to the gentleman I have been dealing with at Home Depot.  He said this is how they do all their quotes and always have, that the insurance company would be fine with it, so I forwarded it as is to my adjuster.  We’ll now have to wait and see the outcome.

It still seems like too simple a quote for me, my adjuster had it broken down to material costs, labor costs, cleanup, actual square footage, very detailed.  I hope he is correct and I am just being difficult.  This is my first time having to deal with any of this (new homeowner, never had a claim at my condo…never mind a tornado).  The next few days to a week should give us that answer.

The big thing that concerns me is we are now almost three months since the tornado and I still have two holes in my house…well, I taped plastic over them, but water still gets in.  Hope this doesn’t take much longer.  I can’t imagine what people who lost their entire home are going through.  I’m guess in the big picture, I’m very lucky.  I’ll try to think of it that way and not get so easily steamed up.

I actually received the siding quote from Home Depot.  10pm last night, via e-mail, and this is it (double spacing, formatting, and all):

Stephen Gielda

Address

town, Ma. zipcode

Siding project:

·       Remove all existing vinyl siding

·       Wrap walls in a air infiltration barrier

·       Install 3/8” insulation board under all new siding

·       Install crane vinly siding

·       Wrap all windows and doors in areas to be re-sided

·       Price includes all fees, permits, dumpster fees

·       Remove all job related debris from project

Total$19,414.00

— cut unrelated window and door quote —

Are you really serious?  No square footage breakdowns.  No detailed breakdowns of costs at all.  “Vinly” spelled wrong, “a air infiltration barrier”, really?   I can’t give that quote to my insurance adjuster, it looks like my 9 yo did it, and this is from a “District Sales Manager” supposedly from Home Depot…and it took three days to do.  I’m sorry, I like the guy, I do, he is very personable, but this is, I can’t even explain, even simple shops have a quote template they use.

Where are the words he told me when physically in front of me?  Where is the meat?  How am I supposed to argue why my insurance company is wrong in their very detailed quote with this very basic quote?  I did what he said.  I called the Department of Insurance.  I called my Adjuster and told them what Home Depot said about being unable to match color and unable to match style with the back (”in my 35 years of working for Home Depot I have never seen them cover only three sides….we can’t match it up, how are they going to argue with Home Depot”).  How can I present this now?  It says nothing about any of that.

I don’t get it.  Maybe I pissed him off by complaining to corporate when the first two guys were shams.  If that is the case then I really just pissed him off by sending a link to this blog to the corporate complaint line, because I feel like I hit another sham.  It feels very reminiscent of working with those windows and door companies that never leave anything with their name on it after talking to you.   The one’s that bitch at you under their breath when you finally kick them out.  They always give as little information as possible with a high price.

The first “Home Depot” quote (the one I signed up at the Big E for and probably not Home Depot, but I thought they were at the time and they claimed to be the entire process) said “Install new Doors, Install Windows, Remove old materials - $18,000″ on a blank white sheet of paper.  This is close to that in appearance and impact (although this time the price is a little closer to reality, if perhaps a tad high).

S.O.B if I am not again left hanging my ass out after having complained to my adjuster using Home Depot’s claims of being unable to match up and the Division of Insurance’s words about it needing to.   The first time I tried to use the real Home Depot services where the guy vanished did it too, left me hanging with my adjuster.  Read below for that story.

The process for getting my house fixed is rapidly turning into a nightmare.  My insurance company only wants to cover the damaged sides.  Three sides of the house were damaged.  They aren’t covering the fourth side.  The problem is that the siding guys I speak with all say the same thing.  The siding is too old to match and the techniques have changed so they can’t even mate the new with the back.

This means that not only is my insurance company planning to leave my house with one side a different color than the other three, but also with the siding not even able to mate up.  So I called the MA Department of Insurance (somewhat helpful folks there), anyway, I managed to get from them that it is the insurance company’s responsibility not to leave my house in lesser value than when it started, which a multicolored unmated-siding on the house would be in this neighborhood.  A substantial loss in value.  Thus begins the fight, but unfortunately, right in the middle of it is an issue with Home Depot.

Bring in Home Depot

I had a bad experience with a company pretending to be Home Depot.  Last year at the Big E I pretty much went from beer tent to beer tent with my sister and her husband.  This was actually quite fun, however, I signed up for some things I did not remember signing up for, such as windows and doors.  I allowed one to come out, they claimed to be Home Depot contractors.

