So they are saying its OK to remodel a house that was emmerced completely in water for a long period of time? I guess that means they don't need nearly as much aid as they though they did then do they? Its much cheaper to remodel than to rebuild.

A lot of that depends on what type of buildings they are and what exactly happened to them. Current will destabilize things a lot more than just slow moving or standing water, houses with a significant amount of brick might survive things a lot better than houses with a lot of wood, I'd guess some things probably depend on the type of wood, etc.

 

Also, one other thing of note on the subject of rebuilding...the other thing that may be keeping people from even considering moving back to rebuild is the whole insurance situation...the largest insurers are basically pulling out of the city now because they've decided, correctly, that they have no confidence in the rebuilding work that is being done on the city's protective Levee system.

Down here the biggest concern would be mold. Many insurers have removed mold from their policies. It's a huge issue in the south with many people basically having tens of thousands of dollars in remediation.

Down here the biggest concern would be mold. Many insurers have removed mold from their policies. It's a huge issue in the south with many people basically having tens of thousands of dollars in remediation.

 

Well aparently 80% of places are OK. That's great news. They really ought to publicize that beause the cost of rebuiling NO just plummetted if this is true.

OK is a relative term, they probably have to strip down to the shell and rebuild from there.

OK is a relative term, they probably have to strip down to the shell and rebuild from there.

That's still a lot cheaper than rebuilding the entire shell.

Mike Rowe on Dirty Jobs just did one where they were either demolishing or tearing down to the beams, a house in New Orleans. It amazed me how much damage was sustained from the standing water.