So, this is completely not house related, but I figured if you cared enough about our house, you'd care about my job too.
Dow announced yesterday that they will be cutting 5000 company jobs and 6000 contractor jobs beginning in 1Q09. They will also be shutting down a number of plants. I thankfully, don't fall into any of those categories. To all of the Vicknairs out there -- it's ok, you can stop your stomach from being in knots and allow your food to begin digesting again.
Thank you for your time. That is all.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Brick work
The brick repairs on the den are complete! I am pretty stoked about this. It's the first work to be completed since the check arrived. I have paid off everybody I owed money and it feels good. I called the brick mason on Wednesday. He came on Thursday to see what needed to be done and give me an estimate. He arrived Friday morning and was done Friday afternoon. I was impressed by the prompt service.
The brick mason is the contractor that we use at work. He told me that he has been laying bricks for 50 years, but hadn't laid brick like ours since he was an apprentice. He was able to use the brick that was removed along with some bricks that were in a pile in the back yard. Luckily he was able to do the job with the bricks we had. I'm not sure what we would have done if we hadn't had enough. I think I got a good price on the labor and they cleaned the mortar off of the brick and picked up after themselves. I hope to post some pictures of the progress soon. I'll create a short post when I do so that you all know to check.
The brick mason is the contractor that we use at work. He told me that he has been laying bricks for 50 years, but hadn't laid brick like ours since he was an apprentice. He was able to use the brick that was removed along with some bricks that were in a pile in the back yard. Luckily he was able to do the job with the bricks we had. I'm not sure what we would have done if we hadn't had enough. I think I got a good price on the labor and they cleaned the mortar off of the brick and picked up after themselves. I hope to post some pictures of the progress soon. I'll create a short post when I do so that you all know to check.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
A check arrived!
After much anxiety, the first check has arrived from CitiMortgage! The pleasant surprise is that it was for two thirds of the amount. When I called last wednesday hoping to ascertain a FedEx tracking number on my check, I was informed that there was a hold on the payment because they hadn't received certain documents. I became irate because in the more than half dozen calls I have had with Citi, no one ever mentioned these documents to me. After chewing out a supervisor I was told that I could fax the documents to them that day and they would issue a check within 5-7 business days. 5-7 more days!!! I yelled some more then went to mom and dad's to fax it to them. When I called to confirm the fax I spoke with a guy named Steve Jennings. He is the only person I will talk to now. He was helpful and knowledgeable.
So it had occurred to me after Steve clarified some things to me there is a problem. The way that insurance works it that they give you the Actual Cash Value (ACV) of damaged property. Once the repairs are "substantially under way," they then issue a check for the Replacement Cost. Citimortgage doesn't release the final third of the amount (ACV) until the repairs are 95% complete. It escapes my understanding that they think I can complete 95% of the repairs with only 2/3 of the ACV which is about 2/3 of the replacement cost. To give you an example, State Farm only gave me about $3500 to replace the roof. It will cost about $10,000 to replace. Citimortgage things I can get the job done with $2300?!?
Well, the fight is long from over, but I've finally won the first battle. It's refreshing to know that I have at least a chance of getting the money I need. I've got a price to put vinyl on the soffit and that contractor is ready to start. I talked to the brick mason today and he is coming tomorrow to give me an estimate and let me know what materials (how much mortar and sand) I need to purchase. He sounded like he can get to work quickly. The roofer is ready and willing to start whenever I give him the word. It's a bit frustrating to have all of these guys chomping at the bit and not being able to let them all start working. The brick should be relatively inexpensive so we'll go ahead and get that done.
Hopefully the updates will come fast and furious from here on out, but I can't say I'm confident.
So it had occurred to me after Steve clarified some things to me there is a problem. The way that insurance works it that they give you the Actual Cash Value (ACV) of damaged property. Once the repairs are "substantially under way," they then issue a check for the Replacement Cost. Citimortgage doesn't release the final third of the amount (ACV) until the repairs are 95% complete. It escapes my understanding that they think I can complete 95% of the repairs with only 2/3 of the ACV which is about 2/3 of the replacement cost. To give you an example, State Farm only gave me about $3500 to replace the roof. It will cost about $10,000 to replace. Citimortgage things I can get the job done with $2300?!?
