I wander around, ears perked, silently creeping, trying to find the source of the sound. I walk near the radiator (which is handsomely covered by a casing and hardwood at the floor) and hear what sounds like Niagra Falls.
Hm.
I grab a flashlight, stick it into the radiator cover and check out the situation. No water. That I can see at least.
Then I begin to traipse through the rest of the unit, holding out the flashlight, looking high and low.
Oh, high.
There I see this:
A huge water bubble behind the paint in my living room. And, water spots on the ceiling. And, a continuous flow of water coming down the wall.
OH, goodie. On both sides - in the living room AND the kitchen. Here's the kitchen wall beside the fridge with the peeling green paint and water pooling below my fridge:
The hardwood floor was warping already, and discoloring, and just laying there in a flood. The carpet is soaked, even though it only looks like one spot was wet. That just happens to be where I stepped on it to test it. It squirted up to my knees. It is soaked:
I called the emergency maintenance in my building, and within 10 minutes they were up there, agreeing with me and my assessment of the damage (aka "this sucks!"), and went upstairs to the condo above me that was under construction.
They came back down to tell me that the unit was being renovated, they'd just put down hardwoods, and the painters had left the hot water valve on, so it was flooded. UGH.
My damage is bad, but they've already contacted me and are claiming it on their insurance. Incidentally, they are from Ireland, are contractors, and are renovating the unit for their friends who still live in Ireland.
How's that for luck o' the Irish?? The poor thing answered the phone in her Celtic brogue and I empathized with her, and she offered to do whatever it took to make me happy this weekend even before the insurance company assessor could come check out the damage.
Uhm, how 'bout a bottle of vino, a pan of brownies and a massage?
No?
Ok. Then I'll settle for fixing the floors/ceiling/walls and maybe, just maybe, new carpet?
Ironically, one of the bloggers I read each day posted a story today about an almost exact incident happening to her last night. I commented, sending her good karma.
I sure hope that karma is riding a boomerang.
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