JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Wet Day In Middle Tennessee

We have a gully (for lack of a better word) between our house and the road. It's about 15 feet deep and, at it's widest point, about 35 feet across. Our driveway has a bridge over it. Well, actually it's a large culvert pipe covered in large rocks, gravel and earth. Most of the time, there is a dry creekbed in the bottom of the gully. When we get ferocious rains for a day or so, we have a very scenic little creek flowing. It started raining here last night. By early this afternoon, my driveway was underwater, bridge and all. The road I live on was underwater. The creek had jumped the banks, and was filling my property with raging water. We live in the hills! There's not a flood plain in sight.
I had to cancel my gig tonight because I didn't think I'd be able to get out (or back in).
On the news they're showing cars underwater ON THE INTERSTATES! They're calling for more of the same weather tomorrow. We were planning to have a "sing around the campfire" party and cookout tomorrow to celebrate our 25th wedding aniversary (which is Monday). I guess we'll have to wait and see what tomorrow brings.

Well I guess we'll be doing the backstroke.
I live about 500 feet above you Kurt and I have a creek in my side yard today.
Be careful Kurt. Those wet weather creeks can be dangerous.

My mother in law has the lower level of my house. It's the part I completely gutted two years ago and remodeled.
She came upstairs and said there was a little water on the floor.
Argh!!!!
I had water filling up the crawl space and it was seeping in under the stairs. Who ever built this place didn't slope the lot away from the house.
So I went outside in the rain and dug a ditch from the house to the patio. Not far 10 feet or so. I had to bust up an old sidewalk. The water is now draining away but it is still seeping into the lower level. I don't know how long that will keep happening. I guess until the water in the crawl space soaks into the ground.

How high is the water Papa?

I have a pickup truck, 4 wheel drive. It sits up higher than cars do Kurt. If you can't get in or out and need anything I might be able to get in there. Let me know.

am surprised your mother in law didnt panic and call the police when you were outside doing all that digging Bill.....

they can put up quite a fight in my experience-lol......


Tom

Now there are waves in the road in front of the house.
Fortunately, since we were planning for a party, we have plenty of food in the house. We have shelter. We have plenty of love. (If we start to run out, we'll just make some more.)

Kurt
Glad you are OK. My ditch digging seems to have averted any serious damage. Gonna take a while to dry out though.

My wife had to drive home from Vanderbilt this morning. She said water was flowing over Briley down by the river. and some on Clarksville Pike at the bottom of Germantown hill. She could see water on both sides Of Clarksville Pike

Sorry about your party today Kurt. Your plant is still in the yard here getting a bath.

MAB

Happy Anniversary Hey better a flood than drought...

Cheers

I drove through a pond in the middle of I-65 last night, at least ten inches deep. It was standing water, there was a police car by the side as the four lanes came to a halt and the cars slowly, one by one, drove through the water. About a dozen cars after I made it across, the police shut down the interstate trapping Razzy and the drummer behind. They had to drive several miles out of their way. A simple hour and forty five minute trip to a gig in Alabama turned out to take three and a half hours. The drive home was just a light rain. We're dry in the house, but this deluge has given me something I've always wanted: a moat. Well, it's receding now, almost as fast as my hairline.

Happy Anniversary Kurt
I'm sorry for your flooding
I hope it doesn't "dampen"
Your love that's ever budding!

Mike must you gloat
You now have a moat
Though now King of your castle
Driving will be a hassle

Rhyming aside I hope you guys are all safe!
It's just starting to thunder and pour here!!!

I started vacuuming up the water in my lower level about Noon
I thought I had dodged a bullet but there was a 2 inch hole I didn't know about on the south side of my house. Once the ground was saturated and the water started pooling there it came in. A lot. I was also getting seepage from other areas.
I dug another trench and built a mud dam to divert the water away from the hole. It helped some.
Unfortunately the lot next door is a little higher than mine and all the water from that lot runs onto my lot, across my driveway and pools right against my house. And that's where the hole is.

I have been sucking up water with my shop vac since then.
I'd estimate 50 to 60 times I dumped the water out. I stopped counting around 40. I'm not sure how many gallons it holds. I believe 12 gallons. So that's about 600...700 gallons so far?
I'll probably be at this most of the night. I am trying to keep the water low enough so the drywall doesn't absorb it. I held the drywall about an inch off the floor when I installed it.
It has finally stopped raining and the water seepage is slowing considerably, but it is still coming in.
They said on the local news we got 18 inches of rain.

Needless to say I am getting tired.

Happy anniversery Kurt. Best to you Bill.Stay dry.

MAB

Kurt hasn't checked back in. I bet he's flooded. I know where he lives and he is right at the base of the big hill at Germantown in a low area. He's got a wet weather creek running right by his house.

Possibly through it now...

