Going to take pics after I talk to the insurance company. Waiting for my phone to get to full charge. I've talked to the well people. He's looking for parts. Ours is a 2hp Franklin control box. He may not have parts for it and won't have until Monday but he's checking and will call back in a bit. We do have the lights back on. There are 4 damaged circuits with blown breakers, many blown LED lights, one fried TV. The house didn't burn down 8) 8) Crazy... Pics to follow.
DanG, check heater, any winter equipment that won't show damage for months yet, anything else that was plugged in. It can do crazy stuff, we had a big pine hit in our yard and it blew a knob off the neighbors oven.
Been there, lot of the same things. Insurance inspector spent maybe two minutes at the house, handed me a packet of paperwork and said to "write down everything that was plugged in" and he wasn't kidding.
Electric fence charger was blown off the wall and melted on the floor, entry door was bowed out and had what looked like a welding arc across the inside, breakers were toast. Had what appeared to be a bullet hole in an inside wall.
Phone lines had copper blown out through the insulation every place the pair twist over each other. Definitely a mess.
The strike zone. It took out Dee's fairy garden. A 125lb Great Pyrenees fits well in the main crater. There are three craters total.
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Blown out concrete. Probably where the charge entered the house. The blown off flood lights.
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Fried pet fence and plug in the wood shed. The pump and draft blower still work on the OWB.
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Zach installed remote controlled yard lights. They won't shut off now. The phone box blown off the side of the house and the cover. The other half of the cover is in little pieces scattered in the area. The phone jack and cover inside the house. We haven't had a landline hooked up in years.
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Smoked well box, light switch for the blown off the wall flood lights. The plug is on the same circuit. Wires are blown off a couple breakers in the the panel.
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We've got an insurance claim #. The adjuster will call Monday. Still waiting to hear back from the well guy.
The well guy found a couple of older boxes that are tagged tested and OK. He's on his way to see if he can get water flowing again 8) 8) 8)
Wow is an understatement. Thank God it didn't start a fire. My own lightening strike stories are so pale by comparison.
Let us know when you have water.
Holy smokes :o
You got me thinking about redneck lightning rods now.
Bolt hit my neigbors poplar a few years ago and lit his brush pile maybe 30 feet away.
Water's on 8) 8) 8) 8) He replaced the control box. It's amazing that it didn't burn out the pump. The outside faucets are still running flushing the rust out. The shock wave really stirred it up. Crazy...
Yikes.
That's not a contest anyone wants to win.
Glad you're ok.
And the well quit. They'll be out Monday to replace the pump.
How deep is your well? Can you pull the pump? It might be the drop wire is damaged if the phases cross over each other, sort of like my phone lines were blown out.
I would have. hard time trusting the existing wiring in the house. At least every receptacle and box needs to be inspected?
Quote from: metalspinner on August 07, 2021, 05:12:47 PM
I would have. hard time trusting the existing wiring in the house. At least every receptacle and box needs to be inspected?
Agreed. You don't know where the current has tracked. I'd be checking everything looking for burn marks / damaged insulation that might cause a problem later.
Years back our neighbour's house took a hit like that on a concrete power and phone pole by the back door. Again nothing caught fire, but lots of damage. The one I remember best was the sewing machine. It had been left plugged in, but switched off at the wall socket. The power cord was still melted, with copper coming out of the PVC, and it wasn't even powered on. The concrete pole had to be replaced, similar damage to that foundation all the way up the pole. I think the current heats the reinforcing rods so quickly that it splits off chunk of concrete.
We lived about 1/4 mile away and any light bulb that was on exploded, as did the big ceramic fuses for the old phone. It didn't just blow the fuses, it exploded the whole fuse box. Still better than next door, their whole phone exploded. :o
So I've seen that sort of damage, and man if gives you a fright to be in the middle of it.
The well is 290'. I think the pump is hanging at 270'. I'm going to let the pros do it and the insurance co pay for it. I don't trust the wiring in the circuits with the blown breakers and I'm suspicious of all of it. Going to see Three Doors Down now 8)
Quote from: metalspinner on August 07, 2021, 05:12:47 PM
I would have. hard time trusting the existing wiring in the house. At least every receptacle and box needs to be inspected?
I had lightening take down my barn. The next summer my house went up. They never found what caused it........
Might be worth exploring under the strike points;
Fulgurite - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulgurite)
I noticed it mentioned a similarity to lichtenberg burning.
