When it rains it pours, or in my case..it just floods!

We had visitors today! If you look closely, the visitors went by the name of Top Gun. Which is not too bad until you read the small print.....Restoration and Cleaning - Water -Fire - Smoke. In my case, the bright blue hose means I would fall under the water part!! These are the type of visitors you hope you never have and if you do, you hope you'll never have to see them again!
Yes, the tiny little hole in my pipe (it's to the right), that is connected to my outside hose, caused a lot of water damage in my basement. Although today it was in the 30's, rainy and even saw a few snow flurries, this had nothing to do with the flooding. Most likely the hose busted sometime between October and April. I had the hose on yesterday for about 2 hours. I was just trying to get my grass to grow and turn from brown to green.
And of all times, it happens when Steve is half away across the world. I called a girlfriend whose husband is a Realtor, I knew he could recommend a good plumber. In the mean time I called my insurance company and within a hour "Top Gun" and a plumber came to my rescue. My girlfriend came over, even though I told her I was alright, and we worked together clearing off bookshelves, cabinets and anything else on the floor....except furniture. I felt like I was packing up to move. The only things that were damaged were the bookshelves, cabinets and a bedroom set in the spare bedroom.....nothing that can't be easily replaced. Today it payed off having an organized and clean basement!
The damage was only in the spare room,closet and part of the family room in the basement. Here is part of the main area of the basement. They took the baseboards off, pulled the carpet back and took all the padding out. Right now there are about 6-7 huge fans drying out the floor. The plumber had to cut through the ceiling to replace the pipe. The spare bedroom is where the most damage was. Tomorrow they come to cut into the drywall and fix the water damage in the walls. The basement should be done within the next week.
In the mean time the basement is off limits. Everything is crammed into the office and one side of the basement. I am so thankful for Sherrelyn who helped get Mark here to turn the main water off, helped me move everything in the basement, kept me positive and stayed with me the entire time the workers were here (even though I insisted I was okay) and for Heather who totally brought us dinner, bottled water, Clorox wipes and paper goods.....to get us through until we could turn the water on again. It's friends like these that make these moments more bearable and easier to laugh at!

I have a greater appreciation for being prepared. Thank goodness for insurance. And if one more thing happens while Steve is away, I am never going to let him out of my sight again!