No power outages yet. Might get to experience the calm in the eye of the hurricane first hand. Weather channel says wind will go from 62 mph at 9 to 4 mph at 10 and then back to 46 mph at 11. Meanwhile as prepared as I will ever be.
If you’re in the Bradenton/Sarasota area you can’t have much elevation but at least you don’t have to deal with the wind pushing all of Tampa Bay on top of you.
@f00l@pmarin Still at home-road it out. Live in Lakewood Ranch which is in Bradenton so about 15 miles inland. Took a quick look out side but have to examine roof closer. Saw part of screen on neighbor’s lanai was in heap in his yard.
@cengland0 as I’m sure you know, charge anything chargeable while you have power. If you have extra empty water jugs fill those up. I remember an old trick (I never had to do) even from California was fill up your bathtub with fresh cold water.
I mention this because my Asheville friends are dealing with no water still and thinking what they will prepare for next time. They have resorted to fetching buckets of creek (“crick”) water for flushing toilets and rinsing dishes.
@cengland0@pmarin I learned this the hard way. We live out in the country and have a private well. The second year after we moved in, a big snow storm (on Christmas Eve) took out the power - no power meant no water from the well - for three days, with 2 adults and 3 small children. Soon after, I got a generator that could power the well (and other things) and had a transfer switch added into the electrical panel.
@cengland0@pmarin For the next time- and we all know that there will likely be a next time, maybe think about getting one of these: https://waterbob.com/
It keeps the bathtub water useful for other things like drinking and cooking with…
There aren’t any on this Amazon page, but many knock-offs are listed.
“COLLECT WATER IN YOUR BATHTUB: The waterBOB is a water containment system that holds up to 100 gallons of fresh drinking water in any standard bathtub to prepare for an emergency and survive. Don’t wait in line to buy expensive bottled water or worry about keeping large barrels or tanks. Collect clean fresh, uncontaminated water in one of the large containers that you probably already have available — your bathtub!”
Their website says that it can be used without being in the bathtub.
We have had one for a few years, and luckily, have never even come close to needing to use it.
In North Central Florida, North of the most strongly affected area. Hosting two cousins, my brother, and his wife, all who evacuated coastal areas. Just a bit of wind and a lot of rain (high elevation locally, no flood risk). A few flickers of the electric grid, but nothing long enough to switch off the TV.
@PocketBrain
My brother’s house was swamped by about 6" - 8" of storm surge with Helene, with an estimated 6’ surge. Milton was projected to push as much as 10’ - 15’ surge, which would be up to the rafters in his house.
They had spent about ten days triaging and repairing, then this. They’re exhausted.
@PocketBrain Some friends of mine had both their cars flooded (Tampa with Helene). I don’t even want to think about what this storm surge will do to their house. Fortunately the my sister, cousins and one of their kids all live much further inland so just rain flooding.
Vero Beach here. Haven’t looked outside yet, but we closed the storm shutters and I slept through the night. Already past us and heading into the Atlantic. It was windy and rainy to beat the band Wednesday afternoon but we are good so far!
Tampa here, so far lots of wind but nothing serious (that I can tell). I am curious about a few THUDS that I heard but there’s time for that tomorrow. But we’re getting a shitload of rain, it’s been a driving rain for 4 hours or so and is just not stopping. I live on high ground (well, yes, I guess that kind too) so any flooding would run downhill. I might be a little worried that ground saturation will take some trees down but bourbon will solve that…I hope
@llangley Good luck! Hopefully the surge won’t be any higher than last time so those folks who go that with surge last time don’t suffer even more this time around.
We are on the east coast so no direct hit but my area had MANY tornados from an outer band this evening before landfall. Storm expected to keep us alert until noon Thursday, The wind is picking up. I’d live to go out but we are all locked down indoors. Pray for FL!