We're planning an excavation after the insurance guy sees everything. The linemen suggested that night that there may be glass in the ground from it :) :)
Zach's starting his 2nd year as an electrician's apprentice. His boss is going to come out tomorrow evening and check things out. We'll see what the insurance guy suggests as well. We haven't turned the breakers on that tripped. There are LEDs through the house that cooked. The wires going into the water heater's breaker are blackened but it did work until the pump quit again. We're back from downstate and are going to make a list this evening. The house is still here... I wondered if it would be and was half expecting a phone call...
Wow Corley you're lucky. Looks like a bad strike.
Wishing you good luck with everything. We left Harrison at about noonish
and we're set up here in Wolverine at the city park campground along the river. Justin and Chelsea McManemy just dropped in to see us. (They're our daughters future brother and sister in law).
Brent
A little siesta after the drive back from Detroit and I'm off to get the tractor to move the pudding stones away from the well so Rusty can get to it tomorrow. You were heading the right today Brent. South bound 75 traffic was backed up, stop and go from Bay City to north of West Branch.
I saw the traffic nearly stopped southbound from Grayling where we merged onto I-75 from 127 to Waters and Gaylord area.
Brent
How long are you staying in Wolverine?
I have no agenda other than riding some trails in the SxS now that most the riders have left the area. I imagine a couple days anyhow. Daughter just got here from Ohio and she brought our Lab with her. She's on her way to Minnesota with her 2 dogs to meet up with her man who's working the pipeline up there.
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Brent
@Don P (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=17) these are from Oregon. Sun stones are another product you will find. I have a collection of those too.
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What a mess!!!!
Don't know what to say except YOWSERS!!!
& we missed you at the shindig, but you had VERY good reason! WOW
BE SAFE
And we've got more carnage to add. The window AC unit that's on the same circuit as the fried TV is making an odd noise and doesn't like to shut off after it's turned on. Both freezers in the basement are loud now. They're working but are making more noise than they used to. Dee and Zach watched the LED lights on the back porch die and another ceiling fan is toast. Most all the GFCIs through out the house are toast too. We're concerned about our lap tops and cell phones and other devices as well. They were all plugged in charging at strike time. They still work but for how much longer? It did fry a phone charger that Zach wasn't using. How much equipment will fail as a result going forward? Insurance people should be calling soon. We've got a list of damage and questions. We're going to see and talk to Zach's boss this evening. Get a master electrician's assessment of the situation.
We're disappointed that we missed the Pig Roast. It was all planned out. Had our door prize contributions boxed up, bags packed, ready to head out that morning :( :o :'( :)
It could have been so much worse 8) 8) Dee had been soaking in the cast iron claw foot bath tub moments before impact.
I am so sorry to hear it and thankful nobody was hurt. Probably a bad time to mention it but I'll think about you every time I watch the start of King Ralph.
King Ralph 1991 trailer - Bing video (https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=King+Ralph&docid=608014820596066988&mid=8DC39D1C3457EB347CA08DC39D1C3457EB347CA0&view=detail&FORM=VIREHT)
Note the picture of the royal family.
Quote from: metalspinner on August 07, 2021, 05:12:47 PM
I would have. hard time trusting the existing wiring in the house. At least every receptacle and box needs to be inspected?
Corley5 Sorry to hear about the lighting strike. Its been over thirty years ago we had a bad strike when we lived on one of our other farms. The strike hit a large walnut tree in the pasture just out back of our house and killed three cows and calves that were under the tree. It blew the door off the breaker box. Didn't burn the house down or shop or any outbuildings. Damage in every building. No one would touch the job without rewiring everything. Long story short we were out of the house for three months and the house, shop, outbuildings, well, under ground to the house and any thing that was plugged in at the time of the strike was replaced. Thirty plus years later the house and all the buildings are standing. Good luck with the insurance company we had a lot of issues with them.
Glad no one was hurt. I hope your insurance company will write you a big check.
Back when I was little, before electronics, one struck near our home. It blew out every lightbulb in the house, whether the switch was on, or not. No other sign of it.
We were backpacking, and camped near the top of a mountain in the Great Smokies. One night, we had a thunderstorm, and heard lightning striking right on the other side of the peak. The next day, we passed through that area, and there were trees blown all to pieces. There were large pieces of some trees sticking perpendicular to the tree they were impaling.
We never slept near the top of a mountain again.
