I'm quite bitter, my home has been flooded & destroyed..

[Mr Mort]

No kidding folks.

Sunday, January 11th, the fiancee and I are out driving about, when we get a call from my dad saying there is a water leak in the ceiling heading into my room.

(I live in a condominium, on the ground floor, and there are 3 condo units directly above mine.)

I drive home right away, and there is a fire truck out in front of the building...
As I walk towards the building, there is water pouring out of the enrtance to the building, and I knew this was no little drip. As I'm walking through the hallway to get to the stairs, there is water pouring through the seams in the cement, quite literally like a waterfall.

What I saw when I walked into my home was a nightmare. All the light fixtures in the ceiling had water pouring through them. The air ducts for the heat/ac system had water pouring through them, there was water coming from behind the baseboards of the walls, and later on, the seams in the dry wall in the ceiling had water pouring out of them. I'm not kidding any of you, it was tens of thousands (if not more) gallons of water pouring in through the ceiling into my home. I was standing in ankle-high water and it was getting worse...

I made sure everyone was ok, and I made a mad dash for my room & my collection. Most of my collection was kept in my walk-in closet, and I couldn't believe my eyes. The light fixture in the ceiling was gushing tons of water, flooding the entire closet and the rest of my room. Not really sure what to do, I got out a box of garbage bags (the kind with built-in draw strings), and started dumping my entire video game collection into garbage bags, all 355 games & 15+ consoles... I can't tell you, it felt like an eternity while I was shoving everything into those bags. My collection has HUGE sentimetal value to me, I have games & consoles & accessories I've kept since I was a kid, collected through my teenage years & now my adult life.

I would dump a bunch of games into a bag, put that bag into another bag, and the fiancee would haul them upstairs to the cars. I unplugged all the consoles that were in the entertainment center, dumped them into bags too.

After I got the collection upstairs & in the cars, I sent the fiancee & my dad off to a friend's house while I stayed behind to figure out what was going on & to start punching holes in the ceiling to relieve the water building up.

A water pipe on the top floor froze and burst, flooding 4 condo units starting with the top one, and ending with mine. The fire marshall deemed all 4 units to be unlivable until they would be repaired.

To make a long story short, basically EVERYTHING in the condo has been ruined by water damage. Most of the furniture, the walls, the light fixtures, the ceiling, all our clothing, my bed, blah, blah, blah. My insurance is paying for us to stay in a hotel until the place is repaired, but that is little consolation. Looks like we won't be able to move back in for at least another 4-6 weeks. If I have to stay in that little-ass hotel another day, I'm going to mangle someone :angry:

So here I am, my collection is now sitting in boxes at a friend's house, my father & fiancee & I living in a small hotel, and I'm now finding myself devoid of all the little luxuries of home I used to take for granted. PC? Nope. Video games? Nyet. DVD or VCR? Negative. Washer & dryer? Sorry.
Not even having your own bed to sleep in is pretty depressing. Not having a home is depressing because you simply can't kick back and *RELAX* when you don't have a place you call home, and you don't have any of "your stuff".

There is however, a way to view the glass as half-full. EVERYTHING in my closet was destroyed. Not one thing survived the ordeal EXCEPT my collection. I can't explain it, but as far as I can tell, my collection came out unscathed. From the games themselves, to the accessories, to the boxes, they seem to be ok. Eveything else in that closet and my room was ruined. The only thing I'm still worried about is corrosion on the inside of my consoles. I tested the consoles a few days after the flood, and they all worked fine at the time, then packed them all into boxes. I guess time will tell.

I know an internet forum is probably the least sympathetic place to go bitching about your problems or issues, but at least I got something off my chest.

So remember when you have what you think is a shitty day, at least you can still go to a place you call "home", a place where you are the king (or queen) of your domain and enjoy life's simple pleasures. Hopefully I will be able to do the same in the near future :(

[Sotenga]

................................... my God. That's not right, man. It's just... that's... damn. My absolute sympathies are wtih you, and I wish you good luck for the future.

[omnedon]

:(

That really sucks man. I am soooo glad your collection isn't written off.


I'm sending good vibes your way. :)

[Mr Mort]

................................... my God. That's not right, man. It's just... that's... damn. My absolute sympathies are wtih you, and I wish you good luck for the future.


:(

That really sucks man. I am soooo glad your collection isn't written off.


I'm sending good vibes your way. :)

Thank you both, I need all the good vibes I can get.


P.S.: Sotenga, where have I seen the sprite in your av before? Contra: Hard Corps perhaps, or is it Splatterhouse?

[Sotenga]

................................... my God. That's not right, man. It's just... that's... damn. My absolute sympathies are wtih you, and I wish you good luck for the future.


:(

That really sucks man. I am soooo glad your collection isn't written off.


I'm sending good vibes your way. :)

Thank you both, I need all the good vibes I can get.


P.S.: Sotenga, where have I seen the sprite in your av before? Contra: Hard Corps perhaps, or is it Splatterhouse?

You're welcome. It's my job to comfort those in need. :)

And it's the first boss from Splatterhouse 2. ;)

[1bigmig]

Im sorry, if you check my recent posts I just had 73 games water damaged. I feel your pain. Good thing you have insurance.

