A flood of "Biblical proportions"
Megan arrived home on December 21, to find water running throughout the house. Despite her fear of electrocution, she went into the basement, turned off the water and called the plumber. Michael helped her with the inital clean-up before we returned on Dec 22.
The boots near the front door were necessary to wade through the water in the basement.
All parquet in the entrance way and kitchen had to be removed; however, all plaster walls stayed intact.
Some water made it into the dining room, so part of the dining room plaster ceiling had to be removed to allow the joists to dry.
Although no water leakage seemed to reach the living room, the living room plaster ceiling had holes cut into it to aid in drying any humidity buildup in the joists.
The downstairs bar area looking into the family room. Carpeting and ceiling were removed and dehumidifiers and fans were placed throughout the basement.
The hose in the master bedroom vanity (shown above) seems to have been the culprit. Notice that it has "popped" out of the coupling. The question was "did it fail spontaneously or did it freeze?". [The insurance adjuster said the hose could fail spontaneously; but, since it failed in winter, the likely cause was freezing (an uninsured event).] Water flowed from this hose down the hot air vent "frying" the furnace circuit board causing the furnace to fail.
At some stage, the house did freeze. The picture above shows the two hose segments that failed. They were sent for analysis to detect possible ice scarring using an electron microscope. Notice the ice fracture on the hot water hose into the main bathroom vanity on the second floor. It was from this vanity that most of the water damage occurred. However, there was no bulging in the hose that "popped". No trace of ice scarring could be found in it when it was examined.
Here is a view into the kitchen through the cold air return from the second floor. The water flowed from the main bathroom upstairs through the kitchen ceiling, causing it to collapse. 
The water flowed through the ceiling and onto the kitchen counters and floor. 
The water caused the exposed particle board to disintegrate.
The kitchen light collapsed onto the kitchen table and had to be tied back in place.
Here is a view into the kitchen through the cold air return from the second floor. The water flowed from the main bathroom upstairs through the kitchen ceiling, causing it to collapse. The water flowed through the ceiling and onto the kitchen counters and floor. The water caused the exposed particle board to disintegrate.The kitchen light collapsed onto the kitchen table and had to be tied back in place. The boots near the front door were necessary to wade through the water in the basement.All parquet in the entrance way and kitchen had to be removed; however, all plaster walls stayed intact.Some water made it into the dining room, so part of the dining room plaster ceiling had to be removed to allow the joists to dry. Although no water leakage seemed to reach the living room, the living room plaster ceiling had holes cut into it to aid in drying any humidity buildup in the joists.The downstairs bar area looking into the family room. Carpeting and ceiling were removed and dehumidifiers and fans were placed throughout the basement. This view from the downstairs bar into the storage room shows one large dehumidifier and three small air movers.
Sandra's african violets died. The ivy and spiderplant survived.
Last, but not least, our wedding album lay in water for 2 days. Megan took the pictures out and "pressed" them under a pile of books. They seem to have been saved.
Sandra's african violets died. The ivy and spiderplant survived. Last, but not least, our wedding album lay in water for 2 days. Megan took the pictures out and "pressed" them under a pile of books. They seem to have been saved. 
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