Looks like we made it . Lost power last night about 1030 when the transformer outside the house blew; it sparked like crazy but fortunately the rain kept anything from catching fire. Heard quite a few THUDS overnight but doesn’t seem to be anything major this morning. Lots of small branches on the ground. Will know more later but thankful it spared us.
I’m worried about those south of me…@Felton10 and @yakkotdi were more in the eye than me
@llangley We got the upper edge here. Sadly the power got scared and left long before it got bad. Took a lot a treats to get it to come back early this morning.
@yakkoTDI I must not have the right treats, only the German Shepherd kind . Still no power since 1030pm Wednesday. But at least we have water this time so that’s good. Looking for gas for the generator isn’t fun; lines are hours-long and some people are dicks so police resources are being used to keep everything saner.
@llangley Thankfully we kept water as well. A cold shower and cooler temps right before laying down for the night was good. I hope you get your power back soon.
I got a few friends still without power. One is just a few minutes away but at least he has a generator.
Well maybe spoke too soon about being home free. Saw some water stains on the ceiling in the master bath and took a look at the roof and didn’t see any tiles missing although saw a gap in the gunk around a vent pipe sticking up from the roof where water could have entered the attic. So called a roofing co to come out and inspect the entire roof and repair whatever is necessary.
@Felton10 Well, good you spotted it early. Depending on age and condition of your roof, you will face the choice of “fix that” vs re-do the whole thing. It might be worth considering the latter, but when you need it, you need it. Your house will be much happier after that, and you will be too, or if you sell it, it adds to value. In last few years (different places) I had a $6K roof job and a $40K roof job. Yes, there will be some “ouch.”
Make sure you get a good company ideally with recommendations from people that have used them.
@pmarin@werehatrack Called the roofing company I used before, had good references and have been around for a long time (although in Florida that doesn’t mean much).
@f00l@PooltoyWolf That looks like a gopher tortoise, which is a land critter. It’s probably out there because its usual hidey hole is full of water and possibly collapsed.
@f00l@werehatrack Definitely not a gopher tortoise lmao, I’ve seen plenty of both species and this is definitely a snapper. He’d just crawled up out of the pond below him off-camera. (Gopher tortoises are not aquatic, and will drown in water!)
@f00l@PooltoyWolf I think the 3 big bridges were pretty much reopened after the storm passed through and winds died down. We didn’t get the storm surge that we did from Helene this time; it landfalled (landfell?) north of us so counter-clockwise sucking in of the water flowed over the bridges. This time we got the nasty winds and driving rain as it landfalled to the south and actually sucked water out.
@f00l@PooltoyWolf Drone footage of Anna Maria looked bad but not Cat5 bad. Very few completely undamaged, some shredded, mostly “goddammit, not again”. Siesta Key - bad.
Damn I used to love the beaches at the south end of siesta key
I was there back when there was still a midnight pass before they filled it in
my dad wants swim across midnight pass to Casey key and he was exhausted at the end of it, and then he realized he had to swim back
he made it though and then all his Florida acquaintances who’ve been there a while told him that that was more or less completely insane
Fortunately he was very fit, but the currents were quite notable and they weren’t even that strong at that time of day and that’s what really wore him out
And then the locals pointed out to him. That midnight pass was a huge sharp transit point for sharks going from the ocean to the bays.
so he wasn’t tempted to do that a second time
I guess I’ll have to look up some aerial shots of siesta key and see how bad it is
I’m glad the FL improved the mandatory construction standards
Hurricane Camille was in 1969.
This is what it looked like afterwards.
I know that one entire apt building washed out to the Gulf. There were people inside who had chosen not to leave and instead would “party thru the storm” with candles.
I think that most or all of the people in the apartment building went out to sea with the building.
I was driving through Mississippi two years after the storm on the coastal road and it was just block after block (including blocks well inland from the beach) that were just vacant and empty. everything gone including the trees and maybe a little concrete walk or something like that left. This was in Pass Christian.
