my experiences dealing with a flooded home

i've seen a few threads on re-construction, moisture content etc etc...

my house flooded in March on the Tchefuncte river and my in-laws flooded off of Millerville a week ago, so i know what alot of you are going thru...i also am a home builder and maybe i can share my experiences and answer some questions..maybe i can help.

moisture content in wood - a general rule of thumb when closing up walls is to get your MC below 20%. Ideally you'd like to get to 16-17%, but depending on conditions and tightness of your home you may not be able to achieve this. talk to anyone outside of La and they will tell you below 10 percent...well guess what, you will never achieve that in south La. if you're running dehu's for a week and your readings are not dropping below 19-20% you may have to decide that is your baseline and call it quits. if your readings are still dropping, keep going until you get 48 hrs of a baseline reading. my house is raised with a wood subfloor so i had a lot of moisture to pull out before i could close it up.

mold-- i sprayed my house with microban (do not use bleach) when everything was dry and had still residual 'musty smell' that my wife just would not live with. we had the house tested and turned out we had two problem areas we had to address. long story short, we ended up fogging the house with a silver nitrate/hydrogen peroxide solution...problem solved. they charge by the cubic foot, not the sqft. had it re-tested and mold levels dropped and we were ready to close up walls.

moral of the story...don't be in a rush. just b/c your neighbor is closing up walls doesn't mean your falling behind and 'oh my god'!!!! we're such slackers. be patient, take your time. 1-3 weeks now will save you a huge headache down the road. move at your pace!, not some imaginery pace set by friends and family.

insurance-- our policy was\is with ASI. i have nothing but good things to say. some of you that have already been adjusted or still waiting...be prepared to wait a lengthy time before getting your check. La state law requires time frames for adjusters to respond to your claims...but during natural disasters, those time frames are waved. from the time our adjuster came and we rec'd his report back was 60 days!! and then another week to present it to the ins company and get paid. this was the most disheartening part of the whole process as we were out of pocket about $40k by the time we collected from insurance.

Expect the following from your insurance: your payment check will be made out to you AND your mortgage company. since they have a vested interest in you restoring your house, you will have to show you are using those funds to complete construction on your house. i could start a whole other thread on this subject...there are ways around it but be prepared for that disappointment. your personal content check will be made out to you, spend as you will.

so much to cover but i can't type it all here. i am busy in the field today, but i will try and check in if you have questions.

Good luck to all of you that have flooded and be patient...you WILL get thru this...there will be lots of highs and plenty of lows...but you will get thru this