The Roof, The Roof

[TDub]

Mrs Fish and I will never, ever agree where the line is between blue and gray.

it's right at the border of
west Virginia/pennsylvania
Kentucky/ ohio-indiana-illinois
and missouri/Iowa

[pdub]

Thanks TDub.
That's the range I was expecting.
This year I'm thinking we see what a standalone ( instead of window ) AC unit does ( do they even actually work ) for cooling the room. It's typically only an issue for 2 weeks of the year.

[TDub]

Thanks TDub.
That's the range I was expecting.
This year I'm thinking we see what a standalone ( instead of window ) AC unit does ( do they even actually work ) for cooling the room. It's typically only an issue for 2 weeks of the year.

they work.

they do a pretty decent job of cooling down the room they're in.

My last house had no AC. we had one portable AC in the kitchen/living room and one in the bedroom.

When it was 115...the kitchen/living room stayed at like 82-85...(not great..but better than 115)...the bedroom was like 65-70 if we kept the door shut.

they're handy, you can move them room to room and the exhaust has multiple configurations you can use to set it up in various window styles and sizes.

[pdub]

Yea, unfortunately our window there is a casement window, so unclear how i'd be able to run exhaust out without exposing the rest of the room to bugs/the elements.

[KUTradition]

i thought there were AC units that don’t require an exhaust?

[jfish26]

Yea, unfortunately our window there is a casement window, so unclear how i'd be able to run exhaust out without exposing the rest of the room to bugs/the elements.

You can usually find accordion-looking things to make this work.

[Sparko]

Endorse the stand alones. Worked well in Jersey. Also endorse the Mitsubishi wall mounts. Worked well in the desert

[pdub]

BUD ain't gonna like that look at all.

[jfish26]

BUD ain't gonna like that look at all.

Too close to origin story?

[KUTradition]

i’ve used units like this in Japan and the Philippines…they seemed to have good output, but i can’t speak to their longevity/reliability

https://hvacdirect.com/daikin-12-000-bt ... nGEALw_wcB

[TDub]

those minisplits work well....

but you have to have a unit outside the building and you have to run linesets and condensation lines in the wall or attic space to each interior head. less invasive than a standard ducted system...but not a temporary solution.


bonus is those units heat and cool.

[KUTradition]

you have to run linesets and condensation lines in the wall or attic space to each interior head.

didn’t know/realize that

thanks

[pdub]

BUD ain't gonna like that look at all.

Too close to origin story?

[pdub]

Home insurance question.

So we planned on replacing our roof entirely this spring/summer.
We aren't totally sure on the exact life of our roof but 3 years ago two roofers said we had a few years left - either in the 2nd 3rd or the last 3rd of the roofs life.

Come 3 weeks ago, insane storm. 65 mph winds. Torrential downpour. Tree went down in our yard.
Ceiling in kitchen leaked. Called insurance immediately - opened claim. Guy came out about 10 days ago, used drone to inspect damage, saw inside damage.

Insurance calls back 3 days ago. Can barely understand her. Rude AF. Not the point though.
Point: She says no weather damage to roof. Algae caused the leak. Can't cover that. Can cover 900 in interior costs ( it'll likely cost more than that ) - so after 600 deductible, 300. Say I'd like a second opinion. Because I can't understand her we obviously miscommunicate and she thinks i'm ok with that assessment and processes the 300 dollars. I get the email today with the link to the money. Call them back - speak to person I can understand. She says the claim is 'closed' but we can continue to dispute and try and get more money on said claim and that accepting the initial payment wouldn't prevent that.

QUESTIONS.
1. Is insurance lady telling the truth? If I accept initial payment, does that void any future payments regarding this incident? Or am I fine to take this money now?
2. We have our own roof contractor coming out to inspect tomorrow. Have our own drywall guy who can come take itemized estimates as well. Any tips on how to handle trying to make sure the insurance company does what insurance companies try to do - i.e. screw you out of money?

