Just remember that the lender-placed insurance won't be as comprehensives as the policy you have now. You might want to look into getting a supplemental policy for your personal property or liability if it isn't covered under the lender policy. Lender-placed insurance typically just covers the dwelling. But having the lender get the insurance is definitely a novel way to cover your property if your existing policy is going to cancel you. It's just usually much more expensive.
But sounds like you have a good plan going forward.
Thanks. I have a hard time understanding these things for some reason, but the way you describe it makes sense.
Yes, I'm trying to do everything that is needed to be able to easily just shop around for the most affordable policy, and maybe even bundle my vehicle in with it when I get there to save a little more if possible.
I certainly do not like living like this, but for the longest time I thought and felt that the needed repairs were impossible to do myself, and that only a miracle or the Rural Development refi would help me.
I think the real miracle is that I am not only forced by circumstance to do it myself, but that I am developing a lot of the kind of self confidence I lost when I had to stop working real jobs. I hate not having a job and having to rely on disability for my service connected crap. There's definitely no "Opportunity to move up in the ranks", and I don't get paid overtime for not being able to get any sleep. In civilian jobs my favorite part of the work week was overtime hours, and in the Army it was the hazard pay for deployments.
More than that, I was always either doing something important or something that I wanted to do.
I've begun to want to do all these home improvements, and that really says something for my general state of health regardless of any ailments I may suffer from. I'm definitely in a good way from the terrible position I have gotten myself into.
A big thanks to everyone here who has offered advice and help to steer my right while I deal with this real lifey crap, you folks are the best.
Anyhow, today I got in the basement, where I noticed a new blue wire hanging from the ceiling while I was taking a pic' of this pipe that for some reason pours water on the floor continuously:
Rather than go turn the power off, (like I actually thought about doing for about one fifth of a second), I used a broom handle to poke at it, which knocked it into the puddle causing a bright flash and pop, and just as fast me on the second stair out of fright! What did I think was going to happen, of course the mysterious wire was hot. I got out of there and shut the main power to everything off so I could find out what the heck this wire went to. Another wire is what it went to. One from an old lamp or similar 1970's vintage appliance. This wire, with the prongs on it was in turn plugged into a "Hidden" outlet box in a fiberglass panel thingy in the ceiling in a weird place. Anyhow, the weird out of nowhere new cord was removed and discarded. I don't think anyone did it on purpose, but if it has been there the past 8 years, I can think of numerous times when I've had other plumbing disasters that I should have at least noticed it, if not been shocked by it.???? Very weird, but I had things to do, so power back on after making sure the rest of the electrical circuits were known to me, I found this juncture, which does not look too codey, even to MY un-trained eye.:
I think boxes of this nature are not supposed to expose un-insulated wires and whatnot, but I'm just making a guess.
It was not laying in the water waiting for my dumb ass to poke it with a broomstick, so I moved on to my tasks at hand.
1. Removal of the majority of construction debris, to allow for safe movement and inspection/work on all areas.
Most of the insulation and other miscellaneous debris had taken on water or dampness. While this meant I could live without the tyvek suit, my respirator I use for organic vapors, goggles, gloves, and rubber boots were all donned for safety.
This work was conducted first, as it was cooler in the beginning of the day, so I would not fog the goggles, which has really become a criteria for work for me lately. The things I'm doing pretty much all require eye protection at the very least! I began to look for nicer alternatives on Amazon, and will be adding a set of Dewalt brand goggles, that are anti-fog, to my four current sets. I have the plain jane 3M face shield, and sometimes wear that in conjunction with the goggles and respirator, so that when the goggles start to fog up, I can pull them down around my neck or step into clean and still air to take them off and just work with face shield and respirator. This is usually not a very wise option, as the little bits of crap flying around in the air can still reach your eyes. I had to remove more pink hell today too, but am proud to say that I still suffer no irritation from it thanks to misting it or holding the collection bag right near the point I'm working with it to make all the little pieces that slough off fall into the bag.
I used 3, 55 gallon drum liners in the tiny basement hell, but the second two were of wet or damp materials, meaning if I had filled them to full they would not be able to be lifted topside. All fiberglass insulation will eventually be eradicated from my house in due time. It is a great insulation if installed properly and by competent folks, but in my case it was simply stuffed everywhere as tightly as humanly possible, so all the air was gone and it just became a gigantic wick for water to travel up to the roof. When I'm done, I want this house to physically repel moisture.
Whilst serving time in the basement, I noticed an old repair I'de made before I knew the ways of composites, and there was a drip, so that had to get knocked out quick with BSI 15 minute epoxy with some milled glass and kevlar pulp in it, a 20 ft' winding of a single strand of FG wall repair fabric tape, then a wrap of 9 ounce thayercraft FG cloth followed by one band of 3M 6oz. CF pressed on while the epoxy was still tacky, then pressed and pressed some more by hand until it set up. After that I used a tube of Permatex brand CA to rub into it to make it harder that a rock. I did the final part outside ofcourse, as those fumes must have been very noxious indeed!
