Part 3 of Fixing Our House After an Accident

Cynthia H
by Cynthia H
7 Materials
$4200
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In Part 2 of Fixing Our House After an Accident I gave some insight into repairing the damage from a SUV colliding with our home. Part 3 will probably take a longer period of time, as it involves the outside repairs, finishing the inside and hopefully settling all the financial issues.

My grandfather's desk, which is very heavy, slid across the floor from the impact.

Here is the link for Part 1: http://www.hometalk.com/diy/repair/home-exter...

The window that took most of the impact before repairs.


Here is the link for Part 2:

https://www.hometalk.com/diy/repair/drywall/part-2-of-putting-your-home-back-together-after-an-accident-40322740

Notice the painting on the wall? I used Command picture hanging strips to hang it and one above it. Neither came off the wall during the accident.

Two coats of spackle and looking much better! He's using low dust spackle/mud, which I didn't know they made, and cleans as he goes.

After the first coat. The moldings are off for now. I have a fun old shower curtain hanging over the damaged window.

Keep an eye out for damage that wasn't originally seen. A seam in our ceiling cracked open after the accident. I pointed it out to the project manager and George, and additional photos were taken for the insurance company. George loosened the ceiling vent to work around it, cleaned it up, added more screws to tighten the sheet rock at the seam and taped and spackled the crack. Fortunately that's all it took to repair.

The window is back, straight in its frame. Two coats of paint on the wall, two coats of paint on the moldings (all three sets of molding were painted so they were an exact match). We found out the maker and color of the paint from the original contractor, and kept what was left of the paint for future touchups. New moldings on the window that was pushed by the SUV, since George (the carpenter) wasn't convinced the old molding would be straight enough. He matched the moldings, caulked everything. He's fussy, but, you want a contractor/carpenter who is. It was worth waiting a little longer than we would have liked, to have the work done correctly.

Isn't it pretty? The outside is put back together, nice and straight. Just the fence is left on the outside for a new section to be installed. I would have post a picture outside, but, it is another gloomy day so if we ever get sunshine, I'll add another picture.


  • The painter was a woman named Joanne who was fabulous at her job. She painted the entire ceiling so that it would match after the crack was found and repaired. The entire wall was painted so that there was no mark where the painting ended. The floor was vacuumed for dust, the ductwork was wiped down before she left. Inside and out, I would never know what happened! Everything was color matched and looks just like it did the day we bought it. They did great work!


Hopefully, the insurance companies will settle soon, so that we get our deductible back. We have other things to spend that money on!

I'll update this post when things are, hopefully, finally settled.


I hope you never have to deal with a situation like this. But, if you do, I hope you remember some of my tips and hard learned lessons about the process, to save you some aggravation and sleepless nights. Now, I can start decorating for Christmas!

Suggested materials:
  • Drywall screws   (contractor)
  • Drywall mud and tape   (contractor)
  • Paint for trim and wall   (Sherwin Williams)
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 4 comments
  • Wendy Wendy on Dec 13, 2018

    It's looking great- good job!

  • William William on Dec 13, 2018

    A job well done. They did an amazing job. A fussy contractor takes pride in their job. Glad yours was. Old molding on new work would be like putting lipstick on a pig to make it look better.

    • Cynthia H Cynthia H on Dec 13, 2018

      I'm so happy with the work they did! It's nice to talk about a contractor who did the job they promised to do. We will be letting the company know just how happy we are.

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