Returning home is a good trip

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It has been more than four months since I addressed my family’s situation due to Hurricane Sandy.

I am very happy to report, as you read this, that not only am I on vacation this week, but my family and I are putting our house back in order.

We were in the wilderness after a horrible rip out job and not being able to find a contractor that my wife, Christine, and I felt comfortable with. Add to that the stress of not knowing how much our flood insurance settlement would be and November was not a good month for us.

On Dec. 4, a man entered our Lindenhurst home and after a brief discussion began taking measurements. That was a completely different reaction we had gotten from previous contractors who appeared to be kicking the house’s tires and critiquing previous work instead of focusing on the job that needed to be done.

My wife and I met with Ed Rowland in his Nesconset office on Dec. 5. Since that time we knew our house would be repaired and the right way. Ed’s guys began work on Jan. 6, a Sunday. In a little more than two months the house had started to look like a home, again.

Gutted walls were sheet rocked, a huge empty space was transformed into a kitchen and electrical wiring was routed through the ceiling and outlets were raised. What were plywood pieces over the foundation became maple wood flooring.

Kitchen cabinets were installed, then the appliances. Every day we checked on the progress and felt that we were getting closer to returning home.

Instead of being in The Home Depot parking lot in Copiague speaking with a disaster recovery team we went to the store to order the flooring, look at lighting and other needed knick knacks.

Instead of not knowing when we would return to our house, we began counting the days to when Ed and his guys from NDA Kitchen Co. would be finished. We hired a painter and picked colors.

My family, that includes nearly 16-year-old Matthew, 7-year-old Elizabeth along with cats, Paco and Pong, are now arranging furniture in a reconfigured house. Figuring out in which kitchen cabinets to place the silverware, dishes and glasses. Learning how to use the new washing machine and dryer.

But best of all sleeping in our own beds and knowing that a trip to The Home Depot in Copiague now means a return trip to our home.