These guys quoted me on a Bay window, a standard sash, and a prehung standard exterior door.  They quoted me $18,000.  I threw them out.  In trying to get back they dropped to $8,000.  Still too much, but a $10k drop is definitely the sign of a fly-by-night.  That soured me on Home Depot.  All the same, I buy a lot from their stores and after a while I began to believe the Big E guys were a scam and not Home Depot, so after the Tornado I went into the local Home Depot and signed up for a siding quote.

A guy comes out claiming to be from Home Depot.  Nice guy.  Reassures me that the last people I dealt with were definitely not Home Depot.  Tells me my insurance company is jerking me around, that they have to cover all four sides and they are just seeing if I’ll accept only three.  He’ll write a letter that will guarantee they will cover it.  I’m, of course, happy, but also pissed that my insurance company tried this.  So I wait for his quote, ready to take on my insurance company.

Vanishing Act

He vanishes.  Never heard from again.  I leave voicemail.  I leave e-mail.  Nothing.  In the meantime my insurance agent is pressuring me with docs to sign so my claim can be processed.   I decide I have been taken yet again by Home Depot’s sub-contractors.  I get another quote.  this one says nothing about the insurance company covering only three sides, not his area.   Two weeks have gone by since Home Depot vanished, so I sign the insurance papers to get three sides of my house sided.

I steam over the Home Depot contractors.  I wonder if corporate knows what is going on.  So I lodge a complaint on their corporate web site.  Approximately two days later I get a call from someone claiming to be the regional district manager.   He comes out on Saturday.  No explanation for previous guy, just “he went away, unlike him, lots of work…” and then off into my issue.  Says same thing, insurance company must cover all four sides.  Tells me to call the insurance commissioner and he’ll write up a quote explaining why all four sides must be done and I’ll have it Monday.

Now I’m really steamed.  I just signed for that check (but did not deposit it) because the last Home Depot guy vanished.  So I wait for Monday and call the Insurance commissioner, we know how that went.  I call my insurance adjuster, get voicemail, tell him that Home Depot says this, and the insurance commissioner says that and they would like me to file a complaint, but I’d like to talk to you first.  He calls back and leaves a voicemail, he fully understands, all ready to work it out, just send him the Home Depot quote and he’ll contact the insurance company.

Gone again?

It’s now Tuesday night and I don’t have that quote.  I called the Home Depot district manager, got some reasons why I had not gotten it, and was promised that it is on the way and will be e-mailed.  So, once again I am left between my insurance adjuster and Home Depot.  This time my insurance adjuster wants the quote from Home Depot that I based all this noise on and Home Depot is not coming up with the quote.

I’m just not answering my adjuster yet, hope Home Depot comes through tomorrow.

Verizon responded, they unblocked the server.  Their response was actually pretty quick.  They may have issues in other departments, but they get a thumbs up from me for quick response and resolution to e-mail blocks.

We have some interesting new features in the pipe, but something always seems to be setting the release back.   I refuse to announce because I don’t want to have people saying “vaporware”, but we’ll eventually get it released.

I feel bad for my children, I think they’ll see more struggle and sadness in their lifetimes than I have in mine.

I thought I’d save money on dumpster rental (I also needed an enclosed trailer).  So I bought one, loaded a bunch of the debris from my garage and attic into it (1.8 tons) and yesterday towed it to the local dump and unloaded that trailer in about 40 minutes in 96 degree heat, alone.   I felt so virile after that…I can barely move today…I still have the rest of the house to do.

I lost a friend recently over something stupid.   I’m surprised how that can still happen no matter how much older and wiser we get…maybe we’re just getting older.

Anyone need a tcl/expect expert?  No, not me, a friend of mine.  He’ll fix what ails your current testing environment.  Contact me if you do.

I never saw any fireflies this year…odd.

I have a wild rabbit that ate every single flower that sprouted here this year.  I hope a coyote gets it.

If you are looking for some web design help, give helloworldwebdesign.com a try.  Not a paid plug, I don’t do those and please don’t tell them I sent you (seriously, don’t).

Alright, this format is odd and I’m out.

I finally saw the adjuster.   Just awaiting check to be able to get rid of the tarp and plastic.  It actually works out to a benefit.  I had wanted a sliding door to the back deck and to cap the front steps and replace the front door, but because the siding was old and had faded over the years we could not do so.  That is because where we’d have to cut and trim the siding would end up all mismatched against the faded old siding.  The tornado took care of that for me.  Now that I’m residing the house I can do those two things.