Probably 15 years ago lightning struck the inlaws house. Their damage looked just like yours outlets blown out, etc.
The entire house was rewired and when they started knocking the plaster in the damage to the wiring inside the walls was unreal, how the house didn't burn to the ground is beyond me. Things melted, studs charred, insulation melted, etc.
They replaced pretty much every appliance and electrical device. The ones they didn't do right away failed not long after.
The well is toast. The white pieces are chunks of the PVC casing. We need a new well.
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Dayam!!! I've heard of it taking out pumps, and we've even lost some, but I've never heard of it taking out a well!!!
A new well? Boy that lightning sure did a number. Nasty bunch of business. Hoping for a speedy but well done recovery so there are not issues after.
Yup a new well. Rusty called his uncle who drilled it back in 95. Rusty was working for John then. Any way over the years they've only seen a couple with the casings blown from lightning. My first interaction with the insurance adjuster wasn't real positive but it could have been worse.
Quote from: Tom King on August 09, 2021, 11:29:34 AM
Glad no one was hurt. I hope your insurance company will write you a big check.
Back when I was little, before electronics, one struck near our home. It blew out every lightbulb in the house, whether the switch was on, or not. No other sign of it.
We were backpacking, and camped near the top of a mountain in the Great Smokies. One night, we had a thunderstorm, and heard lightning striking right on the other side of the peak. The next day, we passed through that area, and there were trees blown all to pieces. There were large pieces of some trees sticking perpendicular to the tree they were impaling.
We never slept near the top of a mountain again.
This reminded me of a Boy Scout story that happened in the Highland Mountains south of Butte, MT in 1922. Ten scouts were caught in a lightning storm at around 10,000 feet elevation. Nine survived, several severely injured, and the rest were knocked unconscious at least. It's a crazy story for sure, and those guys are all tougher than me! Google brings up a Facebook post about it here: Update Your Browser | Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/montanacouncil/posts/historical-story-that-took-place-in-highland-city-mt-about-one-of-the-first-troo/10161975545095247/)
The insurance adjuster asked if I'd been given a possible $$$ amount for a new well when I told him the casing on this one was blown. Rusty told me 20-25,000 to replace what we had. The adjuster about choked and said that was really high. I told him it was 290 feet deep and then he asked if I had documentation to back that up :o >:( >:( >:( I told him I was looking at the pile of pipe the pump had been hanging on. The conversation got short and he said a field adjuster would need to have a look. I agreed and told him that someone needed to lay eyes on this mess that it wasn't an average "my TV got fried" strike there were craters in our yard. I'm calling my agent in the morning to tell him what's going on. I had a meeting there for county farm bureau stuff this morning and showed him the pics. He said they have very little to do with claims but if I had any issues to call. I'm getting ahead of this issue. Another acquaintance said it's never too early to lawyer up.
One electrician told me today not to sign off on the claim for 90 days. Zach's boss told him not to sign off on anything for 6 months and that the wiring in the house needs to be gutted and replaced. The adjuster told me that there were tests for bad wiring to see what needed to be replaced when I mentioned the fried circuits, burnt plugs switched ect. ::) ::)
On my well I can take the cover off and it stamped 140 feet, 40 gallon a minute.
Guess I would tell the adjuster that the wiring test is that he sleep in the house for 6 months and you get to deadbolt the doors each night from the outside.
Nobody ever accused me of being PC.
Drywall is cheap. If they tried to get away with just a test? I would start yanking the drywall off for a visual inspection.
Sadly you should probably start shopping around for another insurance company, be prepared for when they decide not to renew your policy.
:o WOW!
Couldn't agree more that this is no ordinary strike.
Now is the time for your Insurance Company to do what you have always paid them to do.
Quote from: WDH on August 10, 2021, 07:09:26 AM
Now is the time for your Insurance Company to do what you have always paid them to do.
Never there when you need them the most has been my experience.
Years ago, I canceled my auto policy with the green lizard company and I asked the rep when I could expect my refund check as I had never needed to make a claim in the entire time I was a customer. She politely replied "Umm, you know that's not how it works, right?" We had a good laugh after I told her I was joking...but, only partly joking.
Really sorry for your hardship @Corley5 (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=27)
I sincerely hope the process gets easier
Still haven't heard from the field adjuster. My agent has been trying to make contact with the guy I talked with yesterday. He's not communicating. He's got a half hour before we go around and over him. I'm the county president of the organization that wholly owns this insurance company.