@f00l In the ‘80s, over the objections of the insurance companies, the S Fla code was relaxed to allow frame construction provided that certain special things were done. One of the subdivisions built to the relaxed code was located just north of the Metro Zoo in Perrine, which was a bit north and west of my parents’ home. After Andrew went through, it was bare slabs. The debris was blown farther than they could trace and identify. A friend’s sister lived in one of those, and about two hours before the eye went past (well before max winds), they got frightened enough to scamper to the car and leave with a few hastily collected documents, irreplaceables, and valuables. They drove north and camped on my friend’s living room floor through the night. Early on Sunday, while the winds were still dying down, they came back long enough to be unsure of where their house had been.
Only had some ceiling drywall get knocked down in the garage, from wind entering soffit vents. Standing water in the roads and branches/limbs down everywhere, but we didn’t lose power. We’re 10 minutes from Orlando International Airport, and they shut down all of Wednesday and Thursday.
Well roofing guy came out today and looking at the stain on the bathroom ceiling, looked at the roof and went up in the attic and said the water damage was caused by condensation from the AC and not from any roof leak.
Had our periodic AC maintenance a week ago and the company sent out some novice who was so incompetent that he did something to blow a fuse on the unit and hung around for 2 hours while someone more experienced figured out what was going on. Came in and showed me the part that had to be replaced and said he wasn’t going to charge me for it. Called later and talked to the supervisor who told me he probably touched two wires together and blew a fuse but couldn’t figure out what he had done without someone who had more experience’s help. I also questioned the additional things I was charged for and whether he had the expertise to diagnose that something needed to be replaced. He looked at the invoice totaling $ 200 and assured me that
they were appropriate charges and said that one of the things he did was to make sure the condensation line didn’t back up and if it did within the next six months they would come out and fix it with no charge.
Well usually when the line gets blocked, the unit shuts down completely and can’t help thinking what this bozo did affected the system and therefore the water did damage in the attic instead of shutting down.
Its Florida where incompetence rains supreme so hope if they caused it they will own up to it and fix the damage done to the ceiling.
@Felton10 Several years ago, I had some AC work done by an outfit with multiple recommendations, but their sales guy made me a trifle apprehensive. Still, they seemed to have a good rep, so I gave them the OK. They completely bodged the drain, failing to glue the joints and leaving it connected in such a way that every elbow had tension on it. Needless to say, one of the joints popped open and dumped the condensate on the hall ceiling. We called, they came out, they “fixed” it, and less than 12 hours later, it popped again. I was on the road for that episode, and when I got back, I took pictures of the popped-open drain and the ongoing flood, and then fixed it properly myself. (I had the needed materials on hand, and my confidence in the “professionals” at that point was zero.) I then sent them the photos of the second failure, noted that I had performed a much more robust repair myself, and asked if they wanted to adjust that invoice for the “repair”. They cancelled it and suggested I call someone else in the future. That was exactly what I planned to do.
@werehatrack Not totally sure if the condensation drain runs through the attic or in the floor under the concrete, but it was so poorly designed when the house was built that to keep it from getting clogged, a separate pump had to be installed to keep the condensation water flowing. But regardless have no doubt that the jerk the company sent out for my maintenance service screwed it up and I plan to press the issue with them.
This is the 3rd AC company I’ve had since I’ve been in this house, the company that installed the system was the worse I’ve ever had and the second one who I used at my previous house who I thought was good forgot to plug in two UV lights when they did their service.
Still no power but managed to find gas for the generator so fridge and fans are still going. Also had stashed a MaxxChill A/C mist-type gadget that I was suspicious of…but it sure seems to make a difference on Milton+Day 4. I have seen line crews in the area so…AND more street lights are working!
@yakkoTDI You were in my neighborhood!! How often do you pass through? Were you stocking up for your trunk (parts of Nebraska Avenue are infamous for those streetwalkers )
@llangley I was stopping by a friend’s house in Seminole Heights on my way to Miguel’s Mexican. Usually I am stopping by Wicked Oak BBQ when in that area.
