Has your house or household changed?

Okay, we're however many months into distancing brought to us by COVID-19.  Along with distancing,  we have rapidly declining employment, whole industries shutting down or being re-imagined, and a whole class of college graduates in the stagnant and distanced job market.  Childcare is near to non-existent.  Some feel living opportunities for the elderly are unsafe.

With all that going on, are you using your living space differently? Have you re-purposed a room to accommodate a friend or family member? Make a home office or gym?  "Once this is over" will you be making changes to your living situation? 

I have a friend who recently turned their spacious living room into a bedroom/living area for their newly graduated daughter.  Heck, its not as though they'll be needing it to entertain anytime soon.  Their dining room became their living room; don't really need a full sized dining room these days either.  And they'll eat at the perfectly comfortable kitchen table.  I love this re-purposing of space to fit the family's current needs. 

We're using space slightly differently at our house. The living room has amassed an amount of exercise equipment; stability ball, kettle bell, weights, yoga matt, foam roller, etc.  And the front porch got a bit of a make over to accommodate two distanced pods of people eating.  For winter (though generally an optimist, I think we'll still be distancing this winter) I expect we'll add two propane heaters and a bin of clean blankets should our guests get cold.

Though our recent college graduate daughter has her own studio, she isn't thrilled about distancing alone in 440 square ft.  Though not re-puposing, she has been staying with us, in her childhood bedroom. 

I know other folks who have turned their camp trailers or RV's into home offices.  With a small house, adding a whole new space is pretty great.  And working from home, separation, with physical and audio space, can be pretty fabulous.  

Oh yeah, and the hooks on our mantle for Christmas stockings have become mask hooks. How handy.

What is going on at your place?  Carved out any new space?  Or did you pick up a new hobby that requires new space?  Where does your sourdough starter live?  Are you one of the many industrious mask makers? If so, where are you doing that?

A new look at property flood risks

FEMA administers the National Flood Insurance Program and its efforts to reduce the impact of flooding.  In theory, the program reduces the socio-economic impact of disasters.  A large part of the program is driven by FEMA's flood maps, used by homeowners, developers, and city planners when considering projects and purchases.  FEMA mapping wasn't really intended for that purpose, but more for flood plain management and emergency response decisions. 

FEMA seems to do a better job of mapping coastal areas, leaving much of the inland areas with less attention. But even then, FEMA maps look backwards at what has occurred, not using predictive analytics looking at future sea-level rise or increased rain from climate change. Many properties flood, without ever having shown upon FEMA's flood maps. 

The non-profit research group, First Street Foundation has undertaken to provide better information with regard to future possibilities of flooding.  Climate change is quickly affecting our weather and flooding risks for both coastal and inland properties.  First Street Foundation's work is not mean to replace FEMA's efforts, but to provide accurate and forward looking information and resources.  The site has an interesting tool providing information specific to an address.  Within that, there are some tips on mitigating water damage, and indicators of what kind of damage varying heights of flooding will cause to a home. 

The Portland area's flood risk, aside from water front properties, is in high water tables, overly taxed sewer systems and overflowing creeks.  I remember, in the 1996 flood, our old house, off SE Hawthorne, had water coming up from below the foundation, that high water table. Eventually, Don put a sump pump in the basement, which solved the problem.  

Wander around the site and see what you can find.  Take a peek at the tool, and check out your address.  This site is also a great tool if you're considering a new real estate purchase.  

I notice, in my neighborhood, some of the streets show some flooding potential.    I'm guessing that's where water has pooled or larger sewer mains run (posing overflow, back up risks).  See anything interesting? Have you had flooding issues at your house?