Sounds like we started a fire in home office. I've been advised to speak freely about my experiences with the company thus far. Not that I wasn't going to anyway 8) ;D
New adjuster and a much more constructive conversation. I'll get pictures and a list to him tomorrow. And a written estimate/quote for a replacement well. We'll see where it goes from here.
Doesn't sound like a time to back down keep doing what you're doing
Quote from: Corley5 on August 10, 2021, 06:21:09 PM
Sounds like we started a fire in home office.
With a thread all about lightning strikes and compromised wiring, I thought this meant something different upon first read.
Keep the momentum going
Our well guy is writing up a quote for a new well, I've applied for and paid the $$$ for a well permit and this is the preliminary list of damage I sent to the adjuster.
Ceiling lights in living room, kitchen, dining room, back porch, bedroom, hallway, and front porch; upstairs and down stairs ceiling fans, dining room chandelier, upstairs bathroom and outside GFCIS, living room TV, DVD player, Roomba, phone charger, Bose radio, window AC, outside floodlight switch and whole circuit, WELL, landline telephone stuff, underground pet fence control box, outlet in shed and maybe more, outdoor wood boiler has issues that need further investigation, wireless smart switch for outdoor floodlights and maybe the fixtures, 5 blown up fairy house lawn ornaments, 6 yard marker lights, Pac Man game, upright freezers in basement are loud but currently working. The hot water heater wires are charred at the breaker. There were many tripped circuit breakers including a 100 amp main in a sub panel and the 200 amp main in the service entrance panel. This is a preliminary list and expected to grow. Stan's Electric of Cheboygan will have a journeyman electrician here on Friday.
The pump and draft blower worked on the OWB the other day. Nothing now. I need to fire up the circulation pumps for the heat inside. Hopefully the pex-al-pex in the floors didn't cook. I need to fire up the hanging unit heater in the basement too. What......
And Dee's cell phone which was charging on the same circuit as the TV is "glitchy" and gets hot.
Quote from: Corley5 on August 11, 2021, 09:55:52 PMPac Man game
Seriously? An original one? I had no idea the damage was that bad....I mean we all grew up on that.... The Horror, The Horror....;D
Edit:
Did you loose the high scores too?
It's an old hand held device. I did clarify that in a follow up with the adjuster ;D ;D
Well, in the mean time just stick your pinky finger into your ear and wiggle it up and down - that will give you the "wakka, wakka, wakka" sound as a fix until things are straight again. :D
Have you taken a look at your ground rod, connections... that path. If that much property headed out on a measly #6 copper wire no tellin if its still there..
I haven't checked the ground. It is or was copper cable not a single strand of wire. I'll take a look in the morning 8) 8)
It went to three grounds. There's a rod at the service entrance. The phone service was grounded there too and once upon a time so were the satellite dishes. One ground rod in the wood shed for the dog fence. And the well :)
While y'all were fussing about the Pac Man, I'm sitting here thinking, "no, not the Roomba!"
Mother Nature must not like lawn fairies. Just saying.
Seriously, thank God no one was hurt.
And this lap top didn't want to wake up this morning. I didn't either :)
Sorry if I missed this but I've got multiple lightning rods and several ground rods connected to them with braided cable. Lightning strike during home construction prompted this install.
Opinions on these , "hokus-pokus"? No problems since install but a few trees hit nearby. Probably got layers of Platinum underground drawing the strikes.LOL.
Fact is that when a bolt of lightening traveling at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second) hits, no amount of anything can change it's direction. It's searching for it's opposite polarity charge and it will find it; the better the ground, the better the target. Our Daughter's neighbor found his Donkey dead. Another found 7 cows in a field all dead.
Your only option is recovery.
The best chance of minimizing damage from a lightning strike is to have an extensive grounding system that can help dissipate the energy, this is often accomplished by using a grid of ground rods.
That said, a direct strike has the potential of causing a lot of damage regardless of what you do.
Might check your out side meter if that was hit should call elect co and have them check there wires too. Our hit came from the elec pole and went thru the house to the ground at the well. It burned the tv, phone, puter and the switch that ran the well. Well pump was ok. When it hit I was in bed (2:00 am) and when it got to the well switch a ball of blue light came out on to the floor an I watched it go around an around then go into the well ground wire. That was an eye site an scary.
