Torrential storms here in Melbourne, I think it rained about 3 inches on Wednesday. We are falling into the pattern that I remember from the 60's when we'd visit my grandparents in St Pete. Storms in the afternoon, cooling off, and then clearing up. If you don't have to be out in it, not bad at all.

Kswl, I'm so sorry, but amazed you've come through this with your sense of humor intact. You have a great GC! Buy his wife flowers. Here in SC we've got a bit of a situation here at the marina. It's gotten down into the teens for a couple of nights running, and while the marina staff turned off the water to the docks Sunday and opened all the valves at each and every spigot on our power stands,the pipes didn't drain sufficiently and there are shattered water pipes on every dock and the main dock. I think they're going to have to replace all the water lines. Meanwhile we have no water to the boats. On our own boat we're having problems with our water pump, and we've got to keep our hot water heater running, because we're afraid our own water lines will freeze. We can't run water continously because our water tank is finite, only half full, and who knows when we'll have a water source again from the dock. I'm ready for this weather pattern to abate.

Dave: I am a contractor in the restoration business for decades and seen thousands of residential and commercial insurance loss claims. I have handled losses from less then a thousand dollars to losses in the millions. IMO too many property owners trust their insurance company to properly handle their claim. Most insurance companies, (not all) have contractor programs for one reason and one reason only, to control their costs. I can only count on one hand the number of insurance companies that really care about doing whatever it takes to satisfy their customer after a claim. When you file an insurance claim, its parallel to filing a claim in court demanding money for damages. When in court, both parties have their own independent representation to protect their interests. In the insurance industry, (and the only industry I know of) most property owners allow the other party to represent their interests. Who do you think the insurance adjustor is going be devoted too, you or the company who trained them and signs their paycheck? For the most part, insurance companies donÂt train adjustors how to properly mitigate or repair property damage. Adjustors are not highly trained in construction and if they do have some construction skills they were not taught by the insurance company. Insurance adjustors are trained how to manage the claim. Insurance companies train their adjustors how to negotiate. The primary job of the adjustor is to limit the insurance companyÂs costs. PERIOD I could spell out volumes of other concerns to look for but IÂm sure you want to know how your property should be restored. Your description of how they are drying your property is my first big red flag. That process of pulling pad and floating carpet used to be the industry protocol years ago. Some insurance companies prefer their contractors still do it this way. If my company is involved in a clean water loss, we never dry a property in this fashion anymore. We stopped this process about five or six years ago. We follow our proven industries protocol, not what the insurance companies want or what a franchises home office dictates. The proper way to mitigate a clean water loss is to extract the water from the carpet and pad using the proper equipment. This equipment is not just a wand and extractor but a heavily weighted piece of equipment that will removed most of the water from the carpet and pad while itÂs in place. This equipment is rather expensive and some restoration companies still havenÂt made the investment. Placing a fan under the carpet can stretch the carpet and do other damages that only show up well after the contractor has gone down the road. Think about this, after a clean water loss, the drywall, plywood sub floor, wood framing carpeting and padding get wet. The carpet and padding is the most porous and by far the easiest to dry. YouÂre not removing all the other materials, why remove the material thatÂs the easiest and fastest to dry? If a water loss is properly extracted and dehumidification and air movement is properly set up and no vapor barriers are present, all standard building materials will be dry in 3 days. My company guarantees it. There are some materials such as hardwood flooring, plaster and concrete to name a few that can take longer to dry. The other red flag from your post is the area was 90 degrees and days later the carpet and pad was still wet. This is the perfect environment for mold growth. If the carpet and pad are still wet this far into the loss, you have no choice but to get ride of it and check for mold problems. If the carpet has been wet this long there is a good chance the backing is delaminating anyway. Make sure if any exterior walls were saturated that the insulation behind those walls are not wet. Most of the time, insulation will need to be removed to dry properly. If any vapor barriers are in place such as gloss paint will also inhibit proper drying. If you want to talk this weekend, send me your contact information to mas5461@yahoo.com and I will call or email you.

I don't know if it's corrosion of your water heater (unless the sacrificial anode has failed or is missing) but your water pressure is a likely culprit for the premature failure. "Normal" water pressure is around 60psi, 70-odd is good, but your water heater will be rated for a MAX of 100psi. The T&P valve on the tank did its job and should have been leaking from day 1 if that pressure has been like that - it's almost double the max. You should also get into the habit of lifting that little lever on the relief valve monthly or so, and letting some water run out. If it doesn't stop straight away, leave it a while, if it keeps dripping open it full up and let it run longer. This flushes out any material stuck in there and blocking it. It's very important to do this flushing, if the valve sticks, and you have high water pressure like that, (or even if you don't) you can get a dangerous buildup of pressure that can make it explode - you can even find video footage of it on youtube and mythbusters. What you should add (they are a good idea even if your water pressure is ok) is a pressure reducing valve like the link below - it will allow you to reduce your pressure to something manageable, the gauge your hubby bought will be handy. With a pressure reducing valve, you will also need an potable water (not the non-potable which are for boilers and underfloor heating) expansion tank for the hot water, it will also work as a shock absorber for the whole system like the hammer eliminators you get for the washing machine. Expansion tanks: http://www.watts.com/pro/_productsFull.asp?catId=64&parCat=325&pid=852&ref=2 With your pressure under control and an expansion tank you will get much longer service from your hw heater and other fixtures. The reason why your stuff is leaking may be a combination of the excessive pressure, your hw tank pressure relief valve may have been stuck, but the above is the answer. Let us know how you make out. You might enquire with the city what's up with the pressure, but it may be 'normal' to help cope with your neighbourhood demand. Here is a link that might be useful: Watts pressure reducing valve