@llangley That’s why I have three chainsaws. Our block’s street was clear by the afternoon after Beryl went through. Others were still blocked three days later because the folks down there would never stoop to manual labor nor try to clear something that wasn’t actually on their own property. I thought about taking the saws down there and cutting it all up, but I suspected that I’d be arrested if I tried.
@werehatrack good point. There’s not been a lot of chainsaw action…yet. I think everyone may be saving their gas supplies for the generator; supplies were extremely low due to flooding at the port where the gas terminals are. It’s finally starting to get better but lines are still wrapped around the block. Some stations even have police to keep everything going smoothly since people can be dicks. There’s just so much. 100-year-old grandfather oaks split in 2 and straddling a couple of houses. Huge debris piles in front of every house; not household stuff, all yard waste.
Woo hoo!! Power came on yesterday (Mon) at 5:30pm . So far it’s stayed on but others down the street still have generators running . Crews are still working in the neighborhood and SHOUT-OUT to Indiana linesman and California tree squad. Thanks for your hard work and sacrifice!
Wow, this looks a little unsafe
Anyone experiencing messed up house wiring or something?
I don’t know if flooding would cause this or damage wiring or damaged set up to the electrical poles and transformers or what but it looks scary as hell to me
@f00l Unless someone has done a massive Stupid Thing, that’s fake. You get a lot of “let’s mess with the rubes” crap like that whenever the assholes of the world detect that there are a lot of stressed-out people who can be fucked with and made more miserable. I would unhesitatingly drop such an idiot into the hole where a new pole needs to be dropped, and tamp them in place with it.
Just walked outside in the middle of the eyewall-no wind at all dead calm. Probably never get that chance again.
@Felton10 I had the chance during Cleo. Not since.
@Felton10 I did it during Charlie. It was surreal.
@Felton10 @milstarr Yep - Charlie for me too. I had just moved to FL a few weeks before Charlie (and 2 others) hit us…
@Felton10 Still waiting for my chance to do that. Mom swears it’s happened to us before, but I don’t recall it.
@Felton10 @milstarr @shahnm Minor nitpick: I believe that storm’s name was spelled Charley.
No power outages yet. Might get to experience the calm in the eye of the hurricane first hand. Weather channel says wind will go from 62 mph at 9 to 4 mph at 10 and then back to 46 mph at 11. Meanwhile as prepared as I will ever be.
@Felton10 looks far too non-chaotic
@Felton10
Awesome product placement.
VAN GOGH! MANGO! TANGO! AWESOME!
@pmarin that is because myself, my wife and Princess are not in the picture.
@Felton10 @pmarin
Are you still at home?
How many miles inland?
If you’re in the Bradenton/Sarasota area you can’t have much elevation but at least you don’t have to deal with the wind pushing all of Tampa Bay on top of you.
@f00l @pmarin Still at home-road it out. Live in Lakewood Ranch which is in Bradenton so about 15 miles inland. Took a quick look out side but have to examine roof closer. Saw part of screen on neighbor’s lanai was in heap in his yard.
I’m in Florida and boarded up the windows. Getting some rain but that’s all so far. Power is still on.
@cengland0 as I’m sure you know, charge anything chargeable while you have power. If you have extra empty water jugs fill those up. I remember an old trick (I never had to do) even from California was fill up your bathtub with fresh cold water.
I mention this because my Asheville friends are dealing with no water still and thinking what they will prepare for next time. They have resorted to fetching buckets of creek (“crick”) water for flushing toilets and rinsing dishes.
@pmarin good advice.
@cengland0 @pmarin I learned this the hard way. We live out in the country and have a private well. The second year after we moved in, a big snow storm (on Christmas Eve) took out the power - no power meant no water from the well - for three days, with 2 adults and 3 small children. Soon after, I got a generator that could power the well (and other things) and had a transfer switch added into the electrical panel.
