From 36K in flood damage to $143: How small changes saved one family heartache and money

The 2018 flood in New Brunswickput Hugh Whalen'sfirst floortwo feet underwater for the first time, but when the river came in this year, he washardlybothered.

After suffering almost $40,000 in damage to their Grand Lake home last year, Whalen and his wife got to work on making itflood ready.

Theirflood insurance policy covered most of the repairs, but Whalen said he invested another $6,000to prevent further damage.

They installed a new horizontal heat pump to replace the $21,000model they lost last year. The new pumpis raised near the ceiling and has suffered no damage.

This Grand Lake homeowner flood-proofed his home

5 years ago

Duration 1:26

"We went from about 36 thousand dollars in damages last year to 143 dollars in damages this year," said Hugh Whalen from Grand Lake.

Their propane water heater was replaced withan on-demand version that sits high on the wall and can be removed in 15 minutes.

They got rid of the soaked carpet and installed click flooring, which can be pulled up from the cement floor, and replaced the drywall with three-foot removable wainscotting.

It took Whalen and his wife about two hours to remove the flooring before this year's flood, but he said most of that was spent numbering pieces.

"If you don't number them they won't fit back together. It's a big jigsaw puzzle."

The insulation was replaced witha spray-in foam insulation that doesn't absorb water.

"So the water came in this year, and it went out, and didn't cause any damage."

The bathroom vanity was replaced by a pedestal sink, and it didn't suffer any damage this year, either.

They even rigged up a pulley system to raise the heavy exercise equipment that was too big to bring up the stairs.

It took him and his wife about 10hours to prepare their house for this year's flood, and he estimates the cleanup will take about four days.

Whalen said the money spentmaking the house flood-ready was a better alternative than lifting the whole structure.

"It's too large to jack up, and if I jacked it up it would cost me 30-40,000 dollars," he said.

Whalendid have to pay some flood-relatedcosts. He has receipts for a grand total of$143.75.

"Two wooden stripsthat were destroyed when I lifted them out. A gallon of mould control, and a bottle of vinegar. And that was it."