Ms. Carolyn has had a hole in her ceiling for two years.
During heavy rain, water leaks through the exposed wood and runs down the wall in the front room of her one-level home. The room’s water-soaked floorboards are cracked and splintering. Ms. Carolyn, who asked to be identified only by her first name in this piece to protect her privacy, keeps the worst of the damage hidden under a large box, worried that pests will come up through the gaps in the floor.
A contractor cut the ceiling hole in 2024 while attempting to fix a smaller water leak — but he never came back to repair it. Ms. Carolyn tried to contact her homeowner’s insurance company, which had hired the contractor, but was unsuccessful…