@cengland0 @pmarin For the next time- and we all know that there will likely be a next time, maybe think about getting one of these: https://waterbob.com/
It keeps the bathtub water useful for other things like drinking and cooking with…
There aren’t any on this Amazon page, but many knock-offs are listed.
“COLLECT WATER IN YOUR BATHTUB: The waterBOB is a water containment system that holds up to 100 gallons of fresh drinking water in any standard bathtub to prepare for an emergency and survive. Don’t wait in line to buy expensive bottled water or worry about keeping large barrels or tanks. Collect clean fresh, uncontaminated water in one of the large containers that you probably already have available — your bathtub!”
Their website says that it can be used without being in the bathtub.
We have had one for a few years, and luckily, have never even come close to needing to use it.
God bless everyone in the “Danger Zone”
/giphy Danger Zone…
@cengland0 @pmarin We love Archer!
@cengland0 @pmarin …and incidentally- Bob’s Burgers
In North Central Florida, North of the most strongly affected area. Hosting two cousins, my brother, and his wife, all who evacuated coastal areas. Just a bit of wind and a lot of rain (high elevation locally, no flood risk). A few flickers of the electric grid, but nothing long enough to switch off the TV.
@PocketBrain
My brother’s house was swamped by about 6" - 8" of storm surge with Helene, with an estimated 6’ surge. Milton was projected to push as much as 10’ - 15’ surge, which would be up to the rafters in his house.
They had spent about ten days triaging and repairing, then this. They’re exhausted.
@PocketBrain
I managed to trip and fall while pushing our generator thru the house, and cracked a rib. At least now I have an excuse.
@PocketBrain Some friends of mine had both their cars flooded (Tampa with Helene). I don’t even want to think about what this storm surge will do to their house. Fortunately the my sister, cousins and one of their kids all live much further inland so just rain flooding.
@PocketBrain
Ow ow ow ow ow
@f00l @PocketBrain
They say using a generator in the house is dangerous and you should never do it, but this is a new perspective.
Hope you are doing OK.
Vero Beach here. Haven’t looked outside yet, but we closed the storm shutters and I slept through the night. Already past us and heading into the Atlantic. It was windy and rainy to beat the band Wednesday afternoon but we are good so far!
@jpettorino I have a cousin on Vero Beach on the intracoastal waterway side. She texted me this evening that they survived OK. Hope you did too.
@jpettorino I lived there a few decades ago. The weather was great the two years I was there.
@yakkoTDI Nice! We love it…tropical weather shenanigans aside.
@Kidsandliz we are all good. Just cleaning up debris. Others have it worse and we are helping neighbors as we can.
Tampa here, so far lots of wind but nothing serious (that I can tell). I am curious about a few THUDS that I heard but there’s time for that tomorrow. But we’re getting a shitload of rain, it’s been a driving rain for 4 hours or so and is just not stopping. I live on high ground (well, yes, I guess that kind too) so any flooding would run downhill. I might be a little worried that ground saturation will take some trees down but bourbon will solve that…I hope
@llangley Good luck! Hopefully the surge won’t be any higher than last time so those folks who go that with surge last time don’t suffer even more this time around.
@Kidsandliz @llangley I know what those thuds were. My trunk popped open and there were a few escapees.
Milton just made landfall. Siesta Key.
Orlando reporting in fairly unscathed. Thank goodness this lifelong Floridian made it through another one!
We are on the east coast so no direct hit but my area had MANY tornados from an outer band this evening before landfall. Storm expected to keep us alert until noon Thursday, The wind is picking up. I’d live to go out but we are all locked down indoors. Pray for FL!
So far so good here. Just starting to get some stronger wind to blow the rain around.
@yakkoTDI Lost power about an hour after this. I missed out on the Mehrathon items I wanted to buy.
@yakkoTDI contact support. Maybe under the circumstances they will let you buy.
@Kidsandliz Excellent idea. I will report back to say if they are Meh or meh.