The power company came out that night. They had to replace the fuse in the transformer and had the meter off the house.
And it appears our third freezer may be in it's death throes.
My well was hit several years back. New pump and wires and go. Well is 480'.
I'm feeling pretty lucky now.
The Google Home spy machine isn't doing what it's supposed to. I'm fine with it. I didn't want it anyway >:(
I wish there was a non participation option or something similar for this event. I'd gladly chose it.
Do you have a lot of ledge there? Has it been dry? Just curious. Sounds like the well was the best path to ground.
No ledge. The well is in water bearing sand/clay layers. The water is in the sand between the clay layers. We had a very dry late spring and early summer but it's been fairly wet the last 5 weeks.
I had always heard it is better to give your neighbor a great lightening rod setup, along with a bug zapper light :D.
The storm cloud is a charged coil holding energy. The energy in the cloud seeks equilibrium with earth. When the charge gets high enough and the air resistance gets low enough the bolt jumps out to earth.
Give it a designated electrode that isnt your house or well!
Consider how much easier it is for a spark plug to jump a .010" smaller insulative air gap. Now imagine a 40ft copper top flag pole with an 8ft deep bonded rod in a wetter spot of the yard. Or a hunk of copper up a tree in the woods. Something like that. Give it a safe target. Reduce the air gap and youve got a good chance lightning will go there instead of your house.
Twice I have seen ground strikes into Poplar trees here on the farm. Pure luck I watched one happen, it was 150 yards away but looked like it struck my pickup. Live tree was instantly kiln dried. Blew 10' long shards 30 yards, split the main stick into a giant sling shot frame and bulldozed just like the photo with your dog.
Poplar seems to like wet feet and in growing season is really wet internally. Im guessing that creates the conductivity.
Quote from: mike_belben on August 12, 2021, 06:22:17 PMThe storm cloud is a charged coil holding energy. The energy in the cloud seeks equilibrium with earth. When the charge gets high enough and the air resistance gets low enough the bolt jumps out to earth.
Technically it's a Capacitor. A really BIG (cloud sized) one, charged with enough voltage to throw a spark several thousand feet.
But yes once that voltage building up in the cloud gets high enough, it's going to arc over via whatever offers the easiest path to the other side (the earth).
While it's hard to 100% prevent a lightning hit, it's possible to create a more likely target Tall buildings like the Skytower in Auckland city get hit multiple times a year, but I assume they have some serious conductors down into the ground.
Incredible video, massive lightning strike on Aucklands Skytower - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktsNyfXi0f8)
Yes.. Youre right. A cloud is a lot more like a cap waiting for a screwdriver to pay it a visit.
Well driller will be here Tuesday. I just submitted his quote which is a bit less than the figures that were originally thrown around. $17,927 which includes 600 bucks to grout the old well.
The electrician was here this morning and made a list. He's working on their quote. He only thinks some of the drywall will have to be torn out. He noticed black flash marks on the radiant heat equipment in the basement. I need to get a pressure tester. whiteflag_smiley whiteflag_smiley
The rig's here and set up 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) No casing or water truck yet. I wasn't here when they pulled in this morning.
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The water truck's in place. It looks like they're ready to rock in the morning. I still haven't been here yet when they've been :) :)
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New location for this new well? Or punching down with new casing at the old well site?
Had to punch our 50 yr old well down additional 120' 10 years ago (now 440'). Takes some delicate setup time to line up the drilling rig "just right" to do that.
Good luck with this fix and hope the insurance is standing in back of you.
It's about 6' from the old well. So far so good.
He made it to 190' and lost the drilling fluid. They took the cap off the old well and there the fluid was. Apparently 190' is where the lightning blew out the casing. So we need to pick out a new spot for a new hole, he'll move the rig and start over in the morning.
So there must of been a path for the fluid to follow? :o
Again, what a mess!!!! :(
Quote from: Corley5 on August 09, 2021, 08:53:27 PM
The insurance adjuster asked if I'd been given a possible $$$ amount for a new well when I told him the casing on this one was blown. Rusty told me 20-25,000 to replace what we had. The adjuster about choked and said that was really high. I told him it was 290 feet deep and then he asked if I had documentation to back that up :o >:( >:( >:(
Did I read $20-$25K for a new well? Our pond and pasture irrigation well 280' deep. $4,800 2 years ago
Quote from: WDH on August 10, 2021, 07:09:26 AM
Now is the time for your Insurance Company to do what you have always paid them to do.
