We had to move out of the house for nearly eight weeks as the restoration company worked on the house. The entire upstairs was chemically cleaned and then the walls painted. All clothes had to be dry-cleaned. All the bedding in the burn room was discarded, as was some of the furniture. All the carpeting on the second floor was replaced. The windows and sliding glass doors in the burn room were replaced. New mattress and box springs were installed in the burn room.
Within a few days, we came over to the house every day to work on the computer and keep an eye on the restoration work. In the meantime, we lived in the Oakwood Apartments, about nine miles away. We were able to cook there, although we did eat out more than usual.
All in all, a most challenging time that was not finished until December. The overall cost to the insurance company was a whopping $105,000.
The cause of the fire was a verticle fan that had been running for three days. It shorted and started the fire. The fan was manufactured by Holmes Electric, a subsidiary of Sunbeam. My insurance company negotiated a settlement of $45K with Sunbeam, which seems very minimal to me.