THE GREAT FLOOD

I had built and moved into a new home about 2 months ago. It has a large and spacious unfinished basement which I have slowly converted into my new studio space. I acid washed the floors, painted the walls black , installed a sound system, and after a week's worth of labor, I had a pretty decent area for a "home studio"

I had noticed when I had moved in that the basement drain which catches the condensation from the central air unit and softener was draining slowly. I placed a call to the builder, and I was told that some the other homes in the area had slow drains and that I should remove the grate-cover and shove the drain lines from the water softener directly into the hole. I did as instructed and it seemed to not backup as much, but I felt it was still not draining appropriately. I placed a second call to the builder... I was immediately blown off and pretty much told to quit whining and to enjoy my new home.

We roll forward in time to 3 weeks ago. It was one of those triple-digit days and the air conditioning wasn't keeping up. I decided I'd better run downstairs to check on everything and low and behold, as I reach the bottom of the stairs, I step into 4 inches of water! Lightstands are floating, props are bumping around as if they were toys in a bathtub. Besides my studio space, I had used a separate area of the basement to store all my old stuff and seasonal goods. As I rushed over to that area, I knew that there was no way in hell that my diplomas, old electronics, and my late mother's Christmas ornaments would be spared.

What would casuse such a thing to occur in a new home? Get this... When they built the home, one of the subcontractors decided it would be okay to dump his excess concrete, stucco, or tile grout material down the drain and into the sewer.

Now 3 weeks later after a maxed out credit card, a newly poured driveway, and priceless heirlooms and sentiments ruined forever, I have realized that we can never prepare for the unknown, and that we have to take life as it is dealt, regardless of the hand you hold.

As for me, luckily the builder is going to take care of the cleanup and construction costs. But covering my lost setiments is another matter.