[jfish26]

1 - At a minimum, accepting the initial payment (a) probably makes it more difficult, process-wise, for them to re-open the claim and entertain the dispute, and (b) isn't a great fact. Probably not FATAL, but if you can go without the $300 for now, you're probably better off not accepting it.

2 - Document document document. Written estimates on letterhead. The reality is that the insurance company is ALSO factoring in how big of a pain in the ass it's going to be to deny claims. So if you have a clear, documentary record that at least shows that denying a claim is going to cost them time/attention/money, you have a better chance than if you just make angry phone calls.

[TDub]

document everything and save copies.

this isn't going to be helpful...but, I refuse to bid or do any work where insurance is involved. It's a fucking disaster, they try to screw rhe homeowner AND the contractor, they send out unqualified "inspectors" they try to force chinsy bullshit band aid fixes instead of real repair. Assuming you get to the end and work is complete....foe the contractor, it takes FOREVER to actually see a paycheck for the work you have already completed and paid all expenses. Nope, won't do it.

There are some guys that have somehow gotten an in and figures out how to scheme the system and love insurance work. I refuse, and I don't really trust the contractors that enjoy it.


Just my 2 cents....as I said, I know ots not helpful.

[japhy]

QUESTIONS.
1. Is insurance lady telling the truth? If I accept initial payment, does that void any future payments regarding this incident? Or am I fine to take this money now?
2. We have our own roof contractor coming out to inspect tomorrow. Have our own drywall guy who can come take itemized estimates as well. Any tips on how to handle trying to make sure the insurance company does what insurance companies try to do - i.e. screw you out of money?

I only deal with this stuff from the periphery. We have a group that does roof inspections. First step seems to be the insurance company sends out their adjuster and denies the claim. If you dispute and have some documentation they send out an independent inspector. If that inspector is an engineer that is best for you. We won't lie on a report and the insurer has never questioned our reports or asked us to modify. If the independent report says it is storm damage they usually pay up has a been my experience. Push back on them. Ask for copies of any reports the insurer has.

fwiw, 65 mph should not be a damaging wind for a good condition, well installed roof unless the damage was from blowing debris. If the weather service has higher gusts documented in the vicinity you might want to gather that info. Look for documentation of gusts in the 90 mph + range.

If the damage was algae the next inspection should show documentation to prove that, discoloration. That is a humid climate/north side of roof in shade issue. If you live in an arid climate they are fucking with you.

To determine whether shingles are brittle and out of warranty the brittleness test is often used. It ain't a perfect science and roofs may be denied coverage based on this test. This is a pretty good description of the test in link below. You might want to be there when the insurance company sends an independent inspector so you can document what they do.

https://haagglobal.com/articles/june-2018-blog/

[TDub]

try to have the contractor there when they send their inspector. Or at least try to get an inspector that has actually fucking installed roofing before.

so many of the inspectors, particularly the insurance inspectors, are the books need architecure/engineer types that only understand waht the systems look like in a book or in a very controlled perfectly orchestrated test mock up facility. It's ridiculous. I say that as a project engineer/booky type. Thankfully I also had real world knowledge to go with the book knowledge seeing as how that's what paid for my school....anyway, real world application information is critically important.

[pdub]

Independent roof guy came out - said roof is on the last third of it's life for sure and that algae did not cause the leak but nor did wind damage. Said we could contest them saying algae caused the leak but since there was no visible damage from the wind, the exterior costs probably wouldn't be covered.

Then he said it'd be 1500 to tarp the roof temporarily until it could be fixed ( which is unfortunately not until it's above 32 a couple days in a row AND no snow on the roof -- i.e. after this big snowstorm not til early Spring )--so I went up and did it myself. Fingers crossed it can make it til our full roof replacement.

[Shirley]

That must have been fun, climbing up and down a ladder and getting up on a roof, in the cold and snow.

Props to you. I've climbed a lot of ladders, but never in the snow, that I remember.

Hope it holds.