Looks like we made it . Lost power last night about 1030 when the transformer outside the house blew; it sparked like crazy but fortunately the rain kept anything from catching fire. Heard quite a few THUDS overnight but doesn’t seem to be anything major this morning. Lots of small branches on the ground. Will know more later but thankful it spared us.
I’m worried about those south of me…@Felton10 and @yakkotdi were more in the eye than me
@llangley We got the upper edge here. Sadly the power got scared and left long before it got bad. Took a lot a treats to get it to come back early this morning.
@yakkoTDI I must not have the right treats, only the German Shepherd kind . Still no power since 1030pm Wednesday. But at least we have water this time so that’s good. Looking for gas for the generator isn’t fun; lines are hours-long and some people are dicks so police resources are being used to keep everything saner.
@llangley Thankfully we kept water as well. A cold shower and cooler temps right before laying down for the night was good. I hope you get your power back soon.
I got a few friends still without power. One is just a few minutes away but at least he has a generator.
Well maybe spoke too soon about being home free. Saw some water stains on the ceiling in the master bath and took a look at the roof and didn’t see any tiles missing although saw a gap in the gunk around a vent pipe sticking up from the roof where water could have entered the attic. So called a roofing co to come out and inspect the entire roof and repair whatever is necessary.
@Felton10 Well, good you spotted it early. Depending on age and condition of your roof, you will face the choice of “fix that” vs re-do the whole thing. It might be worth considering the latter, but when you need it, you need it. Your house will be much happier after that, and you will be too, or if you sell it, it adds to value. In last few years (different places) I had a $6K roof job and a $40K roof job. Yes, there will be some “ouch.”
Make sure you get a good company ideally with recommendations from people that have used them.
@Felton10 @pmarin And not the carpetbaggers who did my roof in 2009. I knew more about roofing than they did.
@pmarin @werehatrack Called the roofing company I used before, had good references and have been around for a long time (although in Florida that doesn’t mean much).
Some photos:
@PooltoyWolf
Nothing like having a bit of ocean in your yard.
@f00l And I’m not even on the beach!
@f00l @PooltoyWolf That looks like a gopher tortoise, which is a land critter. It’s probably out there because its usual hidey hole is full of water and possibly collapsed.
@PooltoyWolf Is that an '80 Rabbit Convertible?
@PooltoyWolf Also, very apt street name there.
@f00l @werehatrack Definitely not a gopher tortoise lmao, I’ve seen plenty of both species and this is definitely a snapper. He’d just crawled up out of the pond below him off-camera. (Gopher tortoises are not aquatic, and will drown in water!)
@werehatrack Yep! One of the neighbor’s
@PooltoyWolf
So you have an inland house with ocean in your front and backyard
In Florida maybe that’s not even unusual anymore
Do you know how things fared on the keys near Bradenton and Sarasota and similar?
Are the big Bridges across Tampa Bay still okay?
@f00l I honestly couldn’t tell you for sure, I’m not near or in those areas often. I just know the Tampa area took a direct hit.
@f00l @PooltoyWolf I think the 3 big bridges were pretty much reopened after the storm passed through and winds died down. We didn’t get the storm surge that we did from Helene this time; it landfalled (landfell?) north of us so counter-clockwise sucking in of the water flowed over the bridges. This time we got the nasty winds and driving rain as it landfalled to the south and actually sucked water out.
@f00l @PooltoyWolf Drone footage of Anna Maria looked bad but not Cat5 bad. Very few completely undamaged, some shredded, mostly “goddammit, not again”. Siesta Key - bad.