[punkoffgirl]

I'm really sorry to hear about this! Living in limbo isn't fun for anyone, not to mention how it undermines your feeling of "safety" at home when something bad like this happens. *Crosses fingers* for a speedy (and quality) repair on your home so you can be back there as soon as possible.

[Flack]

Man, that is a tough story. I can't imagine that happening to me, I'm such a "stuff" person. Forget what they said in Fight Club, I *am* my stuff, and my stuff is me.

Do you have a PayPal address? I'd like to kick a couple of bucks your way. This *is* a community.

[hu6800]

Oh man that sucks ass..

I had that happen to me too.
Twice.

Once in my game room (only my PC stuff got ruined)
and once in my friends basement where we kept are band stuff, i ruined a 1973 P Bass with jumbo frets. Some stuff is so hard to replace
and im glad your collection survived.
now go down to walmart and buy some rubbermaid waterproof tubs lol.

[Jaker]

OK that really sucks but how do did you post that if you don't have a PC? Anyways hope it isn't too bad. If that happened I would be crying blood. What the hell....?? Anyways good luck.[/quote]

[Mr Mort]

I'm really sorry to hear about this! Living in limbo isn't fun for anyone, not to mention how it undermines your feeling of "safety" at home when something bad like this happens. *Crosses fingers* for a speedy (and quality) repair on your home so you can be back there as soon as possible.

You're right, when your very home is ruined or "defiled" as I call it, you end up asking yourself if anything is sacred anymore, or if you can feel "safe" in your home again. I guess I'll see. Thanks for the encouragement.



Man, that is a tough story. I can't imagine that happening to me, I'm such a "stuff" person. Forget what they said in Fight Club, I *am* my stuff, and my stuff is me.

Do you have a PayPal address? I'd like to kick a couple of bucks your way. This *is* a community.

Wow. That's very kind of you, but I couldn't accept that, wouldn't feel right. Many thanks for the offer though.



OK that really sucks but how do did you post that if you don't have a PC? Anyways hope it isn't too bad. If that happened I would be crying blood. What the hell....?? Anyways good luck.

I'm crashing at a friend's house, as I find myself doing very often these days. Needless to say, I'm making use of his PC.

[autobotracing]

damn that sucks man.I hope you get back there quick and it doesnt happen again.

[Evil E]

Horrible story. It sounds like the kind of bad luck I always seem to have. I am sorry to hear it happened to you. I've had something similar happen to me years ago--it sucks, and I know just how you feel. Things will look up--they always do. Hang in there friend!

[tynstar]

Best wishes for a speedy home repair. Glad you, your family and collection are OK.

[Half Japanese]

I don't know what I'd do in your situation. Although my collection isn't as large as most people's here, I'd almost certainly have some sort of breakdown from seeing my stuff go. I've got a couple common NES/SNES carts I don't have a ton of use for if you need something to get you back on your feet collection-wise. They're nothing special, but I can send some your way if need be. Best of luck with the insurance fiascoes and headaches to come. Also, if there's any uncommon stuff that you're looking to replace be sure to let us know here, as I'm sure some of the other guys/gals and myself would be glad to keep our eyes out for it for you.

[djbeatmongrel]

i know how you feel (another pointless sympathiser, I know). Early in the summer at my dads house our basement flooded. mind you me and my dad dj (with actual turntables and we actually mix) and his equipment and 99% of his vinyl collection that ranged from classic disco, funk,and R&B, to current house was almost all water damaged as well as my growing collection of records. i feel for you, atleast your games were safe :)

[The Manimal]

:( At least you were able to save something. Hopefully things take a positive turn from this point on.

[maxlords]

Wow...that's awful! I'm glad your games at least survived. Clean the systems out and they should be fine if you have security bits to open them. Really sorry to hear that though....I hate to see anyone's stuff get ruined like that. If anything doesn't end up working game or system-wise, I'm sure someone here can help you out!

[tholly]

Well, at least you and your family and you games are safe....good luck and I hope you get back in there soon....

[tonyvortex]

im really sorry to hear that,i hope it wont be too hard to rebuild from that.

[SoulBlazer]

Add my support to the others. I don't have a collection, but I have a really expensive PC I put together myself in my room, along with several hundred dollars worth of books, guides, and movies. And the living room has my PS2 and my GC with my games, probaly a thousand there easily. Not sure what I would do if my apartment was damaged by a fire or water. I should probaly get that renter's insurance. At least your collection was okay and you're not the only person this happened to. Good luck getting money from your insurnace company, though. ;)

[Lady Jaye]

Wow. That's quite something! Good thing you salvaged your collection, but I'm sure it still sucks to lose everything else. I hope all gets back into place fast.

Since I live in a basement apartment (about half our level is below ground), I'm always a bit weary of possible break-ins or water problem (fortunately, even the great big ice storm of 98 did not damage our water pipes). The only good thing about being on ground level is that it's an easy way out if there's a fire.

