Because as long as you are your luck is not the worst of anyone that you know.
On Friday evening I returned from a fantastic night of food and music with ITP-Readers Terri and Betsy to find my cable tv line lying in my driveway. Past midnight and raining I went out with a flashlight and followed the line to the post across the street, and scared the shit out of an opossum when I turned around and flashed the one one crossing my yard.
After scrapping my planned morning ride thanks to the heavy rain that fell earlier in the morning I wandered outside to pick up the cable tv line — only to find that the shithead that dropped the cable line also pulled my main electrical mast from its 90° angle the a 45° one. Apparently the cable line was attached to the electrical mast, and because of the force applied by the vehicle that pulled it down, nearly ripped the damn thing from my roof. Which begs the question, “Why didn’t the goddamn cable line give much easier?”
And of course I have no idea who was responsible for this.
Fuck.
Me.
With a call to Georgia Power on Saturday morning I heard what I feared, this is the homeowner’s financial responsibility. Therefore I had to get an electrician out, at a $250 up charge for an emergency visit.
Double.
Fuck.
Me.
The electrician has quoted a charge of $600 to fix the problem, and sometime this morning I will be able to schedule this repair. Hopefully this will happen soon, though I was warned that they are booked solidly this week.
Triple.
Fuck.
Me.
At least the electrician put a garbage bag around the leaning post, keeping out the rest of the rain that fell this weekend, and all of the rodents, at least for the time being.
On the upside:
The Mets are in the playoffs.
The Gators beat #3 Ole Miss.
Georgia lost (which probably made for an interesting day for ITP-Readers Steve and Debbie).
The Jets beat to Dolphins yesterday morning.
And now I am at the Mazda dealership making sure the M6 is in ship-shape for next weekend’s trip to Florida.
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
People often ask me why I don’ t own a home (well, usually I’m lectured about how I’m “pissing my money away on rent” yadda yadda so tired of that, btw) … and it’s THIS. Omg, I couldn’t afford to own a home!
I’m still kind of confused though how your cable line got down in the first place?
Other than being a pain in the ass and costing money you didn’t want to spend, I’m hoping that’s the worst of it and you aren’t affected in other ways. Do you still have electricity?
Years ago a truck drove down my street and ripped my phone line from my house. I am assuming that the same thing happened this time either because the cable line hung too low, or the vehicle that did this damage was taller than it should have been. With the phone line it was a flatbed truck carrying a backhoe. Since the house down the street that is being renovated no long has a concrete driveway I bet a similar situation caused this. Of course since it happened while I was away I will never know.
I have complete power and the electrician said that the main line was undamaged. He also said that it was structurally sound until it can be repaired.
hey- it could have been worse. Try to think of it that way, its just money – ya know? You could have no power at all, it could have caused a fire possibly.
the storm Friday night/Saturday morning had a hell of a lightning & thunder storm about 4:10am. We were laying there in bed waiting for the sound of a cracking tree & the sound of it falling on the house. It seemed that close. I was wondering if the lightning hit the house & if we’d smell smoke & have a house fire. Or, if it had blown out all of our electrical, and ruined all the electronics. (yes, we have surge protectors, but I dont’ know if they work when its that close & strong)
It could have been worse, I agree. I am just tired of Life continually throwing curveballs at me.
Do you still have cable? If not sue the cable company for being tied to your house electric pole. They should not be there. See you next week.
Life throws curveballs at…everybody. The good news you don’t even have to hit them all. Heck, MLB players only hit 1 out of 4 and they make $10,000,000/year.
After 30 years of home ownership, I am all about low maintenance, low/no cost, and no hassle. You can be too, but you have to roll through and bring everything up to “no/low maintenance” levels.
Roof, structure, interior, electrical, plumbing, etc. (It does sound daunting, just typing it. :-p )
If the mast repair is done right (it has to pierce the roof), it will outlast the roof, and probably your ownership of the house. A tube of caulk is not going to get it done. Flashing (and know how) is the key.
FYI: I’ve had really good luck with Chad Peck (Intown Roofing and Renovation, 404-735-0381). Chad can do it all, but roofing is his specialty. Good prices.
Lastly, when you have these problems, send up a flare. You have a lot of friends. Never deny us the chance to help.
JG/HamWithCam
And I hope you took pictures for your ho-moaners insurance.
A short weekend which included no “real” exercise beyond building the barn. Managed to get another chorus of roofing up, despite the weather. All the mats are down, and the plywood that “protects the metal of the man cave from any errant kicks, is up.
Yesterday would have been a lot more fun had I not had to come into the office to fix a problem (when I wasn’t on call!). 3 hours down the tubes.
While I certainly wanted UGA to lose, I never want to see a team play poorly- I always want to see good football. Only one team played good football in Athens Saturday. And as for UF and Ol’ Miss, a shame they both couldn’t lose, but since one had to win, I’m glad it was yours.
Urologist follow up today. Oh. Joy.
-FP
And what HwC said… send up a flare. Have tools, will travel.
I completely suck at home repair, but if a flare goes up, I can show up with cold beverages! 🙂
Thanks all.
Given that this dealt with the main electrical line to the house my first inclination was to contact a professional. No need to get anyone injured, you know.