I can see a song in this... "If only it would rain in Tenessee"

I'm a saying payer for you all...

Cheers

Gosh Bill I feel so bad for you, you moved to Nashville to get away from all that snow up North (and to be closer to the music of course) and now this!! When it rains it pours!! Hope your Homeowners will help cover your costs of repair. Take care and God Bless.

Off to work...
Lynn

Arggh, been thinking about our Nashville JPFolks. What a mess. Many prayers for ya'll.

Get important stuff off the floor and in the attic if you can(guitars may float, but...) Or at least UP. Photos, musical instruments, etc. The hellish thing about flooding, whether from a river or wind driven water, is that it happens so FAST. You watch the water rising and you're thinking "no, it can't be coming up this fast, it just CAN'T" -- but it is.

If you can't stay dry, please stay safe!

Brenda

"Glub, glub, glub"...
Thanks for the good thoughts, y'all.
It looks like we'll be re-doing the driveway and the bridge to the mainland, but other than that we dodged a bullet.
The idjits we bought the house from had it re-roofed before they put it on the market, but they didn't put tarpaper down before they put the shingles on. Of course, the building inspector didn't catch it. Now, we've got some soggy sheetrock in the ceiling in some places, and a good excuse to install that metal roof we keep talking about.
At least we didn't have an oil rig out in the yard....


Here's a photo from early Saturday....before it got bad.[img]http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/ind...amp;albumID=3046758&imageID=61166990[/img]

Hey Kurt
Good to hear you are OK. Too bad about the roofing. I had a couple spots that were not flashed correctly. Glad I found those last year and fixed it then.
That's what happens when people don't do things correctly. Make sure you get the drywall dried out right away or you will be dealing with mold. I'm hoping I was able to keep the water low enough downstairs. I had installed Blueboard in some spots, Like the bathroom and outside walls.

It looks like the seepage has finally stopped. Now it's just a matter of drying everything out.

Good to hear from you guys. Kurt your "Anniversery plant" is still struggling but still here.

MAB

Bill,
Life's a ditch!
Kurt

You could say that about my career, as well.

Not drying in a roof is almost unheard of. I would at least talk to a lawyer about that. Find out who the contractor was (if there was one). Find out who the so called inspector was.

If insurance is covering the damage, let them know about the phony roof job, I guarantee they'll get to the bottom of it.

Oh My Goodness!! I am having deja vu having just lived this in RI .. My thoughts and prayers are with you!
I remember thinking the seepage was never going to stop .. get it cleaned and there is was again! Be careful!

One thing i learned in my FEMA/Insurance wars.. if some damage is not covered under FEMA provisions and you have water that came in due to your "roof" .. THAT should be coverered by home owners insurance.

I am still fighting to get fema & SBL $$ so I can start the rebuilding process .. they are testing my patience, but i won't give up

Good Luck to all of you! Be safe!!
{{HUGS}}
Joanne

LOL Kurt
You need any help give a yell. I'm 5 minutes away.

Joanne
I knew you had a little water. Didn't know it was that bad. Sorry you are having trouble with the "Guvmint agencies".
And they are the same folks that will be handling our Health Care. Ain't we the lucky ones.


If you recall, when you were here, we had a nice newly renovated recreation/TV room downstairs. That's where we got the water. I'm running fans now drying it out.

What KIND of plant?

Wow, it sure does sound like a big mess down there. Good to know you all are okay. Time to count our blessings.

there goes the tourist season for Nashville

Opryland Hotel was flooded-fortunately it was evacuated just before the water came in......the downtown honkytonks are also flooded......the residential damage is incredible of course but the residents depend on tourism so we are really screwed in every way.........I reckon they might fly in Donovan for a relief concert....Hail Atlantis....

below is link for the Nashville paper

http://www.tennessean.com/


Tom

Yep
Has Obama even acknowledged we have a problem?

The heavens have opened up to punish us for using autotune.

... and the number system.

...and Roy Acuff.

....and those fake plastic straw cowboys hats they sell near the Tonks!

oh well just gotta rework the tourist marketing program I guess

come for the canals and gondola rides

O SOLE' MIO-Y'ALL



Tom

Hi Bill -
so sorry for your mess! Yes... it IS a mess!! Ohhh .. your new room! I hope you can salvage it...
Its the feeling of helplessness ... bailing water not nearly as fast as it was coming in ... finally realized, it was best to just let it flow ...
I made out better than some people here in RI who lost their homes... my lower level (family room & basement ) are damaged pretty bad .. carpet was pulled out during the storm ... wall boards have to be replaced as well as bathroom vanity and other wood work ... threw out lots of things I probably should have thrown out years ago .. LOL
You should be wearing a mask when working in that water!! I got sick as a dog with bronchitis!!!
But i didn't have to leave my home ... and i wasn't hurt.

