Lessons I have learned from our floods.

1.  Be wealthy, then you can just pay someone to fix things for you, it will be done right and it will be done quickly.  (Okay quicker)
2.  Know how much your deductible is for a claim on your home owners insurance. 
3.  Call a disaster company.  If it is raining inside your house (especially if its raining poo juice,) call a disaster company.  There will be a time you can save money but when water is seeping everywhere it is not the time.  They know the proper order to do things and they become your advocate with the insurance company.  If the damage is covered by your insurance co. the cost of the disaster company will be covered.
4.  Know how to shut off the water in your house.  Make sure your children know how to shut off the water in case an emergency.  I think the toilet overflowing is an emergency.  Three of my four children now know how to shut the water off to the toilet.
5.  Inspect things, had we done an inspection of our roof we could have caught this. 
6.  Caulk things.  Damage is minimized if things are properly caulked. 
7.  Just because it looks so easy (when you watch the video on YOUTUBE) to install baseboards it is not.  That coping saw is hard to use.  I could have widdled a base board with a pocket knife and made it look better. I guess I'll just have to do 45 degree angles.

8.  Our insurance adjuster said when he goes out of town he shuts off the water to his house.  The worst damage according to him is when something breaks when no one is home and won't notice it for days.  We are going to do this from now on.  I don't feel very lucky.


I am looking for a home maintance checklist,  Anyone have something like that? 

I was hoping to post pictures of the newly installed tile in the bathroom, but I want baseboards first and that is not going so well.**%^&**