On 10 Jul 2006 23:21:06 -0700, "mcd" wrote:

We recently experienced 1st hand what a blockage in the city sewer will
do a house. We had a blockage occur in the city line just below our
connection. It came spouting out two showers and two toilets and our
corner bathtub filled up. After freely flowing for about 40 minutes
(we tried bucketing to stem the rising tide...) we had between 2 and 4
inches covering 80% of the house and our storage basement and finished
basement apartment got drenched from above. My questions revolve
around the adjuster and cleaning company. After taking out the
laminate flooring from above and the ceiling from below it was pretty
evident that the subfloor soaked that crap up. Same for most of the
joists (engineered i-beam type). I also have radiant floor system
attached to this section of my house.

My cleaning company is saying they can clean and seal the sub-floor
(3/4 inch plywood) and the joists. But, I'm concerned about the
radiant floor heating system and I'd rather have them replace the
sub-floor and affected joists.

Is it worth hiring an independent adjuster over this? Or am I over
reacting?

Thanks,

Martin
Oregon

If you got engineered i-beam type joists, they are most likely ruined,
and/or will smell like sewerage forever. Removing them pretty much
means demolishing the entire house. I hate to tell you this, but I'd
say your house is totalled and needs to be torn down and rebuilt
entirely. Not only that, but raw sewerage contains all kinds of
bacteria and other contaminants which will likely seriously affect
your health. I highly suggest getting yourself and your family out of
there ASAP. You will most likely have to destroy all the furnishings
too, except things that were up on tables and counters. Your
insurance should pay the full value of your home, minus the land
itself and any buildings not flooded, such as maybe a garage.

The reason you lose everything is because of those engineered i-beam
joists. If you had standard timbers, they would not be damaged, and
could be chemically cleaned. But engineered i-beams become extremely
dangerous once wettened, and your floors could actually collapse. Yet
another reason to stay out of there. Plus engineered i-beams absorb
the sewerage.

All of these problems could have been prevented if you had spent
around $100 to get a backflow preventer in your house sewer pipe.

Your situation is pretty much the same as the aftermath of Katrina.
You might contact your local Red Cross and see if they will help with
temporary housing, and also see if you can get anything from FEMA.