I am very sorry you are going through this it has to be incredibly stressful. Our house was struck by a tornado in and area of the country where "torandoes don't happen" and it was surreal and stressful. My advice to based on that experience is to not accept the insurance companies quick offers. Also, every item, every step, every nail, piece of trim, has a cost and therefore a value. Don't even clean up without getting a quote for the insurance company. While exhausting, accounting for every last detail will get you a more fair settlement.

I'm sorry for your experience. Good news on the insurance front.

The scope of your project has just changed radically by something you had no control over. If the addition was a big deal, you'll need to honestly assess whether the new project scope is something you can tackle or whether it's best to hire a builder to complete the entire scope.

Best of luck with your project.

So glad to hear that you and your family are okay. <3

I second DevonField's recommendation to account for every last detail, and take a ton of pictures *before* cleaning up. My former house flooded in 2008, and my husband and I painstakingly went through everything that was damaged. There were pages and pages of things, and we still missed things or were denied coverage for some stuff.

My dining room table was one of the denied items. We were actually out of town when the flood happened, and my mother-in-law met the sheriff at the house, to gain entry. Cleanup crews were immediately sent to the house by the insurance company -- we were on our way back home, driving 7 hours from CA to AZ -- and some MORON loaded my wood table with all kinds of debris, without setting towels down first, ruining the top. It wasn't covered because it wasn't "direct" water damage caused by the flood.

So, don't let anyone clean up but you!

I just wanted to say I am so sorry this happened to your family, and to thank you for sharing your experience bc it may very well help others.

I am so sorry, and yet so glad you are safe and COVERED. Agreed about having someone in your court/ on your side when working with insurance. In the middle of a negotiation on my totaled car, and having an independent appraiser is going to pay off for me. Have someone working for you that does this for a living. It will also help with your feelings of being overwhelmed.

Again - so happy you are okay. Hang in there.

So sorry. I'm helping my parents rebuild/renovate after Hurricane Dorian hit their home in the Bahamas. Rebuilding on a tiny, disaster-struck island is so complex. But patience and persistence prevails.

Shead I’m so sorry this happened to you. Hoping you get a quick resolu so you can start the build process anew

“Any words of wisdom on dealing with insurance adjusters definitely appreciated as well :)”

1. Remember that they are not your friends.

2. Hire a Public Adjuster immediately.

Thanks for the advice! We are meeting today with whom I believe is the adjuster for the insurance company (we are still a little unclear on that since our agent had never heard of the guy and he’s not the adjuster they normally send). If they consider it totalled or nearly totaled, we will be happy. Regardless, we should know a greal deal more later today on how to proceed and if a public adjuster will be necessary.

I would be careful about hiring a public adjuster. See what insurance pays first before you hire one. We talked to two after trying to haggle with insurance after a wildfire. One wanted to charge a percentage of his estimate, even if we weren't paid out more. The second company charged 30% of what they could get for us. Had we started with them they would have received that percentage right away off of what the insurance gave us initially. So sorry you are in this situation.

I'm so sorry to hear about your house. I hope it all turns out to be a good thing in the end.

So sorry Shead that you have to go through all this. The tornado missed my area, but, there is wind damage everywhere. I wish you and your family well .

shead,That’s so sad and beyond stressful. Somehow, we all get through these tough tines!

Stacy, I hope your meeting with the adjuster went well. I had a microburst put a tree through my garage and the adjuster was more than fair and left the door open to additions if he missed something. The same insurance company allowed for a very fair dollar amount for my deer totaled nearly new SUV. Give them a chance. Maybe ask your builder to review the spreadsheets to be sure nothing was missed. Hopefully you have a good insurance company and your replacement value in the policy is adequate.

So sorry you are going through this but it sure is a blessing that your belongings were in the semi!

The meeting with the adjuster went fairly well. He gave very mixed signals on if the house would be considered a total loss or not but said he "wasn't adverse to it." There is still some uncertainty on how our contents that we'd moved into the semi trailer will be handled. Our agent and adjuster both feel "pretty sure" they'll be covered but since they weren't actually in the house, we might have to fight for it.

The National Weather Service also came out and determined it was a microburst with winds in excess of 75 mph. The adjuster feels certain it was more than that to actually lift the fully loaded semi trailer off the ground, blow it forward several feet before turning it on its side and then continuing to push it on the ground for several feet past that. He thinks likely nearer 85 mph right where our house was. All in all, the microburst was estimated to be 75 yards wide so pretty narrow. It hit our house in EXACTLY the right spot to take 70% of the roof (metal, two layers of shingles, sheeting, and rafters) off and deposit it up to a half a mile away. Our neighbor found a piece of metal from our roof in his pasture that isn't even visible from our house. Crazy stuff!

The good part is that since the house will be taken down to the foundation, we can add more layers of block to raise the basement ceiling and also build with taller ceilings and a higher roof pitch so lots of chances for improvement to the overall plan :)

How nice of you to think of others during your disaster . Best of luck to you during your construction process.
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I am so sorry you are going through this. Thank goodness everyone is ok and the house is covered with the additional insurance. I hope the new construction goes well and is even better than the original plan.