Internet is down where we are living and maybe I'll take a crack at troubleshooting that tonight when I get home. Can't complain - do what we can to help out. Anyway, a little lax with the updates.
Working full days and then trying to squeeze in some things after like collecting/replacing/repairing gear for upcoming backpacking trip or working on things at the house.
Saturday had my mini-crew (Jake with a truck and bobcat, Doods, Eric, and I) and we moved out the rest of the silt, cored for a turf grade, and moved back in approx 45-50 yards of mulch to cleanup the beds, sideyards, veggie paths etc. That was a very productive day capped off by another five hours of removing the tile and plywood underlay from the main floor laundry/bathroom/entrance. This was at the advice of our contractor who wants to be sure we are mould free when all is said and done. Good call - but what a nasty job. Plywood was screwed down 6" O/C so it was prybars, and hammer time (even got my big digging bar in there for a while) Got back to the acreage where we are living after midnight and almost couldn't lift my arm enough to throw the truck in park. Job done though, did not want to do that Sunday. Sunday was for prepping for backpacking - parceling out food and getting the gear going. Christmas on the tailgate of my truck with new purchases replacing some lost or damaged items. "Like kind and quality" - but you can't buy new gear with duct tape already attached!
This week, more of the same. Surveying around the rain and getting as much done as possible in the office.
Around High River??? Hard to say, mostly still focused on my own thing. Incredible how quiet my area is at night though, no dogs barking or anything. Most homes dark with nobody living there yet. Traffic is quiet, shops that are open don't seem too busy. Except Tim Hortons (free coffee on Saturday thanks to a generous donor - $2700 total donation). The High River that emerges from this will be different than it was - I expect there will be some positives from some of this. Various levels of government still jockeying for position. Unlike 2005 though I think there is the appetite for some substantial changes and some real flood mitigation measures... just gotta get some of those asshats off their podiums and onto a dozer.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Still flat out
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Onwards and upwards
Shifting away from daily reports - busy and things don't seem as urgent.
Friday after work went to Olds to round up some of my backpacking stuff that inlaws were working on. They did an amazing job on the packs and sleeping bags, they are washing and fixing golf clubs and even washing Legos. And my dog has trashed their flower bed - owe them big time.
Saturday, around the yard. Furnace gone finally, got the lane cleared out and washed and tidied up so I can bring a machine in again to grade. Was washing the canoe on the driveway and one of my older neighbors stops his car "Too late. Water's gone." totally deadpan. Funny guy, lives just a half a block away and we'd never spoken before the flood. Still driving around dragging his air dam under the car. Refused my offer to fix it for him. Dropped a patio block on my toe late in the day and turned it a deep shade of purple. Some choice words were spoken.
Sunday, went hiking with Eric and some of his Edmonton room-mates to Cirque peak off the Icefields parkway. Beautiful scenery and good to get chance to hike again - push some clean air thru my lungs. Foot hurt but was easy enough to ignore once I got going. Long day what with the drive, but was totally worth it.
Monday - work'n. Surveying around the rain, in the rain etc. Highlite of the day was some little girls with an ice-tea stand near one of the sites. Happy to make some money 50cents at a time off the tradesmen. High River to move furniture for the carpet cleaning and check on some things. Another long day and try and sleep thru thunderstorms.
Tuesday. Office (still here) and hope to sift thru some gear tonight and maybe setup the tent and see how it turned out. Looks and smells good, want to make sure it's still watertight before taking it out in the field. Started a list of gear I need to replace for the trip also. Still not sure where everything is but some things I know are history. Not enough hours in a day.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Branching out
Glad to have the opportunity to do something to help out Rob & Bernie last night, also glad their house doesn't appear to be as hard hit as first suspected. Back in the rubber boots & mask in the bowels of the earth... hopefully for the last time.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Remediation mode
Kinda shifting from rehab to remediation mode.