Well, the fight is long from over, but I've finally won the first battle. It's refreshing to know that I have at least a chance of getting the money I need. I've got a price to put vinyl on the soffit and that contractor is ready to start. I talked to the brick mason today and he is coming tomorrow to give me an estimate and let me know what materials (how much mortar and sand) I need to purchase. He sounded like he can get to work quickly. The roofer is ready and willing to start whenever I give him the word. It's a bit frustrating to have all of these guys chomping at the bit and not being able to let them all start working. The brick should be relatively inexpensive so we'll go ahead and get that done.
Hopefully the updates will come fast and furious from here on out, but I can't say I'm confident.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Citi Mortgage Sucks
So I have obviously been EXTREMELY remiss in keeping up with the blog. I sincerely apologize. Jenny and I have been stressing out lately and I haven't gotten around to it. Let's dive in...
So State Farm was by no means rapid in processing our claim and issuing us a check, but they weren't bad either. Unfortunately, for some reason that I still don't understand, Citi thought we had Farmer's insurance and State Farm thought our mortgage was with Nationwide. This led to Citi thinking our insurance policy had been cancelled and State Farm issuing us a check with the wrong mortgage company listed as a payee. It took me about a week to get the correct check. Once I did I was instructed that in order to receive the funds, we would have to endorse the check and mail it to Citi. They would then issue us 1/3 of the funds. After completing 1/3 of the repairs (whatever that means) we should call them back. They will send out an inspector to verify that we have completed 1/3 of the repairs. If he agrees, we will be issued the second third of the check. We then do it all over again. In order to obtain the final 1/3 we need to complete 95% of the repairs (I think), turn in receipts (which I think is absolute bullshit), and then they will release the rest.
Citi Mortgage sucks. I am really considering refinancing as soon as that is a viable option. This is absolutely ridiculous. *Deep Breath* I mailed the check to them on 13 Oct. I used registered mail for obvious reasons. The postcard confirmation I got back said it arrived on the 20th. I called to verify this. "We received your check on the 22nd." Really? I'm pretty sure you didn't. They deposited the check. Now they are waiting for it to clear. I should have a check in my hands by the end of this week. Alright. "Can I go ahead and request my first inspection?" "Absolutely. An inspector will contact you within 5 business days to set up an appointment?" Apparently the inspection process moves as quickly as the processing office. Awesome. Inspector calls me a few days later. "I have an opening next tuesday at 1:30 pm." "Um, do you have anything that isn't in the middle of weekday?" "Well, I live in central, so I try not to schedule appointments across town first thing in the morning." "Try living in the city, dipshit. Oh, and not being so lazy" (I didn't actually say this, but I think he might have gotten the message because he's coming at 8)
I'm sorry to rant about this, but it pisses me off. My house was damaged on 1 September and I haven't gotten a dime to help rebuild. I pay my mortgage on time every month. I am current on my insurance. I don't think that it's too much to ask for these people to get me some aid in less than 2 months!
We have done some work. The trees were removed from our house and eventually from our curb. Our yard (front and back) were pretty damaged by this whole process. On 13 October the framing carpenters arrived. After consultation we decided to remove everything above the walls: every joist, rafter, and sheet of decking. Jenny and I needed a vacation so we went to Gulf Shores for the rest of the week. It was great.
When we came back the framing was essentially done. The had to finish up the soffit and fascia which they did on Monday. Because of the damage done by the tree we had to replace the one (yes one) window in the den. We decided not to go with the same setup. I was able to procure 3 Jeld-Wen Vinyl windows (3' x 5'6") for a VERY good price. They look so much better. That's one nice thing we couldn't have done if it weren't for Gustav. Thanks, I guess.
Work has since come to a grinding halt. We are out of money. (Not in the food stamp way, but in the "I'm not using up all of my liquid assets" kind of way.) I owe people money (which I hate!) For the most part they are being very understanding that I am being hosed by the mortgage company, but I still hate it. The sad part is that most of the first check is going to be to pay off people. We really can't do much until we get the second third. I think that roofing is going to eat up the entire second check, so we won't be able to get much done until we get the third check. We'll see. It could definitely be worse. Two of our friends (a couple that have gotten married since Jenny and I did) are living with his parents, his sister, her 3 kids and a total of 3 dogs. Yikes! I love my family, but I don't think we could do that.
