From 36K in flood damage to $143: How small changes saved one family heartache — and money
Rather than raise their home, one New Brunswick couple decided to adapt to living in a flood zone
The 2018 flood in New Brunswick put Hugh Whalen's first floor two feet underwater for the first time, but when the river came in this year, he was hardly bothered.
After suffering almost $40,000 in damage to their Grand Lake home last year, Whalen and his wife got to work on making it flood ready.
Their flood insurance policy covered most of the repairs, but Whalen said he invested another $6,000 to prevent further damage.
They installed a new horizontal heat pump to replace the $21,000 model they lost last year. The new pump is raised near the ceiling and has suffered no damage.
Their propane water heater was replaced with an on-demand version that sits high on the wall and can be removed in 15 minutes.
They got rid of the soaked carpet and installed click flooring, which can be pulled up from the cement floor, and replaced the drywall with three-foot removable wainscotting.
It took Whalen and his wife about two hours to remove the flooring before this year's flood, but he said most of that was spent numbering pieces.
"If you don't number them they won't fit back together. It's a big jigsaw puzzle."
The insulation was replaced with a spray-in foam insulation that doesn't absorb water.
"So the water came in this year, and it went out, and didn't cause any damage."
The bathroom vanity was replaced by a pedestal sink, and it didn't suffer any damage this year, either.
They even rigged up a pulley system to raise the heavy exercise equipment that was too big to bring up the stairs.
It took him and his wife about 10 hours to prepare their house for this year's flood, and he estimates the cleanup will take about four days.
Whalen said the money spent making the house flood-ready was a better alternative than lifting the whole structure.
"It's too large to jack up, and if I jacked it up it would cost me 30-40,000 dollars," he said.
Whalen did have to pay some flood-related costs. He has receipts for a grand total of $143.75.
"Two wooden strips that were destroyed when I lifted them out. A gallon of mould control, and a bottle of vinegar. And that was it."
With files from Catherine Harrop