Because we now know that a valve "blew up" rather than a pipe bursting, we decided to have the companion valve on the cold water side replaced as well, just to be prudent. The plumber brought the failed valve to us so that we could give it to the insurance company. Here is what it looks like. The part you see on the bottom of the picture somehow broke free of the main valve (top). The insurance company will send it to a lab, and if they determine it was defective, they will go after the manufacturer for damages, including recovery of our deductible amount.
The ServiceMaster folks were here again this morning. They added another dehumidifier, and that has helped quite a bit. The bitter cold outside and the 80% humidity in the house were combining to make all of our windows and exterior walls sweat. We were worried about paint and wallpaper damage, so this seems to be helping. The humidity is down to 75% as I write this. ServiceMaster also decided that the north wall also needed to be demoed, so here is that result.
This was a little hard to watch, but it was incredibly wet behind the plaster walls, and the insulation was soaked, so this was the right thing to do. The exterior sheeting was also soaked, and everything is drying much better now. I had the folks who installed that new front bay window come out and inspect it. They believe it will be fine, as long as we take care to thoroughly dry everything.
The insurance adjuster was here this afternoon as well, and he did a thorough walkthrough. We feel good about what he has had to say so far, and so now we can begin to work on cleanup and making lists of lost or damaged items. I asked my cousin from Clarence to come out tomorrow to bid doing repairs for us. We'll see what he has to say. There is still some question on ServiceMaster's part as to whether or not the ceiling can be saved. It may yet need to be demoed as well.
I think that's it for now.
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