@PooltoyWolf @werehatrack
Damn I used to love the beaches at the south end of siesta key
I was there back when there was still a midnight pass before they filled it in
my dad wants swim across midnight pass to Casey key and he was exhausted at the end of it, and then he realized he had to swim back
he made it though and then all his Florida acquaintances who’ve been there a while told him that that was more or less completely insane
Fortunately he was very fit, but the currents were quite notable and they weren’t even that strong at that time of day and that’s what really wore him out
And then the locals pointed out to him. That midnight pass was a huge sharp transit point for sharks going from the ocean to the bays.
so he wasn’t tempted to do that a second time
I guess I’ll have to look up some aerial shots of siesta key and see how bad it is
I’m glad the FL improved the mandatory construction standards
Hurricane Camille was in 1969.
This is what it looked like afterwards.
I know that one entire apt building washed out to the Gulf. There were people inside who had chosen not to leave and instead would “party thru the storm” with candles.
I think that most or all of the people in the apartment building went out to sea with the building.
I was driving through Mississippi two years after the storm on the coastal road and it was just block after block (including blocks well inland from the beach) that were just vacant and empty. everything gone including the trees and maybe a little concrete walk or something like that left. This was in Pass Christian.
@f00l In the ‘80s, over the objections of the insurance companies, the S Fla code was relaxed to allow frame construction provided that certain special things were done. One of the subdivisions built to the relaxed code was located just north of the Metro Zoo in Perrine, which was a bit north and west of my parents’ home. After Andrew went through, it was bare slabs. The debris was blown farther than they could trace and identify. A friend’s sister lived in one of those, and about two hours before the eye went past (well before max winds), they got frightened enough to scamper to the car and leave with a few hastily collected documents, irreplaceables, and valuables. They drove north and camped on my friend’s living room floor through the night. Early on Sunday, while the winds were still dying down, they came back long enough to be unsure of where their house had been.
@f00l @werehatrack … Never underestimate the power of natural climate events like hurricanes or tornadoes, or Washington D.C. Lobbyists
@werehatrack
Wasn’t the devastation after hurricane Andrew the thing that caused the Powlus Tic emollience to finally enact better building codes?
@f00l It was more of a reversion to codes that were actally effective for the area
@werehatrack
I’m so glad Apple always gets my speech to text exactly and completely correct (as it did above)!
Just gives me chills and thrills to think on it.
; )
/giphy chills and thrills
@f00l @werehatrack Okay, I give up - what’s was “the Powlus Tic emollience” supposed to be?
FIFY
natural climate
eventsdisasters like hurricanes or tornadoes, or Washington D.C. Lobbyists@Kyeh @werehatrack
Regarding apples help with what I meant to say
I have no idea what that could have been Apple is just so much more creative than I am
Only had some ceiling drywall get knocked down in the garage, from wind entering soffit vents. Standing water in the roads and branches/limbs down everywhere, but we didn’t lose power. We’re 10 minutes from Orlando International Airport, and they shut down all of Wednesday and Thursday.
Well roofing guy came out today and looking at the stain on the bathroom ceiling, looked at the roof and went up in the attic and said the water damage was caused by condensation from the AC and not from any roof leak.
Had our periodic AC maintenance a week ago and the company sent out some novice who was so incompetent that he did something to blow a fuse on the unit and hung around for 2 hours while someone more experienced figured out what was going on. Came in and showed me the part that had to be replaced and said he wasn’t going to charge me for it. Called later and talked to the supervisor who told me he probably touched two wires together and blew a fuse but couldn’t figure out what he had done without someone who had more experience’s help. I also questioned the additional things I was charged for and whether he had the expertise to diagnose that something needed to be replaced. He looked at the invoice totaling $ 200 and assured me that
they were appropriate charges and said that one of the things he did was to make sure the condensation line didn’t back up and if it did within the next six months they would come out and fix it with no charge.
Well usually when the line gets blocked, the unit shuts down completely and can’t help thinking what this bozo did affected the system and therefore the water did damage in the attic instead of shutting down.
Its Florida where incompetence rains supreme so hope if they caused it they will own up to it and fix the damage done to the ceiling.
@Felton10 Ugh. Better than roof damage, but a lot more infuriating, I’m sure!