I'll try to post again soon (as work progresses). I sincerely hope that my next post won't be so bitter. I am very excited that I will (probably) get to see my siblings in the coming weekends. Hopefully they can make it the house since they haven't seen it yet! I am disappointed that they will see in this shape, but oh well. Hope everything is going well for everyone else. Keep your chins up!
So State Farm was by no means rapid in processing our claim and issuing us a check, but they weren't bad either. Unfortunately, for some reason that I still don't understand, Citi thought we had Farmer's insurance and State Farm thought our mortgage was with Nationwide. This led to Citi thinking our insurance policy had been cancelled and State Farm issuing us a check with the wrong mortgage company listed as a payee. It took me about a week to get the correct check. Once I did I was instructed that in order to receive the funds, we would have to endorse the check and mail it to Citi. They would then issue us 1/3 of the funds. After completing 1/3 of the repairs (whatever that means) we should call them back. They will send out an inspector to verify that we have completed 1/3 of the repairs. If he agrees, we will be issued the second third of the check. We then do it all over again. In order to obtain the final 1/3 we need to complete 95% of the repairs (I think), turn in receipts (which I think is absolute bullshit), and then they will release the rest.
Citi Mortgage sucks. I am really considering refinancing as soon as that is a viable option. This is absolutely ridiculous. *Deep Breath* I mailed the check to them on 13 Oct. I used registered mail for obvious reasons. The postcard confirmation I got back said it arrived on the 20th. I called to verify this. "We received your check on the 22nd." Really? I'm pretty sure you didn't. They deposited the check. Now they are waiting for it to clear. I should have a check in my hands by the end of this week. Alright. "Can I go ahead and request my first inspection?" "Absolutely. An inspector will contact you within 5 business days to set up an appointment?" Apparently the inspection process moves as quickly as the processing office. Awesome. Inspector calls me a few days later. "I have an opening next tuesday at 1:30 pm." "Um, do you have anything that isn't in the middle of weekday?" "Well, I live in central, so I try not to schedule appointments across town first thing in the morning." "Try living in the city, dipshit. Oh, and not being so lazy" (I didn't actually say this, but I think he might have gotten the message because he's coming at 8)
I'm sorry to rant about this, but it pisses me off. My house was damaged on 1 September and I haven't gotten a dime to help rebuild. I pay my mortgage on time every month. I am current on my insurance. I don't think that it's too much to ask for these people to get me some aid in less than 2 months!
We have done some work. The trees were removed from our house and eventually from our curb. Our yard (front and back) were pretty damaged by this whole process. On 13 October the framing carpenters arrived. After consultation we decided to remove everything above the walls: every joist, rafter, and sheet of decking. Jenny and I needed a vacation so we went to Gulf Shores for the rest of the week. It was great.
When we came back the framing was essentially done. The had to finish up the soffit and fascia which they did on Monday. Because of the damage done by the tree we had to replace the one (yes one) window in the den. We decided not to go with the same setup. I was able to procure 3 Jeld-Wen Vinyl windows (3' x 5'6") for a VERY good price. They look so much better. That's one nice thing we couldn't have done if it weren't for Gustav. Thanks, I guess.
Work has since come to a grinding halt. We are out of money. (Not in the food stamp way, but in the "I'm not using up all of my liquid assets" kind of way.) I owe people money (which I hate!) For the most part they are being very understanding that I am being hosed by the mortgage company, but I still hate it. The sad part is that most of the first check is going to be to pay off people. We really can't do much until we get the second third. I think that roofing is going to eat up the entire second check, so we won't be able to get much done until we get the third check. We'll see. It could definitely be worse. Two of our friends (a couple that have gotten married since Jenny and I did) are living with his parents, his sister, her 3 kids and a total of 3 dogs. Yikes! I love my family, but I don't think we could do that.
I'll try to post again soon (as work progresses). I sincerely hope that my next post won't be so bitter. I am very excited that I will (probably) get to see my siblings in the coming weekends. Hopefully they can make it the house since they haven't seen it yet! I am disappointed that they will see in this shape, but oh well. Hope everything is going well for everyone else. Keep your chins up!
Friday, September 5, 2008
¡No me Gustav!
