Originally Posted by
Mojo31
Plumbers, sheet rock, paint, pool repair, and flooring trades will all have a good spring.
I just used the main property shut off. Will check it periodically over the next few days, but won't worry about it filling our pipes and freezing while we sleep. Or if we go to a hotel for a shower and an oh my god change of pace.
And bought 20lb of ice at HEB, which will melt overnight. And scooped a bunch of snow into a huge Rubbermaid for flushing. Not a lot of fun, but could be worse.
And yes, the real problem is things aren't hardened for this. AG's dad is a power system professor and consults with the main local utility. Just like we have crappy insulation in our houses here and the pipes aren't covered, the windmills don't have the winterizing options installed. Those cost money that most (here) didn't want to pay. Natural gas pump heads froze solid. Our issue here now is that underground water mains broke and we're at the top of a hill, so... we're effed but good. But warm, at least for now. I am legit scared of my fingers with the Raynaud's; at least I have a bunch of chemical warmers.
The total damage of this will be colossal, make no mistake. AG and I are incredibly lucky. It's not as bad as Katrina or Harvey or Sandy, but the amount of damage will be huge. And we wanted to get some construction work done over the summer.