hurricane irma recovery

Hurricane Irma off the coast of Florida, Sept 8, 2017 (courtesy of NASA)

First Hurricane Irma post dated September 6, 2017.

My husband and I evacuated our home on September 7, 2017, the day prior to the above pic. We drove to Colorado (where we have family) with a few belongings, expecting to be back in Florida to resume normal life in a week or so.

Unfortunately, our house and office was hit by a tornado spawned by Hurricane Irma on the night of September 10 when the storm passed through our area, and received the most damage of all the homes in our neighborhood. The house had the roof taken off and a wall collapsed, as well as extensive water damage throughout, and was not inhabitable. My husband flew back to Florida as soon as our local airport was cleared to begin cleanup. I stayed with my family in Colorado until the house would be inhabitable again.

Hurricane Recovery Update post dated October 16, 2017.

By this time the debris had been cleaned up and a proper assessment made of the damage. We realized the time and expense would make recovery a longer term project. My friend Anne Elliott set up a Go Fund Me for us, to help with recovery costs. Thank you all you sweet dears who shared the link, prayed for us, and helped! ♥

Hurricane Recovery Update post dated December 4, 2017.

We were shooting for a Thanksgiving return home for me … but it was not to be. My husband has been continuing to work on the rebuilding. It is now six months since the hurricane, and we are still living in two separate states. Below is the gallery of our recovery pics. The time is extended because there is still quite a bit of the cost left, and we are working to maintain our bills every month and have a little left over to put toward the house at the end of every month.

My family in Colorado has continued to shelter me even through this extended time. They are wonderful people!

Millers’ Hurricane Recovery Go Fund Me

If you can help with donations, sharing our Go Fund Me link, or prayers, we would greatly appreciate it! Thank you!

: My office … without a roof.

: The collapsed front wall.

: A neighbor’s church youth group came to help.

: Packing what could be saved to take to storage.

: At least our front room windows survived without a scratch! Go Pella!

: House empty, now clearing away debris.

: Nailing plywood over the open wall going to the rest of the house to protect it from the weather.

: Neighbors came to help rebuild the exterior wall.

: And a new roof …

: Ready to put the windows back in.

: New siding.

: And the front garden repaired (an HOA necessity).

: Carport roof and soffit (sp?) damage.

: Now that the exterior is closed in, time to work on the interior.

: Drywall sheets.

: The floor was ruined. Taking out the old floor studs and rebuilding piece by piece.

: Subfloor.

: The new flooring can go in when the interior walls are done.

: And then the water heater went out.

: EVERYTHING will be new in the house when finished!

: New wall studs.

: Taking out the ruined windows one room at a time.

: Installing new windows.

: New wall studs, and insulation.

: That’s a new plywood subfloor over the new floor repairs.

: And drywall over the insulation.

: Something something drywall mud (I am not a carpenter) …

: Ready for wall texture.

: It was here the central heating and air went out. Repairs suspended while we save for a new unit. We normally have savings for things like this, but yes. All our savings went into repairs already.