Had a wash on the basement finally yesterday! Those boys look a little tired (understandably). Insurance guy to measure and estimate the rebuild in the basement. Mechanicals discussion and quote. Had a good visit with my folks who came down to bring us some food and offer more support. Gradual progression.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Day 13 - Flood Rehab
Thirteen hour shift - no site visit. Meeting regarding mechanicals (hopefully) tomorrow and maybe by some miracle, get the remediation company in to do a wash. It's like dealing with landscapers there - no schedule, nobody knows what's going on ... It'll get done eventually when the real workers actually show up. I'm better at waiting when I at least have a bit of a timeline.
Click to read full post......Sunday, July 14, 2013
Day 12 - flood rehab
Rolled up this morning and the big old dirty fridges were gone!!! And there was much rejoicing!!! That was after visiting the Scout Hall and Silverland where there is still much to do.
Spent the day alone digging out corners and edging so I'm ready for the hoe. It'll look a lot better once I have all the silt gone. Every day, hour by hour, things become a little more 'normal'. Also got the phone working again thanks to the boys from Shaw. Both of them out from Vancouver Island and they've worked seven days a week since June 26, part of it helping people clear out basements and such starting in Calgary, then High River. Obviously doing what they are trained to do as well. No charge for new equipment and required service. I guess all that money I've been spending on a cable bill all these years finally went towards something worthwhile.
Back to work tomorrow. Heal up my hands and rest my back - get back in the groove. For now, a cool drink and soft chair.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Day 11 - Flood Rehab
Slept hard, right thru a thunderstorm and two carloads of kids coming home from Stampede partying. Hit the office for a bit to print off damage photos and clear my inbox which was right out of control. Scavenged some assorted tools and lumber and went to the house and built a new back gate. Good project to buoy me up amide all the ongoing remediation and vac truck noise. Couldn't quite stomach any digging today. Tomorrow country.
Had a bbq and visit at a friends house at the end of the day. Good visit with Eric and his buddies mostly, who are turning into a really great group of young men. For some this whole experience has been a chance to step up - Eric would definitely fit that category. He has been a huge help.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Day 10 - Flood Rehab
Bone-tired. Full office day and phone tag with trades and rehab people. Eat and crash is the plan... no site visit today, more digging and stuff tomorrow - tick list is on the dash.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Day 9 - flood rehab
Spent the day 'landscaping' with Eric, cleaning the silt out of the corners where the hoe won't be able to reach. Hopefully Shawn will be back with his hoe on Saturday, but as he said "No promises" and he has his place to do too. Had four lovely ladies cleaning the house today plus they fed us and kept us going. The dust today was horrendous, there is still shit everywhere and street sweepers dodge thru the obstacles (dumpsters, fridges, cars, equipment, piles of dirt) like bumper cars stirring up a cloud of dust but putting down no water. Morons. Ad to that wind and gravel trucks - it was like standing on a gravel road at harvest time. I'm not going to do any outdoor washing until they get the streets sorted out. Judging by the state of the park across the street, the dust will be around for quite a while.
But progress was made and I owe Eric even more than I already did. Garage door repaired, plumber over to sort of begin a quote on new mechanicals, slimey trades soliciting for work followed by some government dude warning of how to make sure trades are legit. Interesting day. Full office day tomorrow and then use the weekend to hopefully get all the major stuff ticked off.
Day 8 - flood rehab
Worked until five so not as productive as some days. Eric joined me and he dug out the heaved deck piles and the deck settled sort of to where it should be but the planter attached is holding up one end. Might get Shawn with his hoe to push down on it when he's there next. Ghetto landscaping. Spent the balance of the evening mucking silt out of beds and washing down the completed section. Heavy and tedious work at the same time. Taking tomorrow to hopefully complete mucking the corners with Eric and then the hoe can make another pass. After that, fixing / washing / reassembly but mostly get back to work at least until Rob and Bernie get to go in and I can go help them.