It’s empty now around the neighborhood without the trees.  It will take a little getting used to.  So much old growth, gone.  Things you considered permanent fixtures, gone.  The other thing that takes getting used to is new storms.  Your view of severe weather changes.   You wonder if it will pass without anything more than a show or if your life will be forever changed in seconds (with a heavy lean towards the fear it will be the latter).  This will take a while to get past.

Why does Verizon keep causing me grief?  Countless line outages that were their issue.  Once down over a week due to a Verizon issue.  One of their techs yanked out our lines not once, but twice, while servicing someone else.  One of their techs hit my new truck and did $2200 damage to it.  Now I get this:

... while talking to relay.verizon.net.:
<<< 571 Email from 96.39.53.26 is currently blocked by Verizon Online's anti-spam system.

This is our forwarding server.  I know why this happened.  If someone sets up mail forwarding, it is delivered from this server.  I’ll bet someone set up a mail forwarder then reported spam that slipped through to Verizon’s spam system.  They ban the last IP.  Us.  I understand, all of it is random coincidence, but Verizon appears a lot in my life and rarely for something positive.  So I make it a note to mention when they do.

If you are a customer forwarding to Verizon, I’m sure this will be resolved soon…oh, and please don’t report forwarded mail as spam.  Thanks.

It never occurred to me that after the tornado the area would become a draw for people coming to check it out.  Stay home!  These tourists get in everybody’s way.  So we have to avoid getting killed by downed wires, falling trees and branches, and avoid getting hit by cars in our subdivision while we clean up.

People turn around with the spin of tires to go another way.  Everyone has cameras out snapping pictures or shooting video.  Not watching where they are going but rubbernecking all of the damage.  Get out!  Go home!  The utility workers were slowed at their jobs because of them (power is finally up to the entire neighborhood).  Had we needed life saving they would have slowed EMS.  They just keep coming.  They even come from other states.

Tourists enhance a natural disaster.  They take all that it already is and make it worse.

Scrappers

You folks are not helping.  I know you justify that truck full of scrap metal as “helping with the cleanup”, but we see it as stealing.  One of you is going to catch a bat if you keep it up.  Besides, we both know that the cable junction box was not scrap.

I was wrong, turns out that pole being held up by wires to my house (leaning pole, not broken) was powered late this evening.  The rest of the neighborhood is still out and they still have not straightened the pole or added slack in the lines to my house, but apparently they deemed it fine to power up tonight and so I have power.  My generator no longer roars in the darkness.

My business cable line is also up.  Seems it comes in the same way the power does.  I do have to say, Comcast was right on top of it, their trucks were in my neighborhood before the electric company and even before the police.   This entire incident has been handled well for what it was.

The local police cordoned off the main road and stayed there all night and all day.   The roads were rapidly cleared for what happened to them (24 hours to clear the main road was impressive).  The tree guys are having a banner year.  They are swarming.  All you can hear is the buzz of chainsaws and chippers, but it is sad to lose so much old growth.

Next up for a banner year, general contractors, roofers, fence and siding companies.  One person I still have yet to see around…my insurance adjuster.   I bet he’s busy.

A neighbor said this while we were surveying the tornado damage this early evening.  I agree.  Ouch.  You see, my neighborhood was one of those on the news for the tornadoes in MA (I guess we in MA made national news).

I just bought the house and in less than a year we get hit with a tornado in an area that rarely gets them.  Yeah, that’s about right for how things usually go for me.  Anyway, I’m lucky.  I got my family into the basement just in time to look out a basement window and see the neighbors stockade fence and all the trees in their yard fly (well, those I could see out that little rectangular window at ground level).  Everyone is fine.

My family is all safe and we also came through relatively unscathed damage-wise.  Some roof damage, siding damage, a couple roof vent implosions (those were odd), a damaged shed, some lost flowers, a lost patio set, and some broken trees was all the damage we sustained…oh and my house is holding up a utility pole by the wires (we’ll be sans power about a week is my guess*, the other poles were snapped off).  The tornado bounced through the neighborhood and I won the lucky bounce.  It just skirted me.

The neighbors got hit worse, but even they are lucky, everybody is fine and nobody has an uninhabitable house.  West Springfield and Springfield got it much worse, but even they were very lucky.  This is nothing like what some of the south has had, that needs a lot stronger words than just “Ouch”.  Those of you affected by those monster storms, I can only imagine what you went, and continue to go, through.   My thoughts are with you.  I consider myself very lucky and feel bad for those who were not lucky.

* If you are wondering how I am online, laptop tethered to my cell phone, all powered by the generator now powering the house.   The generator is very loud in an otherwise very silent neighborhood, well almost silent, another generator somewhere in the neighborhood also roars in the darkness.