We went back to the condo/apartment today to water the plants and the landlady happened to be there. The industrial fans were still dehumidifying our home, which meant that the 02 levels were pretty low. She had opened up some windows to allow some oxygen to flow into the room, but it was pretty strange walking in for a few minutes at a time and having to go outside every few minutes to keep from getting too dizzy. Nothing like a little oxygen deprivation to start the day off right!
We received great advice about checking into our renters' insurance to see if they would pay for the hotel stay. We don't have an answer on that yet, but hopefully someone else will end up with the tab.
It turns out that the problem with the broken pipe was started by the guys who were doing "preventative pipe maintenance" in the units last year. They inconvenienced 150+ condo owners in the complex and all the homeowners had to pay $3000 to have their "preventative maintenance" done. It turns out that the epoxy they used to coat the pipes to "prevent corrosion" has cause a lot of clogging (including several other units, according to the plumber that was there today) and has done absolutely nothing to stop the corrosion, as we well know.
Well, the "preventative maintenance" pipe guys told the landlady today that the 10-year warranty she paid for doesn't cover the damages. At best they would cover the damage done to the pipes (not the wall or floors, mind you), but they don't want to do that either because they claim we didn't notify them within 5 days of when the leak started. The problem is that it started as a very small, insidious leak in the wall behing the kitchen sink where no one could see it, let alone report it within 5 days.
So, our poor landlady is having an ongoing battle over who is going to cover the damages. The dishonest pipe guys are really responsible; speaking of which, they are the reason that the whole shower had to be torn out in December last year. They assembled the shower faucet backwards so that water was backflowing into the wall behind the tiles. But, they don't want to pay, and neither does the homeowners' association since they didn't personally touch the pipes, even though they hired cheap contractors who were looking to make a fast buck.
This all being said, we'll probably be in a hotel until Friday, which is the very earliest that the floors and everything will be dried and put back together. (The carpet is torn up/out in places at this time.) We aren't sure yet if the wall in the closet will have to be torn out; we'll see what happens once everything is dried. I get the feeling that something might need to be torn out or repaired due to the mildew.
In all of this, our spirits remain pretty bouyant. At least it's not OUR private condo with money coming out of OUR pocket; for that we can be grateful. We're learning quite a bit between the last apartment and this one regarding water damage; if we're able to buy a home at some point, I think both Mike and I want a plumbing inspection before a purchase occurs. And certainly some proof that no mold exists since it seems to be a recurring theme this last year and a half or so.
Also, Mike took me to the Fashion Valley Mall today. It's really big; it's a lot like Oakbrook Terrace for those who are familiar with Chicago. We purused Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrell, had lunch at a Japanese cafe, stopped at Borders', looked at fun stuff in Williams Sonoma, followed by the Mac store. All-in-all a great day. (And no, there wasn't much financial damage done at the mall; we purchased a decorating/organizing set of books at Pottery Barn.) :o) I figure with everything needing to be reorganized in the closets at the apartment, those will come in handy. Mike handled everything extremely well. When I gave him the Cheesy Grin, he melted and followed me into the stores and didn't complain when I took my time looking around. What a great husband!
Upon return to Escondido, we had a very cheap Mexican dinner at Los Charros. It's the cheap Mexican food staple/favorite among seminary students. Right now we're marathoning through Lord of the Rings and having some Bailey's.
Good things are happening.
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