Floriduh Man Check In

[BirdsThaWord]

Just letting you guys know the status down hunder…
We had power and even cable all night. Stayed up until 3 am watching out the windows as everything thrashed around. We just had new windows put in (bought from the company I sell for) and were absolutely amazed at how quiet it was inside the house. Used to hear the bamboo out back clickety clack & groan during even slight winds, but heard very little of it or the winds. Just the occasional sound of something bouncing off the roof. Finally went to bed around 3. Woke up to no power. My oak out front snapped in a few places, blocking our street (dead end) and taking out power (sorry neighbors!). Another piece narrowly missed the corner of my house and fence. Sooooo blessed! Bamboo out back is down all over. Lots of it bounced off the roof and down into the yard. The power lines our oak knocked down is arcing and sparking in the neighbors yard 2 doors up. His lawn is smoking & burning. We and neighbors called 911, but that was 3 hours ago and still on fire. Our town is on curfew until 5 pm, telling me lots of downed lines and trees. Crews probably can not access this area yet. Neighbors around me sending me pics of washed out roads, driveways and flooded streets. We sure did a lot better than those down South of us! May God bless them with a speedy recouping of their lives and assets. Soooo blessed to have the metal roof, good windows, missed by the big branches, having a Yeti full of ice. Since installing the metal roof, all of my neighbors have bought at least 2 roofs and many will buy a 3rd now, while we are good to go. I can not post pics now, and this ipad is low on power, so may not be able to do so for a bit. Just feeling soo blessed after what we just survived and seeing what so many here are dealing with. Super nice neighbor offered up her generator (she’s behind us, still has power) or to run extensions to at least run the fridge. I’ll check back with you guys once I’m able to do so.

[wyntrout]

Hi! I'm glad that you're doing okay. Windows ought to be my next project, but we were hoping to get started on the interior with new kitchen counters and sink, etc., then all new flooring.
We got a new roof in 2012 with the peel & stick underlayment and decent screws. I hope that holds us for a while.
April last year I got the problematic trees removed... 6' diameter great oak out front and two very old and tall cedars that overhung our house on the north side. Those were my neighbor's and I talked with him and had them cut down and he paid me back, so these last two hurricane seasons have been our "least worrisome".
Half my backyard fence just blew down for the last time. I had hoped the last two years that would happen and I could let FEMA haul it off. I propped it up for the last 3-4 years. I need a cart for my lawn tractor to haul it out front. My neighbor has a small 10 cu ft John Deere, so maybe I'll borrow that. He has borrowed a LOT of tools from me and still still working on his retaining wall between us.
We're just waiting for Ian to get on by us now. We'll get more wind along the way... only 40 MPH so far and 3/4" rain this week.
I hope that we can get by without needing the generator, but have plenty of gas for about 30 hours or so. We're always ready with plenty of food and water and backup power and have been luck that the power has only been out 23-28 hours or so the worst 3 or so times we've had to use the generator. Resupplying gas can be hard and expensive these days.
Hey, this is only our first hurricane this season. I hope that we don't see any more, but there's probably more to come.
We're about 20 feet above the river, so we don't worry about flooding or storm surge.
Take care and I hope you don't go long without power or clear roads to get out of your area.
410 feet from the south bank of St Johns River/Mill Cove in Jacksonville. I can see the Dames Point Bridge as I sit here at my desk. THIS is the window that bothers me... stress(?) crack in outer pane and taped with Gorilla Tape. :D I should have retaped it already, but sprinkling started and the winds were picking up Tuesday.

Wynn

[Ken L]

Glad you guys are safe. We checked in with friends that live in Tampa and they said that they didn't lose power but a street or two over did. Trees and trash everywhere. Hoping for a speedy recovery for all.

[JohnR]

No power loss here by JU in Jax, and we’re glad we removed some old trees too. My brother in Orlando and Daughter in Lake Wales lost power. Friends in Tampa and Tarpon Springs got little to no damage.

[dustnchips]

Girlfriend is at the house in Port Charlotte. I got a message from her at 11:30 PM Wednesday that she is OK. No damage report from her and now no communication. She may have to deal with loss of power and water for a while, but the house must be standing since she was in it. Post hurricane Charlie construction of stucco over block. Hopefully no roof leaks. I just have to wait for her to report in to know what is going on.

[jeepster09]

Thanks guys for updates; good to know all okay.

[wyntrout]

Update. My wife was looking out the back door and said the fence had blown down. Finally. Now I have a project... IF I can find materials to rebuild.
https://www.facebook.com/wynntroutman/posts/pfbid0ChYcyq5qU4gSBCbCutGJRBLN5cx7p7tQQeVjvrKvh6Dw oeP8bW5T7YAkDJsSKhwNl?notif_id=1664487452509004&no tif_t=feedback_reaction_generic&ref=notif

[Bawanna]

Update. My wife was looking out the back door and said the fence had blown down. Finally. Now I have a project... IF I can find materials to rebuild.
https://www.facebook.com/wynntroutman/posts/pfbid0ChYcyq5qU4gSBCbCutGJRBLN5cx7p7tQQeVjvrKvh6Dw oeP8bW5T7YAkDJsSKhwNl?notif_id=1664487452509004&no tif_t=feedback_reaction_generic&ref=notif

Fence looks like it's been needing replaced for quite a long time.

Generally unknown fact. Putting up fences was my first job for about 10 years. We did mostly chain link Very few wood. Boss hated bad boards and it was hard to find consistent good ones, even back then.
Great way to keep in shape, no need for the gym. (like I ever been to a gym anyhow)

[dustnchips]

Lost the shingles on 1/2 the roof. Back fence, beautiful Bismark Palm 30' tall, and Lanai screens. The roof will be a problem to address in a timely manner.

[getsome]

Glad you guys made it through with only property damage, Ian was a nasty one alright, good luck and hopefully we won’t see another one this bad any time soon…………

[dao]

Good to hear that you've all come through this without being hurt. I hope you get your homes and lives back to normal soon!

[Armybrat]

Yes, thank God there don’t seem to be very many human casualties….. and property can be replaced or repaired.
Even these classics can be restored.

[Ken L]

Now that hurts. But yes they can be restored.

[AJBert]

Lost the shingles on 1/2 the roof. Back fence, beautiful Bismark Palm 30' tall, and Lanai screens. The roof will be a problem to address in a timely manner.

FEMA will toss a tarp up there for you. After Katrina, about 2/3's of the structures left standing has those blue tarps. They last a long time and they do a great job of installing them. The problem will be finding a legit roofer. A lot of fly-by-night outfits will be knocking on the doors offering a great deal. Stay with a local company that has been in business for more than a couple of years.

Everyone that has damage from this hurricane will be anxious to get things fixed, and these outfits know it. After Katrina, we didn't have any roof leaks nor anything that had to be fixed right now. I waited to make an insurance claim as I knew there were other that needed immediate help. I made temporary immediate repairs where necessary, got the insurance money and waited for an availability from a local company I trusted to do the permanent repairs.

My heart goes out to all in Florida that suffered from this storm, prayers have/are being sent and I have already sent a donation to the American Red Cross. Hurricanes are one of the few things I don't miss from living on the Gulf Coast. That, and the heat and humidity.

[dao]

^^^ Good advice, and a great post!