I've never had a bad experience with them except perhaps the one we are dealing with now on an auto claim
The written estimate was just short of 18k. It'll be more now with the wash out. He's got the old well groted and is doing the new hole now. The next hole will be where the truck cab is in pictures.
The wrecked well was about $7,500 in 1995. That's a complete water producing well. The estimate on the new one includes everything new but a pressure tank.
Sorry if I missed this but did the lightning cause your well to go dry? Or is the water just not fit for human consumption? I thought it had maybe just wrecked the casing.
Regardless I'm sorry you and your family are going through this,I can tell though that this isn't going to beat you or redefine your future, your already putting everything back together.Soon you will just get right back to living the dream.
Read a few posts back.
When the well was drilled in 95 they went through several water bearing "layers" and stopped at 250'. John figured there was enough water there but called and asked what I had in mind for water usage. At the time we were thinking of a geo thermal climate control system so he punched it down to 290'. We think the first water bearing formation was at 190' and that's where the first "ground" was for the lightning and that's where the casing is blown. The water sand just eroded between the two holes when the bit was going by.
Sorry you have had such a giant PITA to deal with. Obviously in the end it's small stuff house is there and you guys are fine but man, no fun at all!
When Rusty had the issues yesterday he thought he'd lost his bit and drilling rod. When the fluid ran out of the hole it allowed material above the bit to cave in. He was able to get it out but it was touch and go. Today on the newest hole he hit a void of some sort at 34'. It sucked all the fluid out again. He was able to mix his drilling mud heavy and pumped a bunch of it into the cavity and was able to continue. In close to thirty plus years of drilling wells in this country he's never seen anything quite like it in this glacial till, especially that shallow. He thinks it could be related to the lightning. He's down 124' now, hopes to be done Monday and have water to us Tuesday. But he's concerned about what else is down there. There were no issues drilling 26 years ago. We're over it.
You reckon he would have lost it if he had grouted the old well first?
Quote from: Don P on August 20, 2021, 07:02:58 PM
You reckon he would have lost it if he had grouted the old well first?
That probably would have made a difference. He grouted it and that hole before he started again :)
My well story: Welllll... (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=66160.msg1003479#msg1003479) What I didn't state was the abandoned well cost me only $7,000 for the 520' hole.
The well guys showed up this morning. They weren't planning to be back until Monday. They're hoping things go well, so are we, and they can get to 200' and then finish up Monday. Everyone has their fingers crossed.
The circulation pumps for the heating system are fried. They've been added to the list. I got a pressure gage in my Surplus Center order and now need to figure out a combination of fittings so I pressure test the the heat zones.
Hopefully you hit water without having to go too deep. I got lucky when I drilled mine years ago, the contract was for a minimum cost to 100', then so many dollars per foot after. I hit water at 95', and did a happy dance.
8)
Also hopefully everything passes tests. Don't know about Michigan, but in Wisconsin it has to have a minimum of so many gallons per minute flow, as well as being tested for arsenic, bacteria and nitrates.
just WOW!
On a side note - look for Fulgurite's at the lightning strike!
We hit water in 2 zones. First one about 120'. Second one at 240'. Put 40' mesh casing in each zone for 60 + gpm.
This is just unbelievable to hear of such damage. Scrolling down to read each day's discovery and what's involved in getting back to repaired is getting an audible out loud "WOW."
You'd be the perfect candidate for the "we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two" commercial.
mine was 804' deep
Ouch & DAUMN! Raider Bill, that's some kinda long. Exactly what kind & I'm still gonna be in shock!
Top of a nob in se tenn.
Couple hundred ft of 6" casing and the rest through rock.
I've always felt the guy ripped me off but....
There's a thread on it back on 2007 here so.ewhere unless it was lost in the crash.
Not lost..
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=26263.msg375409#msg375409
There's a 400' dry hole behind the house. I told him to pull out and drill where he thought there was water. He hit 30 GPM at 165' about 350' away from the house. We had one house that they drilled 2 500' holes, barely a trickle. They brought in a water witch and he got a strong vibration. Uhh, you're on the septic tank. He kept walking and picked another spot, another 500' minor well. They put pumps in the best 2 but it wasn't that good. I'm working on the second house in the last bit that has an existing well too close to be able to termite treat the foundation, something else to keep in mind.
Quote from: beenthere on August 23, 2021, 12:49:43 PM
Not lost..