Crews are making the rounds trying to clean up the messes we've left on the streets. Dusty noisy work but it was actually quite pleasant once they cleared off. Bats are enjoying the plethora of mosquitoes.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Day 7 flood rehab
First day back to work then back to 105 to tick off a few items including getting Rob to help me wash out a bit more mud and guck exposed when I skidded the stair carpet and drywall yesterday. Now things can dry out more and hopefully our remediation company can come and do the biowash soon. Still trying to connect with some trades and line up the next steps. Next major step is to work on the silt removal. It dried nicely today so hopefully by tomorrow afternoon we can get back at a bit of that and pull some grade on the backyard so maybe some grass can grow back (its trying in places). Hopefully in there somewhere I can get over to my neighbor Jim's place where his back garden is only accessible by wheelbarrow and get his silt out. He has no business being on a wheelbarrow. Many of the volunteers seem to decline the silt job - I guess it isn't viewed as important as other jobs. Plus it's hard work.
Leaving at 11:30pm or so my neighborhood was very quiet. Very little activity and hardly any lights. It will be nice when they remove the piles of trash so the place doesn't look quite so much like a war zone and the tourists get lost.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Day six - flood rehab
Different day today from the flurry of activity on Sunday. The looki-lous and endless volunteers had subsided. Two neighbors with vac trucks to have their places sucked out made a lot of noise but it was eerie quiet when I first arrived. Got power restored, fridge working. Dropped the Jetta off for an assessment (Eric drove it thru a couple feet of water... bits of flotsam still stuck in the front trim/grill/lights ) It ran ok but I still think it should be checked out. Went to Okotoks for groceries and parts and lined up at the Okotoks post office for my mail. Free wifi!! (stay positive). Plumber capped my water and gas lines to the mechanicals so they are
clear but my 1974 furnace remains. At 400 odd pounds I might just leave
that for the restoration company for when they come to do the biowash.
Got the last of the drywall out from the stairwell and tore out the carpet on the steps. Wasn't quite cleaned up from that and Phil came and helped me sort out some minimal lights and plugs in the basement so I can stop tripping over extension cords in the dark. Dehumidifiers now humming along and able to lock up everything which makes me feel a bit better. Yard is still a mess and morning rain didn't help much with that.
Tomorrow hit the office for a bit and finish the day back at 105. (its confusing when we say "home" now.) The list is still long but gradually less urgent.
Driving out Tongue Creek road tonite I passed an old gravel pit site that is being turned into temporary housing for displaced High Riverites. A mass of portable trailers, like a big work site. Reminded of how lucky I am in the grand scheme of things.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Day five - flood rehab
Another hell-uv-a-day. Shannon was hopping inside the house with helpers (including a design client and her friend) washing and cleansing things. Countless very helpful Mormons - holy crap - Sometimes I was turning down help for lack of a suitable job. Mike yarded out some hardwood and we opened up some more walls on the lower main floor chasing wet drywall. I promised Mark I wouldn't call on him today but I had too and he came. I should be up to a case of scotch for that man but I know he won't take it. I think we got that sorted as mitigating mould issues is job one. Myron and Janet returned to lend a hand after their morning shift - your humour under the circumstances always welcome. Once again my first helper of the day was yet another hiking partner, Wietse, to lend a very welcome hand. This whole thing is a lot like landscaping, sometimes you have too much manpower and sometimes you have too much work but a core of people I know and love sure makes things happen - extra help plus water and sandwiches at every turn a bonus!
Later in the day I opened a section of fence and my neighbor, also a landscaper/excavator, swung in with his mini-hoe and scraped out the turf area plus the silt all the help was yarding out of the beds by hand. Seems trivial, with all that has been going on, to care about my garden but it is great to get that sorted. Of course it made a major mess and I might need to resod. We'll see how it turns out. Getting rid of the silt was a big deal, I don't even care at the moment that my deck still has a pitch to it thanks to the heaved piles, just pretend you're on a ship. So many projects.