So I'm assuming anyone who follows this thing has probably already been informed through facebook or phone trees that we took some damage. The house will endure, but unfortunately some of the paneling was damaged beyond repair. One huge tree (outside of my property line) came down taking out two of my trees on the way to land in one big group on the house. For the record, it was one enormous elm (in the words of the tree guy) and two hackberry trees (yeah, I'd never heard of them either).
The roof, overhang, and one exterior wall took some pretty extensive damage. The den window is broken and the lentil is destroyed. The roof took some pretty severe damage. There are some holes in the roof over the dining room as well and a pretty significant amount of water came through the ceiling above the french doors. The house did not flood and all was not lost. The tree was removed late yesterday evening and hopefully this weekend I will have contractors look at it to begin repairs.
It appears that we won't have power for a while. Entergy released a schedule of when different neighborhoods can expect power back. Mine wasn't on it. None of the neighborhoods around me were on it. Yay. Jenny and I may travel to Lafayette to purchase supplies today and to experience a bit of normalcy: to get gas without a line, to grocery shop in the air conditioning, eat a hot meal in a nice, cool restaurant, etc.
I want to mention a few people here who have been great through this whole ordeal. Michael and Sarah top the list. They sheltered us through the storm, fed us dinner, gave us a place to stay and have been caring for Izzy ever since. Chris has come a number of times to help us clean up/work on the damage. He gave us a nice air conditioned office to sleep in for a night and fed us dinner. David and Terry Hebert (my bosses) have allowed us and some friends the use of the office to eat sleep, etc. while we are without power and until I can get the house livable. Carmen has let us shower in her condo and let us do some much needed laundry. I also want to thank Brooke and Nathan for coming to help clean up my mess after spending hours at Nathan's parents' house cleaning up their mess. It's cliche, but it's true. You really how many friends you have when something bad happens.
I'll try to keep this thing updated as best I can. Cell phones are working a little bit better every day, so if anyone needs to get in touch, you probably can. Take care.
The roof, overhang, and one exterior wall took some pretty extensive damage. The den window is broken and the lentil is destroyed. The roof took some pretty severe damage. There are some holes in the roof over the dining room as well and a pretty significant amount of water came through the ceiling above the french doors. The house did not flood and all was not lost. The tree was removed late yesterday evening and hopefully this weekend I will have contractors look at it to begin repairs.
It appears that we won't have power for a while. Entergy released a schedule of when different neighborhoods can expect power back. Mine wasn't on it. None of the neighborhoods around me were on it. Yay. Jenny and I may travel to Lafayette to purchase supplies today and to experience a bit of normalcy: to get gas without a line, to grocery shop in the air conditioning, eat a hot meal in a nice, cool restaurant, etc.
I want to mention a few people here who have been great through this whole ordeal. Michael and Sarah top the list. They sheltered us through the storm, fed us dinner, gave us a place to stay and have been caring for Izzy ever since. Chris has come a number of times to help us clean up/work on the damage. He gave us a nice air conditioned office to sleep in for a night and fed us dinner. David and Terry Hebert (my bosses) have allowed us and some friends the use of the office to eat sleep, etc. while we are without power and until I can get the house livable. Carmen has let us shower in her condo and let us do some much needed laundry. I also want to thank Brooke and Nathan for coming to help clean up my mess after spending hours at Nathan's parents' house cleaning up their mess. It's cliche, but it's true. You really how many friends you have when something bad happens.
I'll try to keep this thing updated as best I can. Cell phones are working a little bit better every day, so if anyone needs to get in touch, you probably can. Take care.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Fence is done! (Almost...)
Well, technically the fence is finished and the gates aren't, but anyway...
Michael, Nathan, and Chris came over on Saturday and helped me get the runners (2x4s) cut and nailed up. Jenny and I had marked the posts earlier in the week. With a borrowed framing nailer and staple gun (from Mark) things went pretty darn well. The rain dampened our spirits a bit, but it cleared off and we were able to resume.
We started putting up the pickets, but had to cut it short so that Jenny and I could get cleaned up for David Smith's wedding in Opelousas. We had a good time at the wedding. It turns out we knew about a half dozen people there (other than the groom and his family). I have to bitch about the 6 oz. cups of beer that they served, but I just resorted to getting 2+ at a time. David told me he was a big fan of the blog (who knew we had fans?) and when he introduced me to his wife she knew who I was. Crazy. Congratulations to David and Emily (I hope you read this), I wish you the best!