@Felton10 Several years ago, I had some AC work done by an outfit with multiple recommendations, but their sales guy made me a trifle apprehensive. Still, they seemed to have a good rep, so I gave them the OK. They completely bodged the drain, failing to glue the joints and leaving it connected in such a way that every elbow had tension on it. Needless to say, one of the joints popped open and dumped the condensate on the hall ceiling. We called, they came out, they “fixed” it, and less than 12 hours later, it popped again. I was on the road for that episode, and when I got back, I took pictures of the popped-open drain and the ongoing flood, and then fixed it properly myself. (I had the needed materials on hand, and my confidence in the “professionals” at that point was zero.) I then sent them the photos of the second failure, noted that I had performed a much more robust repair myself, and asked if they wanted to adjust that invoice for the “repair”. They cancelled it and suggested I call someone else in the future. That was exactly what I planned to do.
@werehatrack Not totally sure if the condensation drain runs through the attic or in the floor under the concrete, but it was so poorly designed when the house was built that to keep it from getting clogged, a separate pump had to be installed to keep the condensation water flowing. But regardless have no doubt that the jerk the company sent out for my maintenance service screwed it up and I plan to press the issue with them.
This is the 3rd AC company I’ve had since I’ve been in this house, the company that installed the system was the worse I’ve ever had and the second one who I used at my previous house who I thought was good forgot to plug in two UV lights when they did their service.
Still no power but managed to find gas for the generator so fridge and fans are still going. Also had stashed a MaxxChill A/C mist-type gadget that I was suspicious of…but it sure seems to make a difference on Milton+Day 4. I have seen line crews in the area so…AND more street lights are working!
@llangley I was just through that intersection a little over a week ago.
@yakkoTDI You were in my neighborhood!! How often do you pass through? Were you stocking up for your trunk (parts of Nebraska Avenue are infamous for those streetwalkers )
@llangley I was stopping by a friend’s house in Seminole Heights on my way to Miguel’s Mexican. Usually I am stopping by Wicked Oak BBQ when in that area.
@yakkoTDI
Still no power. These trees are on the street behind my house so it may be awhile…
@llangley That’s why I have three chainsaws. Our block’s street was clear by the afternoon after Beryl went through. Others were still blocked three days later because the folks down there would never stoop to manual labor nor try to clear something that wasn’t actually on their own property. I thought about taking the saws down there and cutting it all up, but I suspected that I’d be arrested if I tried.
@werehatrack good point. There’s not been a lot of chainsaw action…yet. I think everyone may be saving their gas supplies for the generator; supplies were extremely low due to flooding at the port where the gas terminals are. It’s finally starting to get better but lines are still wrapped around the block. Some stations even have police to keep everything going smoothly since people can be dicks. There’s just so much. 100-year-old grandfather oaks split in 2 and straddling a couple of houses. Huge debris piles in front of every house; not household stuff, all yard waste.
Woo hoo!! Power came on yesterday (Mon) at 5:30pm . So far it’s stayed on but others down the street still have generators running . Crews are still working in the neighborhood and SHOUT-OUT to Indiana linesman and California tree squad. Thanks for your hard work and sacrifice!
Wow, this looks a little unsafe
Anyone experiencing messed up house wiring or something?
I don’t know if flooding would cause this or damage wiring or damaged set up to the electrical poles and transformers or what but it looks scary as hell to me
@f00l Since I know how power comes into the service panel I am calling BS on this one. Someone has tampered with the image or the wiring.
About 6:35 is where he shows the inside of the service panel and how the power is split.
@f00l Unless someone has done a massive Stupid Thing, that’s fake. You get a lot of “let’s mess with the rubes” crap like that whenever the assholes of the world detect that there are a lot of stressed-out people who can be fucked with and made more miserable. I would unhesitatingly drop such an idiot into the hole where a new pole needs to be dropped, and tamp them in place with it.
@werehatrack
Ok thx.
@yakkoTDI
Thx