A tree fell on our house!

[jellyben]

Last week we had a powerful windstorm in Seattle. I thought the worst was when a 30 foot tree crashed into the backyard. Apparently the worst was actually when an 80 foot tree crashed into the roof and landed on the deck. Thankfully we are all OK, although my son's room is in shambles, the master bedroom ceiling is spit open and the deck is destroyed. It could have been so much worse-like our next door neighbor's who paid $10,000 to have a tree removed from their guest room. And we are fortunate that our neighborhood never lost power-some people have been without power since Thursday night.

Now we have to decide if we should leave as planned to see the in-laws this Wednesday. We still need to have the insurance adjuster out, and we don't know how well the tarps that DH put up will keep out the water when it rains. I would hate to come home to 2 bedrooms filled with water, and I am afraid to delay seeing the insurance guy.

The silver lining will be if we get a free roof out of all this, since it was ready to be replaced anyway!

[funnybone]

OMG - I'm glad you and your family are safe. The house and roof can be repaired easily. As for leaving to go out of town, do you have anyone that can check on your house while you are away? How long will you be gone? I guess it's a tough call, because you don't know what you would come back to. Good Luck!

[Canice]

How frightening and stressful! I'm really sorry to hear about it. Hope you're able to get the tarps secured tightly enough to hold out the rain, and that you can get a good roofer soon.

[Robyn1007]

Wow, I'm sure that was frightening! I am so glad that you and your family are okay though. I know I would have a hard time leaving my home in that state, I don't envy you having to make that decision.

[bobmark226]

Sorry to hear you're living through what sounds like a nightmare, Karen.

Obviously the decision is yours, but I know I wouldn't be able to leave the house for any extended period if I was living through it.

Good luck with the insurers, too!

Bob

[jimjimmerjim]

The silver lining will be if we get a free roof out of all this, since it was ready to be replaced anyway!

That is a good way to look at the situation.

I think it was the winter of 1990-91 that was so bad. I was living on one of the islands in the Sound, and a neighbor would up with 5 Doug firs on their house. It was unbelievable that the house was still standing.

We didn't get hit as bad as W WA, but it was still pretty bad over here. A house about six houses east of me lost the roof due to a visiting Ponderosa pine that had been in the neighbor's yard. I live on a very large hill and my neighborhood seemed to get most of the damage from that storm.

Glad you are safe and the power is back.

[tamawrite]

Oh, nooo! I'm so sorry to hear you were one of the unlucky ones. :( :( :( But, I'm glad your family is safe and that you'll get a new roof.

[DmOrtega]

We were lucky. We only lost power for 26 hours and had minimal damage.

Here's some news coverage to check out. (http://www.komotv.com/)

[Valerie226]

You have my sympathy, we in the far north end fared a little better than the east side did. You guys really got whomped! we got nailed worse with the big snow two weeks ago.
We have lots of trees near our house and we were sweating bullets while the wind howled, but this time we didn't even lose power except for a blip or two. I for one would not leave without getting things sorted out a little more. I 'd want the insurance business taken care of before I'd be able to enjoy myself, and I'd be worrying about additional damage all the time I was gone.

[momqat]

I for one would not leave without getting things sorted out a little more. I 'd want the insurance business taken care of before I'd be able to enjoy myself, and I'd be worrying about additional damage all the time I was gone.

What she said.

Glad to hear that you and you're family were not injured -- that, of course, is the most important thing, then making sure that you all have a safe and secure place to be. I'm sure your in-laws will well understand if you have to cancel plans. You can always visit another time, but you'll have much more peace of mind making sure all is well on your end.

[jellyben]

I am inclined to stay here, but DH and the kids would be so disappointed. But it is just not in my personality to leave under these circumstances!

Glad to hear others in the area fared OK.

[Kay Henderson]

Holy cow, Karen! No advice, but my strong sympathies. Please keep us posted!

Kay

[lindrusso]

Can you stay in the house with the damage? If you feel you can leave, it might be nice to get away from the mess?

Like others have said, it's a tough call.

Very glad to hear that everyone's okay.

That's a very tough way to get a new roof! ;) But they are not cheap, so maybe that really is the silver lining.

[Beth]

I don't know what I would do either, but I would have a hard time leaving.

Glad you are all okay.