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=26263.msg375409#msg375409
Thanks!
I need to go back and reread my build someday.
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I think the heating system is toast. It got hot enough that it melted some of the foam pipe insulation to the fittings. The layers of pex-al-pex will separate if it gets too hot and be weakened and restrict flow. This could mean tearing down the ceilings in the basement and first floor to replace the tubing... I've got a heating and cooling outfit coming to take a look. A pressure test that I do isn't going to do any good at this point.
The well is drilled. 290' and in the same water bearing strata but the layers getting there were much different than the old well 30' away. It pumped good with the rig. Tomorrow they'll grout it, set the pump and get it hooked into the house.
Wow, that is some damage! :o I am amazed the whole thing didn't burn to the ground. Lightening hit a transformer less than a mile from where we were working, we had never experienced anything like it and were awed by the power.
Man, seeing that I'd have a hard time trusting the wiring. You got nailed!
Good Lord what a saga
It'd drive me crazy in a bad way, just forget that I'm already crazy in a good way ;)
This is how HOT things got. I was talking to Dee this afternoon and happened to look at the hinges on the door to the stairway. Those are soot marks. On a wooden door's hinges. Further investigation revealed the marks on the front door. It's steel. You can see where lubricant cooked out. Other doors in the house show similar marks but not as pronounced. We do have running hot and cold water again
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:o :o :o
Was anyone home when this happened?
Quote from: Corley5 on August 09, 2021, 08:54:19 AM
It could have been so much worse Dee had been soaking in the cast iron claw foot bath tub moments before impact.
Yes they were home. This brought back memories of me as a kid heading for the shower and my parents saying, oh no you won't, not during a thunderstorm. They never said why, but I guess they knew a thing or two.
Mom did tell us that she saw a ball of lightning roll towards dad and knock him over when they lived at the Air Force barracks in Biloxi Mississippi.
With all that damage, lucky no one was hurt.
No humans or canines were injured. With the water back on we'll see how long the washer, dishwasher, and water heater last. The heating and cooling place will be out Friday at 3 to evaluate the heating system and the water heater. Our electrician recommends not closing the claim for 6 months. The heating and cooling guy says a year. It took over two weeks to notice the door hinges.
Quote from: thecfarm on August 25, 2021, 06:11:59 AM
With all that damage, lucky no one was hurt.
Yeah I was thinking the same, I wonder had someone been using the sink or shower it could of shocked them?
Wow. Just wow. I would be counting my blessings that the house didn't burn down. :o
They say that lightning never strikes in the same place twice, but I sure would ground the heck out of everything!
Don't talk on the phone during a thunderstorm ;)
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I've been following this from the start and don't have any experience, so nothing to offer. But this is CRAZY , all the damage to so many different things. I wish you the best of luck and keep doing updates.
Update. The tub that Dee had been soaking in moments before the strike. The current cooked the seals in the faucet. It drips from both the hot and cold side. If she'd have still been in the tub it would have been really bad. The clothes dryer is no longer drying well, the dishwasher leaks, the clothes washer throws error codes, the microwave takes 2 minutes to melt a piece of Kraft Cheese, the regular oven is many degrees off to the hot side, and all of us are officially confirmed sick with COVID so we can't get repair people in here for 10 days or more. steve_smiley steve_smiley arg-smiley arg-smiley whiteflag_smiley whiteflag_smiley
Man, you guys are going through it. Take care of each other. Do test the smoke alarms if they were hardwired or slap some battery ones around.
Wow you are really going through some unbelievable twists of fate.
Nothing is more important than your health though. Keep us posted here on how that proceeds for you. Our own doctorb got monoclonal antibodies as an early treatment to prevent serious symptoms. Is that available for your family?
With the house, it just don't stop. ::) :o
Sorry to hear of the illness.
Take care, and heal up. Hopefully some sunshine will bring some better luck.
Just wondering how you're doing? Should hopefully be past the worst of covid and how's the repairs going?
We're still going ;) ;D :) We all recovered from the Covid but still have some lingering issues with energy and congestion. Dr. said it could last a month or more. We've got natural anti-bodies now 8) 8) We've been sicker with other ailments.