Anyhow, I woke Nathan up on Sunday and he came over and we rocked and rolled on the pickets and got the rest of the fence done (except for the areas where gates are going). I continued to work on the fence this week to hammer out some odds and ends. I had to purchase some 8' pickets for one area of the fence that traversed a particular low portion of the yard. I cut them to fit and stapled them in place. Hopefully Mark and I can get together this weekend to get the gates finished up. If he doesn't show, I'll probably have to resort to doing them myself.
I was able to get the yard to the point that Izzy can roam freely now. I had some trellis laying around that I tacked up where one of the gates will go. The back corner of the yard is temporarily fenced off because their is a pile of bricks and other assorted "stuff" back there that I am going to have to pick through before Izzy gets back there. Pictures to follow as soon as I take them and upload them. :)
Michael, Nathan, and Chris came over on Saturday and helped me get the runners (2x4s) cut and nailed up. Jenny and I had marked the posts earlier in the week. With a borrowed framing nailer and staple gun (from Mark) things went pretty darn well. The rain dampened our spirits a bit, but it cleared off and we were able to resume.
We started putting up the pickets, but had to cut it short so that Jenny and I could get cleaned up for David Smith's wedding in Opelousas. We had a good time at the wedding. It turns out we knew about a half dozen people there (other than the groom and his family). I have to bitch about the 6 oz. cups of beer that they served, but I just resorted to getting 2+ at a time. David told me he was a big fan of the blog (who knew we had fans?) and when he introduced me to his wife she knew who I was. Crazy. Congratulations to David and Emily (I hope you read this), I wish you the best!
Anyhow, I woke Nathan up on Sunday and he came over and we rocked and rolled on the pickets and got the rest of the fence done (except for the areas where gates are going). I continued to work on the fence this week to hammer out some odds and ends. I had to purchase some 8' pickets for one area of the fence that traversed a particular low portion of the yard. I cut them to fit and stapled them in place. Hopefully Mark and I can get together this weekend to get the gates finished up. If he doesn't show, I'll probably have to resort to doing them myself.
I was able to get the yard to the point that Izzy can roam freely now. I had some trellis laying around that I tacked up where one of the gates will go. The back corner of the yard is temporarily fenced off because their is a pile of bricks and other assorted "stuff" back there that I am going to have to pick through before Izzy gets back there. Pictures to follow as soon as I take them and upload them. :)
Sunday, August 3, 2008
This will probably take a while...
The fence posts are all set!
That said, I owe many people a significant debt of gratitude. First and foremost Chris Broussard. He and I both completely physically exhausted ourselves yesterday. By this I mean we both collapsed. The most exhausted I have ever been. I got light-headed an hour and a half before we stopped. Then we both got up and started again today. Thank you Chris. I won't give you my first-born daughter, but I owe you something big. In a close second: Mark (my fencing sub-contractor from work) Will, Paul, Michael and Dustin. Everyone was a huge help. Y'all are awesome for showing up and for not hating me at the end of the day. I owe y'all as well. Oh yeah, and Frankie. Thanks for dropping by ;)
I set up this blog for two purposes: the first is that it is a way to keep all of our family and friends (that we may not talk to as regularly as we should) up to date on what is going on; secondly (as it was so delicately pointed out today) so that others can learn from our experiences. I have a pretty decent "nugget of wisdom" to drop on y'all here. Part of it is things I did right, and part of it isn't. If you never plan on building or having a fence built, ignore the next part.
1. This is key - If you have a significant number of trees in your yard and are building a fence over 150' HIRE SOMEONE. I knew this would be a good deal of work, but I would not have believed how much work it would be if I hadn't been there.
2. Rent an auger. Unless you are setting four or less posts, spend the money and rent an auger. This will make the job was easier. If you think the job won't be that bad, see #1.
3. It is advisable to have a professional or experienced amateur on hand. I thought I knew all that I needed to know (I've been picking my Mark's brain for weeks), but I didn't.
4. Have a reciprocating saw on hand. When you find a significant root, you'll understand.
5. When asked where you want the gate to go, don't say "ask the wife." You will end up with a double gate large enough to fit a semi-through (almost).