Doing better mentally though. Got my electrical signed off on by an electrician so Fortis can 'energize' me tomorrow. No more generator! So I'll be hanging out waiting for them to arrive and running down the more important items on the todo list. Shoring up a header in the basement (because the framing was removed), pulling some grade outside, tidying up.... fun times.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Day four - flood rehab
Turned a corner today. After two nights of little or no sleep I was flagging a little today. Darren was my first helper to arrive and he buoyed me up. Then four random helpers from Calgary, plus Myron, Janet and crew from Glen Eagles, Renaud and his wife, plus my boys - but without a dumpster to move the garbage mountain I was getting tense so we hit some of the silt build up in the garden. Finally we got a dumpster going with even more help and during a lull when the trucks were gone to the dump it bucketed rain. At first I was pissed but then took advantage of the flow to move the sludge pond from the base of the driveway. Mike kept telling me I would plug the drain but I've worked with this crap for days now - you just need to add water!!!
At the end of the day all the garbage dumpstered and my head straight again plotting moving forward and actually able to laugh again and give a little support to my frazzled neighbor. Starting a tick list for the long road ahead.
Friday, July 5, 2013
Day 3 flood rehab
Today started early as by 4am my brain was spinning on how to proceed and make the best use of the volunteer help I am so blessed to have. The early start meant I could mourn my toasted tools in private - excavating them one by one from the foot of mud / ooze mud that filled my garage. By the time help arrived I had separated most of the salvageable stuff that my Dad was kind enough to haul home and attempt rehab. Electrical stuff mostly just went to the trash pile (trash mountain). By days end the garage had been freed from mud, washed down, and the interior OSB wall board removed along with half the insulation. Mold was already forming. Got a bunch of tools pressure washed and Mark and Rob got some more work done on the main floor opening up the walls that got wet. Phil sorted most of the electrics but a meeting with our rehab company (thru the insurance company) will now take that on. Its going to be a slow process. Ended the day with Eric and Bart helping me fill a big 25 yard roll off bin. Hardly seemed to put a dent in the pile.
Tomorrow we hopefully can throw some energy behind removing the silt that is built up all over the whole yard. In places the grass is trying to go thru... it is going to be a rough job. At some point in the future I'll probably have to resod and replace a bunch of plants. There is also lots of 'tidying up' to do and filling more dumpsters.
During the flood the garage door was pushed in and then raised about 18". The mud would have got in anyway but an unfortunate side effect was the snow tires that were stacked just inside the door each lost one tire (Jetta and Envoy). Gone. What a piss off.
Running off adrenaline still. Hopefully I can pull off a couple more days at this pace. Second day that I just wore my glasses into the shower (that filthy). Again, can't say thank you enough to all the helpers who have given up vacation time and work to pitch in.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Day two rehab - mud, muck & dust.
Mud, muck, dust. Long day but the basement is almost all skidded. A few studs and panels remain for tomorrow plus a bit more mucking and we can start to dry it out. Hopefully get power restored. Next the garage and after that all the silt - meanwhile cleaning and drying inside to keep on top of the mold.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Day one rehab
Big day. Did the re-entry circus, took photos and met with our insurance adjuster, had to get the power shut off, then got busy in the basement mostly removing items. Sorting, recording what we were discarding, triaging what we were to keep. Had some solid help and got a lot accomplished.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
One day to re-entry
Downloaded the photos and video off my phone to establish timeline so figured I'd throw some of them on Zenfolio. Eric and I left the house by boat 3:01pm, the river supposedly crested at around 7pm. Did the basement hold out? It was leaking in the windows, around the patio door on the lower main and in thru a heat register to the basement. Remains to be seen as well as did the main floor survive (kitchen level)? Hopefully by this time tomorrow I'll have the answer to those questions and more.
photos/video
Monday, July 1, 2013
CA - NA - DA
Looking like Wednesday for re-entry which will be a day of paperwork and triage. Following that I'll have a better idea of our status and will form a battle plan for 105 Hell River.
Meanwhile, its Canada Day. Spending the next two days in the office to cover off this week at minimum. Fridge full of food and the radio - its all good.
More or less unplugged yesterday and spent most of it with Shannon (and Eric for a bit) as we got our handout in Nanton and arranged for a place to live for the foreseeable future. Some people are just way too generous, but there are some chores there we can do to earn our keep. Moving down there Tuesday after work. Country life for a bit.
The waiting is almost over. I wish I could say the same for all Highriverites. Enjoy the national holiday - its going to be a beaut!
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