Right before I started doing that step, an old friend stopped by with an old rifle of mine and a new red dot sight for it. The rifle was dirty too, so happy day!
Normally, and especially for this friend, I would never charge to clean and boresight a rifle, as I like just having some company every now and again, but he saw my haggard appearance and was impressed at the things I was doing, which he himself was about to take on at his own home, and $20 was made. I went into my old school "Gun Salesman" self so he could enjoy the little tips and tricks I'd learned or developed over the past 22 years, and even showed him how to boresight for himself. I have an eye for it, but that eye was gained through experience and learning the technique from those who already had the eye. He's going shooting tomorrow with family and friends, and they've got a real deal planned out with all sorts of disciplines, so he'll do fine, and be able to offer some tips and tricks to his family and spread the safety gospel. It's cool that his whole family loves to shoot. I have little family, a Dog, a Son, 5 Cats and a Mom.
Anyhow, we said our farewell, both satisfied with out interaction, and I got back at it, finishing the composite repair to the piece that kept breaking in the past. It will never break again, and will likely outlast the house itself.
The insulation on the hot water heater had taken on rot and sagged, so I replaced that with new stuff that my Mom had squirreled away for me in her basement after her recent home renovations, done by professionals, sort of.
Whenever they left sizeable pieces of anything around, my Mom would ask me if I needed it, and whether I did or not, I may someday, so I learned to always say, "Yes, that is awesome! Please store it in a cool dry place!"
I had to move quick, as it was now getting hotter. The insulation was placed using masking tape for speed and ease of fitting, then I went back with the aluminum HVAC tape to secure things, but not tightly.
Slices of blue foam were used to keep the FG from touching wet things and becoming a wick again. This is nicer FG anbyhow, foil garbed for the most part, and yellow instead of pink. I'll clean up my slop job next time I go down there, but had too many other pending appointments with the house to attend too to make it look pretty.
The pallet needs to be replace with a plastic or masonry pedestal with a liner, but I stabilized the situation with some blue foam and some General Electric brand 100% silicone, which won't shrink crak or basically do anything other than what it is intended to do, and it does that well.
Then the steps had a go at me, but I always expected them to pull this crap, so when they did, it was their loss, not mine.
I'm letting them wallow in their failure and self-pity at their vain attempt to discredit my efforts!
My reflexes rival my Cat's and even the arachnids that I sometimes fetch sport upon. Too bad it usually is not a good Idea to flinch or jerk to and fro in a violent fashion. I'de be all sorts of motion and speed if I could, as I once was.
I will be the only one doing the "Smiting" around here thank you very much!
Like the errant electrical anomaly, they were an expected hazard, so when I did notice them, I could atleast look like the fool in the safety PSAs rather than actually get hurt for real. I'm already hurt for real, so a slip from a ladder or an occasional shock from electricity is not really worth trying to smite me with.
I had even positioned my landing pad and brought the camera come to think of it, as evidenced in the photo...
That's how you stay "One Step Ahead", by staying all of them ahead. Makes sense now.
The stairs will undoubtedly break next at the highest step, out of spite and an expectation of complacency or triumph from me, neither of which will be yielded.
I will burn the remaining door and staircase tomorrow as matter of course for the good of all.
What terrible pieces of crap they are and represent. If I want to access my basement, I don't ned to be Sir Edmund Hillary for goodness sakes.
(just in case you missed the historical reference,:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Hillary)
My reinforcement of the joists, meant to only be that, is holding position, but it's inadequacy is tantamount on my mind tonight, since I know I need to create an adjustable platform that mates to the rock face and is capable of maintaining a stationary axis point, while allowing three jacks to be placed into any given geometry required.
I'm basically going to require a heavy duty tool stand that can be fastened to four walls of questionable structural integrity, a back up bracing system for that tool-stand, and then the guts to eploy such a jig to manuever the mass around and above me.
I've jacked an addition to a house once with a friend, and we used 12 ton bottle jacks, but like most odd jobs, I was just there to do as told, and really did not care about the tech involved just the money.
Thankfully, I do remember that we first had to make sure that things like pide and wiring were not going to get bound up or wrenched free, so I get the safety and inspection part, but what I forget is how we mounted, or if we even mounted securely the jacks to the joists. I'll have to do some learning up on the whole entire thing, but my head is totally in the game and in it to win it now.
I am liking the Composite repairs for ease of use, compared to doing it the "Code Way"
That said, they are no good for the actual engineering unless you can afford lots and lots of composites.
I saved time, money and a trip with my FG/KP/CF wrap on that pipe. It will think 5 times before it ever changes it's tolerances again.