6. We hit a root larger than 8" across more than a foot in the ground. We dug out barbed wire a foot underground. We ran into concrete. We had to cut down a couple of small trees (up to 5" in diameter.) You will be amazed at what you find and the extra work that crops up.
7. This seems really obvious, I know, but it bears noting: 80 lbs sacks of concrete are heavy. The first one may not be that bad. The 5th one sucks. It gets worse from there.
8. Shop around for prices. Call the lumber yard 20 miles away. If they have the best price, they may deliver for free. If they don't deliver for free, Lowe's will probably price match if they can verify it. I shit you not, one Lowes (out of 3 in BR) has fence pickets for 30 cents less than the others. No 30 cents doesn't seems like much. Multiply it by 500. That's not just pocket change.
9. Home Depot sucks (don't ask).
10. You can't have too many friends. You know they are friends if they know that you are calling to ask you to help set posts and they still answer.
That's all for now, but if I think of anything else I'll post it. I thought it was a bit amusing that my neighbor walks over today as we are setting the last half dozen posts to tell us that we are welcome to tie into his fence. I didn't want to because it is only 4 feet high, but I thought it was kind of funny. Jenny has been taking pictures and I will upload them at some point. I believe that's all for now. I will update when we finish the fence, but that may be a couple of weeks.
That said, I owe many people a significant debt of gratitude. First and foremost Chris Broussard. He and I both completely physically exhausted ourselves yesterday. By this I mean we both collapsed. The most exhausted I have ever been. I got light-headed an hour and a half before we stopped. Then we both got up and started again today. Thank you Chris. I won't give you my first-born daughter, but I owe you something big. In a close second: Mark (my fencing sub-contractor from work) Will, Paul, Michael and Dustin. Everyone was a huge help. Y'all are awesome for showing up and for not hating me at the end of the day. I owe y'all as well. Oh yeah, and Frankie. Thanks for dropping by ;)
I set up this blog for two purposes: the first is that it is a way to keep all of our family and friends (that we may not talk to as regularly as we should) up to date on what is going on; secondly (as it was so delicately pointed out today) so that others can learn from our experiences. I have a pretty decent "nugget of wisdom" to drop on y'all here. Part of it is things I did right, and part of it isn't. If you never plan on building or having a fence built, ignore the next part.
1. This is key - If you have a significant number of trees in your yard and are building a fence over 150' HIRE SOMEONE. I knew this would be a good deal of work, but I would not have believed how much work it would be if I hadn't been there.
2. Rent an auger. Unless you are setting four or less posts, spend the money and rent an auger. This will make the job was easier. If you think the job won't be that bad, see #1.
3. It is advisable to have a professional or experienced amateur on hand. I thought I knew all that I needed to know (I've been picking my Mark's brain for weeks), but I didn't.
4. Have a reciprocating saw on hand. When you find a significant root, you'll understand.
5. When asked where you want the gate to go, don't say "ask the wife." You will end up with a double gate large enough to fit a semi-through (almost).
6. We hit a root larger than 8" across more than a foot in the ground. We dug out barbed wire a foot underground. We ran into concrete. We had to cut down a couple of small trees (up to 5" in diameter.) You will be amazed at what you find and the extra work that crops up.
7. This seems really obvious, I know, but it bears noting: 80 lbs sacks of concrete are heavy. The first one may not be that bad. The 5th one sucks. It gets worse from there.
8. Shop around for prices. Call the lumber yard 20 miles away. If they have the best price, they may deliver for free. If they don't deliver for free, Lowe's will probably price match if they can verify it. I shit you not, one Lowes (out of 3 in BR) has fence pickets for 30 cents less than the others. No 30 cents doesn't seems like much. Multiply it by 500. That's not just pocket change.
9. Home Depot sucks (don't ask).
10. You can't have too many friends. You know they are friends if they know that you are calling to ask you to help set posts and they still answer.
That's all for now, but if I think of anything else I'll post it. I thought it was a bit amusing that my neighbor walks over today as we are setting the last half dozen posts to tell us that we are welcome to tie into his fence. I didn't want to because it is only 4 feet high, but I thought it was kind of funny. Jenny has been taking pictures and I will upload them at some point. I believe that's all for now. I will update when we finish the fence, but that may be a couple of weeks.
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