Repairs are on ongoing. The electrical is done except for the master electrician coming out for final testing. The well is done. We were without water for 16 days. We're waiting on an appliance repair place to evaluate our stuff. They're backed up until November 2 but the equipment is limping along yet. We check the freezers a couple times a day, the washer throws codes but works, the dryer is slow to dry, microwave takes two minutes to melt a Kraft cheese, etc. The insurance co. is requiring the evaluation to replace or repair. It doesn't appear the tubing in the floors will need to be replaced. Just the circulators, fittings, control box, and draft motor on the furnace. The insurance co. has been less than helpful through it all.
boy thats a rough break, glad you all came through. hang in there buddy.
I am in the claims bidness.
When I got my start 30 some years ago a claims manager told me they were in business to sell policies not pay claims.
30 years later I've seen some that really tried to make things right but many have the deny everything, buy it only if you have to mentality.
I'm working one now that is right around the million $ mark. Its a RV that burned to the ground because the owner tried to install a light so he could see better in the motor compartment in case he wanted to check the oil.
Unfused, direct to full battery power through metal without any insulation or grommets at all.
1156 socket with pigtail and wire nuts unsecured just flopping around.
I asked the owner what he did for a living.
Bigshot hedgefund whoha on wall street. Bragged how he paid cash for the coach, owned a estate in Connecticut and somewhere near Estes park. Hung out with all the worlds movers and shakers.
So I have to ask, "why didn't you pay someone to do this for you that knew what they were doing" might have cost $100 on the high side.
He got a bit indignant and said it wasn't rocket science the people you pay to do work like that hardly have any education and he, Mr ivy league is obviously smart enough to do simple wiring.. and that if it didn't get paid he had law firms waiting to sue everyone.
I asked him if he had ever heard of Mike Rowe or the term tradesman.
The claim will be denied and the lawyers will start billing $300-$400 hours to swap paper back and forth.
Nothing to do with your claim just making conversation.
Just curious in broad terms why that claim will be denied?
Quote from: Southside on September 22, 2021, 04:06:55 PM
Just curious in broad terms why that claim will be denied?
I think that would fall under contributory negligence. The owner caused the fire by his own intentional and substandard wiring. That's different from Accidentally setting fire to the vehicle.
If the wiring had been done competently (even as a DIY job) then it wouldn't have caused a fire. Or if a mechanic had botched the job, then his liability insurance should cover his butt.
I think what matters is "accidental" vs deliberate negligence.
Quote from: Ianab on September 22, 2021, 04:54:17 PM
Quote from: Southside on September 22, 2021, 04:06:55 PM
Just curious in broad terms why that claim will be denied?
I think that would fall under contributory negligence. The owner caused the fire by his own intentional and substandard wiring. That's different from Accidentally setting fire to the vehicle.
If the wiring had been done competently (even as a DIY job) then it wouldn't have caused a fire. Or if a mechanic had botched the job, then his liability insurance should cover his butt.
I think what matters is "accidental" vs deliberate negligence.
Yepper, improper repair or modification.
Insurer is going to press this pretty hard.
Owner was so proud of his work he took a video of it.
The cause isn't my role in this claim thankfully.
Raider you'd be an interesting person to buy a drink and let the stories flow. Is it wrong for me to love a happy ending?
Corley I am so glad you pulled through the covid situation! Now it's been brought to my attention that appliance prices are really high so be careful you have enough to replace that roomba.
Corley, its hard to imagine all that damage and hardships.
Quote from: Roxie on September 22, 2021, 05:52:53 PM
Raider you'd be an interesting person to buy a drink and let the stories flow. Is it wrong for me to love a happy ending?
Corley I am so glad you pulled through the covid situation! Now it's been brought to my attention that appliance prices are really high so be careful you have enough to replace that roomba.
Roxie my love, someday a Harleys going to pull into your driveway with a Sean Connery looking guy on it with a pocket full of personality. Grab your leathers and meds we may be awhile.. Lol
The big question is what was the fate of the Pac Man game?
Corley, I was up in Wolverine again a few weeks ago visiting with Justin and Chelsea and doing a little trail riding. Justin took me by your place when he was taking me to one of their logging jobs. I will say you had quite the pile of firewood logs stacked up at you operation. I would've liked to stop in to see you but that was right at the height of your covid illness.
I'm glad to hear you all are doing better and on the mend and yeah it takes a little while to get the energy back and the lungs cleared out.
Hopefully all is going well with the lightning strike repairs. I can't believe the house is still standing after all the issues you found.
Hang in there and get healthy and stand your ground on the repairs.
Brent