Thoughts and prayers to all in TN dealing with the floods..
Be safe!
Joanne

ooh, that's bad.

Kurt - and all - I have seen the news reports and I have been thinking of you all. Prayers from Nebraska. I hope you are ok.


Tom

I didn't realize just how bad it was -- just saw the pictures of downtown. I'm up here in PA thinking about you all down there in TN. Hope all our JPF folks are safe and drying out.

Didn't you guys get a weird snowfall this winter as well?

If the waters are receding, there's still time to clean up for the tourist season this summer......hopefully.......!

thanks to all who expressed condolences about this.......

alot of people really got hurt in various ways-losing homes-business property-income and all......

thanks for your thoughts of them....

Nashville will Rise Again!


Tom

It certainly isn't funny for those that are in the path of the rains as well as the tornados that tore thru Mississippi and other places. I and my wife have been lucky throught the years in not going thru some of these disasters.

It just says that mother nature is still in charge in case anybody is wondering. I saw the pictures and it looked just like New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit. All the best everybody.

I thought it was for the "Guns In Bars" legislation.

They don't call this the "Volunteer state" for nothing. People are already cleaning up. Most of the grocery stores are back in business and collecting ice, water, food, pet supplies, etc. There are crews going everywhere restoring everything. People clean up and go on. We don't wait around for the government to come in and save us. You won't find anyone on roofs with signs down here. And most people know how to get out of the way of a storm when it is coming with a lot of devistation. Most roads are reopened and already insurance agents are on the way.

I would be willing to bet that a month from now you won't be able to find much evidence of the flood. There will be things, houses and such that take a while to dry out but for the most part this is a pretty resiliant town and people. We help each other here.


Polly, two weeks ago, Kurt sent me an e-mail for an anniversery party he was having. I had a lot going on that day and was at the grocery store and got him a hanging plant for his anniversery. Then a bunch of stuff came up and I couldn't make his party. Then he sends an e-mail telling me that I had the wrong date. It was the next week. So I put the plant in the yard and forgote about it.

The party was supposed to be this past Sunday, with all the rain. At one part, I look out and there is the plant getting drenched. But it actually seems to have survived. Like most the things around here. We all actually pick up and go on about our lives.

We've had tornados, big storms, floods before, and we will probably have them again. Memphis is above the New Madrid fault line so they will probably get hit by an earthquake at some point. Price of living.


MAB

PS: And no, the Federal government has not even mentioned us yet. Good. Keep them the Hell out of here. Nobody can screw things up like the Feds.

MAB

That's what Randy Rayburn thinks too. LOL. Truth is, there are PLENTY of guns in bars. It is only the law-abiding citizens who don't have them.

Keep your powder dry.

Marc, the feds are going to help. The government is going to fund a study on rain to see why it gets things wet.

Marc
I have to agree the folks here will take care of business as needed but without flood insurance many are going to be in real trouble. As much as I hate to say it they will be in real trouble without Government assistance.
There are literally thousands of homes that will not be "dried out" they will be razed and new homes built in their place.
This will take years to rebuild.
A foot or two of water is one thing, when it is in the attic or simply washed away down the road it is a whole nother story.

What is really interesting is Sylvia and I looked at a LOT of houses in the flooded areas when we were trying to find a house in 2007. Many of the houses we looked at are no doubt under water, literally, now.
Just plain dumb luck we did not buy one of them. We bought on top of the mountain instead of the valley.
It has given us a whole new way of looking at things if we decide to buy another "Farm"

Experience here is RI found that many people who DID have flood insurance, there damages were still not covered .. turned out to be so many loopholes to qualify .. rain must have come in through the bathroom window sideways after sliding down the chimney stack It was rediculous!

Hopefully, you will hear something soon .. getting the gvt money has been very frustrating, but rebuilding without it would be tough.

If I'm not mistaken, isn't all flood insurance a government program. I guess in a way it's good they messed up national flood insurance because it shows them what to do to make national health care work! Yippee! I feel safe and secure from all alarm!

Signing Jessica Simpson to a country deal.

Glad to hear everyone is O.K! How are things looking around the Commodore? I heard there was flooding in the Vanderbilt area.

I'm a little disappointed in the news media. There is basically no coverage of the looting.

Bob
I think that area is OK. That area is a about a hundred feet above the river. If they had any flooding it would be localized or the result of the storm sewers not being able to handle the water.

Bill,

You continue to look for something to happen that doesn't happen.Number one, the Federal Government does not do inside the US emergencies well. They usually screw up much more than they help.

Number two, this state did not vote for Obama. Hell will freeze over before any Federal assistance will be coming.

Those that don't have flood insurance are going to have a tough time. Like Joanie say's the loopholes are long and hard.

The press is not going to cover the looting unless a bunch of Tea Party Activists or out there.

You have to quit looking for help where it is not going to come from.

MAB