UBB.threads
'Gaspare - Irene damage'

I'd like to express my thanks for the well wishes and prayers from members..

My home received about a foot of water all thru out it from hurricane Irene. That 12 inches of sea water did some heavy damage to my home. ALL flooring had to be torn up,,the sheetrock 4ft. from bottom had to be removed. ALL my appliances ruined, most furniture, and many personal items ruined. Decontamination and dehumidification / drying process ending.. We still can not live in the house.

I'm getting emails but at this time its very hard to answer so this is the best way as far as GDC is concerned.
Got a lot of work ahead of me,and waiting on insurance and FEMA,,then dealing with contractors / construction....

Will miss seeing all the cool items in everyone's collections and interesting discussions. ..

Happy Hunting,,,and thanks again for the well wishers and prayers.. ,Gaspare
Still praying for you G!
Just want to give a big thank you to the well wishers and for the prayers, they really help. [Thanks Jerry]

Last month hurricane Irene came and left certain parts of my town under 4 foot of water. My home was narrowly missed by a tidal surge of 6 foot. We received about approx 12 inches of water in the house,,,not just rain water but sea water! Almost everything from my front door to my rear door was ruined. What pieces I did manage to raise up and save just succumbed to mold later on no matter how many times you sprayed with bleach. When cleaning out my kitchen cabinets my daughter showed me a large pot and inside was a fish, we had jellyfish in the backyard everything stunk.....
Carpet and all sub flooring had to be pulled up,,4 foot from bottom of the sheet rock had to be cut out along with all the insulation, all doors etc.

We have flood insurance but as yet no check so we are rebuilding with what little we have and our own hands and backs,,a slow process.
My family is split up but we are fortunate enough to have a place to stay with family.

That 12 inches of water did a hurtin on us but we'll be back..
Again, thanks for the well wishes and prayers,,hope to be back 'regular' soon,,,happy hunting guys..................,G.

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some progress.. [this is from a week ago]..

Now the insulation has been replaced and the sheetrock replaced.. Flooring and doors next!

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,,some of my Great Uncles pieces that were in a 'safe place'. This rust and mold happened within a few days!

About 30 pieecs were ruined both German and some of his U.S. awards.. Guess I'll try my hand at some intensive restorations,,rust and mold problems mainly..

anyway,,thanks again for the well wishes and prayers.. Hope to be back in the mix soon...,Gaspare

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that is so sad to see sorry for your losses and hope things get a whole lot better
This is a real unexpected ugly situation for N.Y. and the North East section.We expect damages in S.Fl. when a hurricane hits but I'm sure most people never expected this .
That`s really bad mate, I`m so sorry this happened to you.
Damn, Gaspare that sea water was brutal !! Really hope you can clean them up some. More urgent though is the house re build , I really hope the insurance cheque comes through and FAST !
Arrrrggghhhh!
Sorry about your losses G. Do you have collectors insurance?
No, no collectors insurance.. My main collection is fine.

These sorry to say were pieces from family that fought in WWII and were kept in a different area.. They were safe when we evacuated.. A floating box bumped into something and set off a chain reaction and they ended up damp mad... They weren't submerged,,just the bottom of the case got wet.
It took us 2 days to get back to the house and when we did this was the damage to them...

I already restored/repaired a few pieces this weekend,,they came out great although not as bad as these..
The SA and Army I'll tackle this week with some new found ideas and chemicals I now have... I'll post a shot when I'm done...
Dehumidifiers are the best thing for removing moisture from a flooded building friend.
Very sorry about your possessions.
You might contact FEMA and see if they have any.
Steve Ray
G..Curious to know how the daggers turned out. Have you had time to work on them yet.
Hi Rick,,, Well most came out o.k. The army is the worst and I really haven't touched it yet.. The SA is 2nd worst!
Cleaned,soaked, scrubed, oiled,etc. Pitting on the blade :(,,,nothing can be done about it. Handle,wood,emblems etc. came out o.k.. I'm sure after a couple years the patina will return. It's all my Great Uncles stuff so damaged or not I love it all an it stays....Some Photos:

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I just want to add my sincere thanks to all the well wishers and prayers for my family.. Main thing was that we were all safe and healthy.. Many didn't make it out with their health so I've been blessed with that. The house was ruined but it has been rebuilt.
I have moved back in to the house a couple days before Thanksgiving,,,great to be home! grin

There is still a great community of collectors here, I received many emails from members wishing me well etc. and again I want to thank them.
Then there are a special few members like Jim Modena and Andy 'MilitaryNut'. These 2 members went above and beyond just wishing me well and prayers, they deserve all the thanks and recognition they can get,,2 great guys I consider family,,My family and I thank you both very much..

Thanks again to everyone.....................,G.
G,

Glad you're home once & for all, a Thanksgiving blessing to remember. Nice work on the Heidelberg too.
SORRY to see & hear of your great loss. We just never know what tomorrow will bring! I belong to 12-step proogram that promotes the idea that we are never given more than we can handle. Its sure easier for me to say than to live through. I try to live in the positive. My friend Omer West-305th Inf, 77th Div-WWII-says we are only "Keeper of the Memories" for a short time, then life happens and things change. I haven't got anymore of my treasures. I "lost" them years ago when a great storm entered my life-but thats another story for another time. Anyway, in closing, I just want to ssay I'm sorry for your loss but glad you had those great pieces, at least for a while. Peace, Mark
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