While coming back from two weeks’ vacation in the Netherlands, I found my house damaged by a water leak that started after the Richmond city water treatment facility was out of service, causing a lot of residents in Richmond, Henrico, Hannover and Chesterfield (Virginia) to be without water for days to come.

Some houses require hot water pumped into the furnace to heat up the house, just like mine. Long story short, my furnace heat pump was on while there was no water causing the pump to burn (it need water to lubricate) and so my heat went out. During this time the faucet upstairs was slowly dripping to prevent frozen water pipes. This caused a water drain to freeze up and once the water at the water treatment facility was restored it came back on and caused the water to burst and leak.

This happened on or about the 7th of January 2025, I was in the Netherlands, so there was nothing I could do, if I had known anyway. On the 14th of January 2025 I returned home and found this mess. The water leak started in the master bathroom upstairs and this is located above my photography studio.

The costliest damage is in my photo studio, as most of my photography equipment was soaked with water. My insurance placed me in a hotel and temporary housing while my belongings are removed, and the repairs are made. Only half of my house is damaged, and the other half is okay, thank goodness the half of my house where my train room is located.

My train room, as well as my downstairs office and upstairs bedroom, are used to store a lot of my belongings, however they removed two truckloads with my other belongings to their storage facility. So, for about 4 months I will not be able to work in my train room, while this room is full of photography gear and computers used in my photography business. I will have to check each one of my cameras and computers out to see how much damage the water has created.

Update May 4. 2025:

The repairs are going on, but they are behind schedule of the first estimated timeline. This is due to a couple of things, lack of communication from my claim adjuster (my insurance company replaced him with another claim adjuster), 2 lost paychecks by the USPS and I eventually opted to pick up check number 3 from their office instead of mailing it. Then my bank placed a hold on the check, until I finally was able to pay the 50% downpayment before the construction crew started to work.

Update August 24. 2025:

The construction crew finished the repairs about 7 weeks ago, and I am hard at work to get my studio and home back to where it was. Since my photography studio is one source of income, I focus on this area first. Not yet completely finished, but I am already open for passport photography since I moved back in, working with clients while the contractor was finishing up. In between my nightshift and photography, I try as much as I can to finish my living area, which is located upstairs in my two-story home. To give you an idea, from the 300 moving boxes I still have about 100 to unpack. My hobby room will have to wait, and I do not foresee myself actively working on my hobby until next year. But I really want to get with the small trains, I see enough real trains at nigh at work.

To be continued