Hurricane Roundup

So, unless we get hit by another one, here is the roundup of hurricane damage to the house we are renting. Brandy put this list together yesterday:

Charlie:

• Power out for 15 hours, no other damage

Francis:

• Big palm tree out front fell into the driveway.
• Bush by Colony Dr. property line knocked over.

Jeanne:

• Tree is far left corner of yard snapped in many places.
• Tree by back door of Florida Room suspected to be an issue in the future, removed.
• Many shingles missing from roof.
• Some tar paper missing on edges.
• Roofing materials on edges lifting from roof in wind.
• Aluminum roof edging damaged and missing in many areas.
• Much siding on underside of roof over porch missing.
• Front gutter completely gone, other areas damaged.
• Leak in Florida room warping panels on ceiling (about 3×3 ft area on back edge)
• Leak in hallway area through second and third bedroom door jams, back room air vent, around edges of attic access and through fixture for fire alarm.
• Leak through front storm door.
• Possible carpet damage due to leaks
• Power out for 6 days

As for the leaks: It has been suggested that they may have been caused by almost horizontally falling rain through the vent in the roof, though there has not been another significant rain with which to test this theory. The leak through the storm door was certainly caused by the angle of the rain.

The carpets are a concern due to the possibility of mold. They smelled badly, and took a long time to dry because there was no power to run a dehumidifier. The rooms affected were the center hall, living room, and second and third bedrooms. The one bedroom room just has carpet laid over glued tile. It was damaged before when the AC system drain was clogged right before Frances. A secondary concern would be the integrity of the glue on the tiles (they
tend to lift when having been wet).

We’re working with the owners (Ivan’s family) to determine how all that will be dealt with.

Meanwhile, the house we are trying to buy was damaged more extensively. It needs a whole new roof, a new pool enclosure, and some interior ceilings need replacing as well. We don’t know all the details since it is still not ours. The current plan is for the owners to fix it, then we will proceed. The question becomes can they do it in time before our interest rate lock expires and such. Last update we had is they still expect to be able to complete repairs by mid-November, which would let us close in December as planned. (Well, originally we were thinking October, but according to the revised plan.)

Anyway, we’ll just have to see how that plays out.

As many people have told me “Welcome to Florida!”