[chaoticjelly]

I am sorry to hear this, it is terrible

[Darth Sensei]

As was mentioned above, at least you have insurance. I've always carried renter's insurance because I learned from a buddy's mistake. His building caught fire from another apartment and he lost nearly everything. I got insurance the very next day.

D

[sisko]

Ouch @_@

Well, at least your family and collection is okay. Hopefully everything else can be replaced somewhat.

Still, you seem to be handling the situation much better than I ever could! Best of luck to you.

Like hu, I think I'm going to have to go get myself some waterproof tubs too :o

[Raedon]

Welcome to the "destroyed property because water and someone else's mistake" club.

:eek 2:

The lady living above me in my second Apartment left her tub running and forgot about it or something and left to do some shopping. Next thing I know I get home from work to find all my VHS tapes (some home movies lost forever) floating around my bedroom. Clothing ruined because the water picks up all sorts of coloring when it goes threw the floor.

I feel your pain.. at least you had insurance.. I was living pay check to pay check then.. I had to borrow money from my father :embarrassed:

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Mr. Mort,

Give me a shout once you've inventoried the losses. If anything from my trade pile can help replenish your collection, it's yours. I just bought a house and the very thought of stuff like this happening scares the bejeezus out of me.

[rbudrick]

Man...tragedy of tragedies. Hopefully you'll find some other things that are recoverable. At least it wasn't fire....sorry, that didn't sound very optimistic.

Since your collection survived, the best thing to do is open every console with a screwdriver and blowdry them and let them sit open for a couple days to air. Corrosion is BAD! Also, most systems can survive this if you dry them out. Evrybody's heard the story of the gameboy in the toilet or lef tout in the snow for months. As for the games, hopefully the labels aren't ruined and many game boxes can be fixed by wetting them and leaving them pressed between HEAVY books for several weeks (I know this from a previous thread someone posted...can't take credit for that one).

And I know it's a pain in the ass (and not possible sometimes), but opening your game carts to dry them is a good idea too. It should only take a days work or so to do them all. Best of luck, man.

-Rob

[charitycasegreg]

that really sucks man. Luckily it wasnt fire. Fire prolly would have killed your games. I dont want to loose all the stuff I spent a lot of money on. I should become a hobo...

[Mr Mort]

Mr. Mort,

Give me a shout once you've inventoried the losses. If anything from my trade pile can help replenish your collection, it's yours. I just bought a house and the very thought of stuff like this happening scares the bejeezus out of me.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Depending on what condition my stuff is in by the time this blows over, I may or may not need to replace some items.


Welcome to the "destroyed property because water and someone else's mistake" club.

:eek 2:

The lady living above me in my second Apartment left her tub running and forgot about it or something and left to do some shopping. Next thing I know I get home from work to find all my VHS tapes (some home movies lost forever) floating around my bedroom. Clothing ruined because the water picks up all sorts of coloring when it goes threw the floor.

I feel your pain.. at least you had insurance.. I was living pay check to pay check then.. I had to borrow money from my father :embarrassed:

Tell me about it. The water that came through stained everything it got in contact with. The walls, the carpets, my clothes, my bed, etc. That water is filthy nasty by the time it's done going through the walls & ceiling.

There's no doubt about it, the second we move back in, we're putting the condo up on the market and getting the hell out of dodge. I will NEVER live in a condo or apartment again. You never know what the person above (or below) you is doing, and for some reason if disaster strikes becuase of someone elses ineptitude, you will suffer for it. Be it fire or water, this stuff is no joke. I'm currently fighting with the condo association & restoration company because they still haven't even started the repairs! By the looks of if, I literally won't be able to move back in for another 6-8 weeks. That'll be 3 months without a home...

My plan is once we sell this place, I'm going to try to buy my own house (hopefully I can afford it). One with a nice basement I will convert into a gaming room. It's been my life's dream to have my own game room, and hopefully I can pull it off, and post the pics of my gaming shrine with the rest of the rooms of doom.

In the meantime, I'm kind of nervous aobut what shape my stuff will be in when I do move back in. It was all fine when I boxed it all up, seemed perfectly dry and normal, but I'm scared moisture will do its damage after time.

Thanks to everyone for their sympathies and support, for anyone who's interested, I'll keep you posted on what goes on...

[DigitalSpace]

Wow, that is awful. Hope there's not too much of a loss, and best of luck.

[Balloon Fight]

:( That's horrible. At least no one was injured, and that you saved your collection. Best wishes to you and your family.

[vintagegamecrazy]

Best of luck to you. I had floods when I was a kid and they are not fun. My advice is, keep your head up high and just remember it will get better soon and these hard times in life will strenghten you and make it easier for the smaller obstacles in life.

Good luck and God Bless

[brykasch]

Ouch that sucks man, I moved in an apt last year ( I hate it, and still do, but I am saving a down payment for a house so I suffer) anyways, I purposly choose the 3rd floor on the corner of the floor as opposed to the second floor in the middle because I knew it would be less noise and fewer next door neighbors. Anyways I move in and first night there my ceiling is leaking like crazy on the shelving unit that has all my sports cards. Thankfully they were in sheets and albums and I caught it quickly, they fixed it next day, but damn man. Thank god I hav einusrance now. I am too paranoid anymore.