HHB Flood Of 2013 – News, Updates, and a “Flood Sale”

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Well folks, we’ve had a LONG weekend…  I had planned to ride out to Kentucky on Friday morning for the Ramble Tamble.  Instead I was awoken from my sleep at 2:45am to a call from the Fire Department. Apparently one of the very old sprinkler pipes had ruptured in the shop.

So I got to the shop as fast as I could…

 

Thats not good. not good at all.  Apparently the pipe had ruptured, and the shutoff valve could not be found for a good 30-45 minutes or so once the Asheville Fire Department got there.  (BTW, thanks to ALL of the AFD who were there that night, it was a sigh of relief to be surrounded by some great folks in such a stressful moment)

The best part?  The pipe that burst, filled the office ceiling with water until my office caved in…

Looking into the office from the shop.
I was soo overwhelmed, that all I could do for a few minutes was grab a few pics of the damages, then start pushing bikes outside.  I opened the shop door and literally watched parts and packages float out of the office.  Everything in the office is 100% loss at this point…
 
Here are some shots, just to give you an idea of the damages we have sustained this past weekend..

Man, you would never think 4-5″ of water could do soo much damage…

I know it’s strange, but this is somehow my favorite picture of this disaster…
And this picture truly breaks my heart.

It filled the office ceiling with water
until it couldn’t handle the weight, and collapsed – ruining all of our
office computers, printers, about 50% of our inventory and all of my
baby girl (Rebecca) stuff that I keep at the shop. You see, without my
office and without the things for her, I cannot work at the shop. I
bring my baby girl to the shop everyday, and keep her safe and sound in
the office as I work.

We have always been a small operation, and as such – I do Daddy Daycare each day while my wife goes to work.

The
office is a total loss, we are hoping to strip all of the drywall this
week and insulation, and start the rebuilding process. We could use
building materials or funds to help get those as well.

We lost a
ton of inventory, as well as all of our packing/shipping supplies and
other stuff that comes with running our business.

To make
matters worse, we tried to get flood insurance about a year ago, but
since we are in the flood plain, it was astronomically high. Fast
forward to today, and now the river is rising and rising FAST!

I will be having a “flood sale” on the blog (as soon as
I can find a computer that will let me upload images from my phone,
mine is trashed of course) in order to help raise money ourselves as
well. I will have lots of bikes, parts, frames, and other stuff for
sale.

If you are local, and have a Pack and Play (baby crib), a
decent laptop/computer, or other supplies we can use – feel free to
contact us.

 
So as you can imagine, we are a bit overwhelmed right now.  With our lost inventory, lost office, and the time it will take to clean up this mess, we are going to be a bit backlogged with orders and emails.  Please be patient with us, and we will move forward as best we can to make sure that you get the best from Hugh’s HandBuilt – just as always.
And as always, thank you soo much for your continued support.  Even in times like this, I am overwhelmed with the postive vibes and support you folks have sent in via Facebook, Instagram, etc..
 And for those of you who have asked how to help?  Lisa Ballard has set up a nice “GoFundMe” site.  It humbles me to even think of asking for help or donations, but Lisa set this up for us knowing as much.  For those of you who have reaped the benefits of our Tech, Support, Products and Services, and would like to give back – I’ll not turn it down at this point.  I’m a bit overwhelmed with everything that is happening, but we’ll take it one step at a time and come back stronger.
If you have pending orders, services, emails, etc… with us – please be patient and we will have everything squared away as soon as possible.
Hugh