“It’s easier to rebuild a home you’ve already lived in because you know what you want to change,” said Libby Hudson, 34. “But you don’t want to get a new house the way we did.”

Her husband, Jeff, 37, agreed. “I wouldn’t wish the experience on anybody else. It was so stressful. It’s just a 12-month blur in my life.”
The Hudson’s remodel story began on a windy November afternoon in 2005. Libby was in the kitchen preparing a late lunch and getting ready for family coming the next day to celebrate Thanksgiving. Jeff sprinted inside to warn her. The gas water heater had ignited. Their house was on fire.

“At first I thought he was joking,” Libby remembered. Realizing he was serious, she dropped everything and fled. “Nothing mattered. We just ran,” she said.

Within minutes, the garage was rolling in flames. “I couldn’t watch,” Libby recalled. “I ran across the street to my neighbors’ house and hid in their back yard. I couldn’t bear to see all our things go up in flames.”

By the time the fire department arrived, there was little left to save. Everything was ruined — either by fire, by smoke or by the firefighters’ water.

The couple escaped with only the clothes on their backs. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Their two girls, Riley, 4, and Carter, 2, were playing next door when the fire occurred.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur. By nightfall, Libby was exhausted. “I was so tired,” she said. “I lay down on the bed at my parents’ house with my two girls on either side. I just held them close. I was so thankful that we were safe and together. That was all that mattered.”

The family moved into an apartment complex on River Road and began the year-long process of rebuilding their lives.

The most frustrating part of all was having to start over. “We’d finally gotten our home like we wanted it when it burned,” Jeff remembered. “Then, all of a sudden, we had to re-buy everything. It wasn’t a fun deal.”

Dealing with a house fire is difficult, even under the best of circumstances. Fortunately, the couple had homeowners insurance. Within hours after the fire, their insurance agent, the claims adjuster and a fire restoration company were on site and helping to board up the windows to prevent theft.

Still, it takes time to settle an insurance claim. One of the first requirements — not to mention formidable, exhausting and tedious — is to determine the value of the damaged contents. The couple had to inventory the contents of the entire house and put a value beside each item before the insurance company would reimburse them. Every single item had to be documented and given a price. Every fork, napkin and dust ruffle. Every pot, pan and dish. Everything.

“For three months I came over and cleaned, whether it was salvageable or not,” Libby recalled. “Then every Saturday for eight …

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