I finally have had time to post a picture of the house from the flood in Central Texas last month. We had 7 feet of water in the garage. It was almost 5’ from reaching the shop floor and I was getting worried. This is a 3 story house, garage on 1st floor, shop/storage on 2nd floor and main living area on 3rd floor. The lake at full is at 681' above sea level. The garage floor is about 694' above sea level. The flood hit 701.5' ASL when the picture was taken.

When we went to bed that night, the lake was at the full level. During the night, sometimes after midnight, there was about 19” of rain about 30 miles upstream. By the time we got up, around 7 a.m., the lake had come up about 6’. We started unloading the freezer and refrigerator and other stuff. About 8:30, police came around and was making sure that everyone was aware that the lake was rising.
We pulled all of the gas/electric yard tools out but left hand tools and a metal storage cabinet full of stuff. The metal cabinet had floated all the way to the other end of the garage. Should have emptied it out and it would have made cleanup a lot easier. Lot (all) of the tools are rusted. Next time I will.
Had one pane of a double-pane window broken on the inside of the garage from something floating in the garage. The elevator call-button checked out OK but had to replace the security system keypad and garage door opener buttons. I should have pulled them but at that time, the water wasn’t supposed to get that high. Next time I will.
We left the garden tools; shovels, rakes, ect. They came out OK except for a good coat of rust. Should have packed up everything. Next time I will.
Everything is back in place but really need some dry weather to really dry things out. Still have a smell of wet in the shop. I had to clean & wax all the cast iron tools. I did see what appeared to be mildew on particleboard shelving so I cleaned it a few days ago. Looked again yesterday and it’s back. Guess I will have to wipe it down with a bleach solution and then paint it with a primer.
Worst part is that we lost almost all of the landscaping that LOML nursed thru the hot dry summers that we had the last 2-3 years.
When we went to bed that night, the lake was at the full level. During the night, sometimes after midnight, there was about 19” of rain about 30 miles upstream. By the time we got up, around 7 a.m., the lake had come up about 6’. We started unloading the freezer and refrigerator and other stuff. About 8:30, police came around and was making sure that everyone was aware that the lake was rising.
We pulled all of the gas/electric yard tools out but left hand tools and a metal storage cabinet full of stuff. The metal cabinet had floated all the way to the other end of the garage. Should have emptied it out and it would have made cleanup a lot easier. Lot (all) of the tools are rusted. Next time I will.
Had one pane of a double-pane window broken on the inside of the garage from something floating in the garage. The elevator call-button checked out OK but had to replace the security system keypad and garage door opener buttons. I should have pulled them but at that time, the water wasn’t supposed to get that high. Next time I will.
We left the garden tools; shovels, rakes, ect. They came out OK except for a good coat of rust. Should have packed up everything. Next time I will.
Everything is back in place but really need some dry weather to really dry things out. Still have a smell of wet in the shop. I had to clean & wax all the cast iron tools. I did see what appeared to be mildew on particleboard shelving so I cleaned it a few days ago. Looked again yesterday and it’s back. Guess I will have to wipe it down with a bleach solution and then paint it with a primer.
Worst part is that we lost almost all of the landscaping that LOML nursed thru the hot dry summers that we had the last 2-3 years.


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