Regional Talk > Texas Gulf Coast > Hurricane Ike repairs

Hurricane Ike repairs

Like your area, there are many fences still down and many roofs in need of repair/replacement. We lost two sections of our fence, approximately 25 feet in all. Had to replace seven posts that were broken off at ground level. As for the roof, we only lost a few sections of ridge vent. I had the roof inspected by the insurance adjusters and one roofing company, with both saying the roof is in good shape. We didn't get any screen or window damage, though.

We have a house in Galveston that received enough damage to the roof to need replacing. Same story for the detached garage, plus a flat room on the back of the house. We're looking at between $6K to $7K. Fortunately, the property got no water. That area of Galveston is one of the highest on the island, if there is such a thing.

Being in the A/C & heating business, I've been inside many of our customer's homes and businesses, from one end of the island to the other. A lot of the damage can't be seen from the streets. Most, if not all, of the homes I've been in have had at least 4 feet of sheetrock and insulation ripped out because of the flooding. I see many small businesses that still have not opened back up, if they ever will. We finally got our shop put back together a couple of weeks ago.

Considering how much damage there was, we feel very fortunate. There is still a tremendous amount of work going on, with many months of work still to be done. The Home Depot here had to have set some sort of sales record. The parking lot has been full every day since the storm.

Edit - I don't know if y'all know of Murdoch's Bathhouse on the Seawall, but here's a small video of its final breath.

»www.flickr.com/photos/nsaum/3194735280/

reply to marti
I am still waiting on fence and roof repairs in Katy. I have noticed much of the blue roof patches have come down. I do not have a leak but the whole roof is going to be replaced due to wind damage. I am not really a priority but I do need a new roof. I would rather wait until the contractors start getting a little hungry for business again.

reply to marti
Just paid the roofers so now the roof and the fence are finished and the house is much happier. Still have one last repair but could not be started until after the roof was finished.

Roof repair was pretty cool. The evening before they began work they dropped off a couple trailers of shingles and tool boxes. The next morning they arrived with a mini forklift and started working right at 8am. There were about 10 guys in the crew. They finished around 6pm. Nice basically one day and done.

I am shocked that they still have a couple month wait list. Katy is starting to send out letters telling people to get rid of those tarps and get your roofs fixed now. I did read they were going to be understanding as long as people are working on it.

So good to hear you have a new roof! Since I live in the City of Houston, they are not going to send out letters, but my subdivision homeowners association might.

I still see missing fences, falling down fences, and blue tented roofs in my neighborhood. I have two streets that I can use to get out of my neighborhood. One area of the neighborhood was hit hard, and there are a couple of houses that also have tarps on the side of the house because the siding was either damaged or ripped off.

I am happy to report that I have done all repairs on damages reported to the insurance company; I faxed all receipts to the adjusters in hopes that they will give me a few bucks over the deductible. They called me the other day because they said they needed more information on one receipt (the one where the patio roof was replaced). I am in the process of getting the guy that did the work to tell me more details so I can pass them on to the insurance adjusters.

It's obvious that the insurance company doesn't want to pay me anything and I will have to keep after them until I do get some money. Of course, my homeowner's insurance went up in December!

I have a feeling that the folks in my neighborhood that have not had repairs done are fighting their insurance companies; I hope they didn't get the money and then not do the repairs. The lady across the street (she just sold her house) finally got her insurance company to admit they she needed a new roof; she had to hire a contractor to inspect it and he met the adjuster at her house. Luckily, the roof and one side fence were replaced before she closed on the house, so the new owner didn't have to deal with workmen in and out of the property. (It was in the contract that seller would replace the roof and the fence.)
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Team Discovery

reply to marti
Wow,
Maybe its just me, but I was at my houses in The Woodlands the day after IKE (I left San Diego via car about noon the day Ike Hit) and was at my houses the next day.

Already had the Insurance claim started and got the one roof covered and working on getting the tree off the roof.
Second house was just cosmetic and fence damage.

By the Third day the tree was off and the roof was temporary patched.

Took all of a week to get the roof fixed and just a few days after that to get the interior damage cleaned and repaired.

Now why would folks still be dealing with it is beyond me and not something I could have done
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[BBR]Clan Leader


TWL Competition Director N/A and OC


AA BETA TESTER

I am glad you were able to fly in and get the ball rolling on your Ike damage the next day. Some of us had other priorities to deal with after the storm.

No I can understand the "Rebuilding" taking longer
but the normal repairs is what I cant understand.

First, you said you didn't understand why after several months that so many haven't started repairs for major damage. Now, you can't understand about normal repairs. I guess I'm as confused as you are.

One reason it's taking so many so long to get repairs done, whether they be normal or major, is because the insurance companies are either being slow or unresponsive (as in my case with my roof) to return to reevaluate their initial damage assessments. I've called the windstorm people no less than three times, written a letter and I still haven't gotten a response. Another reason is because contractors are taking on so many jobs at one time. The contractor doing my bosses house just got the sheetrock hung yesterday.

reply to BBR_InsUW
I suspect some may have insurance problems or are having to pay for it themselves. It might take some time to get the funds in place. It took me a total of 3 months to get the roofing company of my choice to get to the job. Could be some are just hoping the problem will just go away. I do not know what peoples stories are so I can not make excuses for them.

reply to BBR_InsUW
I had to take out a loan to be able to pay for repairs. It took awhile for that to go through. Then I had to wait for the fence guy and then the patio roof guy. I ordered a new wood panel for my garage door before Thanksgiving and it had to be "special ordered" and then I had to wait for the garage door guys to have time to install it -- garage door panel was installed a month ago.

I am trying to get money from my insurance company, and turned in all receipts for work done. They need more information on the patio roof repair, and I'm working on getting that information. If they honor all work done,I might get a few hundred bucks as I have to make the deductible.
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Team Discovery

reply to SandShark
Ok sorry I wasnt real clear, normal as in fences and some lost roof shingles, broken item like a patio cover ... things that are important but not structural and that wont lead to further damage.

Major as in hole in roofs and broken windows interior damage.

I know as I am in the insurance business that a full rebuild can take alot longer.

As to your issue with the windstorm claim, I have no experience with the wind pool coverage.

And yes you have to stay on top of the Insurance Adjusters, but remember many are independants and can only report back and are just the eyes or the company
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[BBR]Clan Leader


TWL Competition Director N/A and OC


AA BETA TESTER

reply to marti
So what was your wind Ded 1 or 2 %

I think it was 3%. All I know is that I have to go over X amount that the ins company will honor to get a dime out of them.
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Team Discovery

Ahh I had the 1% and even though it hurt when the 1 house damage didnt go over that, I was fine with it on the other house since it came out to about 10K in damage total

reply to marti
I drove up to the convenience store at the front of my neighborhood. I noticed less "blue tarps," and some houses that do have the tarps (or falling down fences) do have contractor signs in the yard.

There are some idiots that have put out tree limbs -- not cut and bound -- and I saw a small pile of fence boards. The garage pickup folks will not pick up limbs that are not cut to the correct size and bound into small bundles, nor pick up fence boards unless they are also cut and bound.
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Team Discovery

I put tall boards or such in a garbage can or in one of those large contractor trash bags. Never had a problem. Of course, when I had my fence repaired/rebuilt and the patio roof fixed, I demanded that the contractors haul off every bit of "trash."
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Team Discovery