Hi Guys,

Believe it or not I am rebuilding in the same spot!
I've been there for 16 years without a drop of water,,,and yes this was the 2nd time in a year. But there is nothing I can do presently... I have 3 years left on my mortgage..*I probably would sell but who would buy right now?! We have to stick it out,,hope for a few years of no hurricanes, people will forget and we'd be able to probably sell it.. It IS a great area,,trees,parks,etc.mass transit to NYC/ everywhere,,Long Beach 1/4 mile away!, SAFE neighborhood,.[ 2 good local military shows!]

** We might be eligible with the help of FEMA and N.Y.State to actually raise the house! It is a long almost 2 year process, tons of paper work, insurance co.s, engineers, plans,inspectors etc. but if FEMA is in for 70% I am also in and would do it, thats how much we love this area..

1-25-13, -guys for those that are still interested,,,
,,doors hung,,Condensing unit in place but not charged/piped.,,Half the house is laminate flooring,done,,but 2 of the bedrooms and a hallway will get carpeted,not done yet.. This time we tiled the kitchen floor and the entrance pathway,done.. Still have a bunch of molding to do then to spackle the hundreds of holes from the nail gun! Still have a 8 ft front window to get and installed. Starting to do the finish spackling, and patching up. AND still need complete kitchen cabinets!
And the tons of little stuff,,all the door knobs/locks,,inner closet shelving/rods,,sinks, fixtures,,all the plumbing traps and water supply lines,,all the Nat. Gas hook-ups,,prime all the doors, walls, everything,,then finish paint but a while from that.. Still need every appliance you can think of! , also all the furniture,,beds, dressers etc., a lot of stuff for sure!

I hire contractors for some of the work but most of it is myself,,my 83 yr.old Father, and some part time help from my son..My 2 good buddies/partners help keep my shop open and operating and help with material drop offs [hard to fit 12 footers in a compact car!!
So, long cold work days still ahead but we all want to get back home so 'work we must'..

God Bless GDC friends,,,keep finding that good stuff! , hope to be back 'on' soon..
OH by the way we are in the middle of a super cold spell,,single digits to the low 20s. There are still homes that do not have heat! that do not have insulation in their walls! no matter what you see on the dammed TV,,it is far far from being over!...,

To the brothers in Long Beach, Oceanside, the Rockaways, Coney Island, Staten Island, Brighton Beach,,We hear you, We are all praying for your recovery too!....
Gaspare