A LYSTERFIELD family whose house was extensively damaged in a freak hailstorm has finally moved back home after almost two years of “hell”.

And Rosemary Hermans has sounded a warning for people who had their homes damaged in the recent Christmas Day storms – it will be a long, hard road.

>> Have you battled to get repairs done after storm damage? Comment below.

Rosemary and David Hermans’ house was damaged during a storm on March 6, 2010.

When they rushed home they found half the ceiling down and most of their possessions destroyed.

The couple and daughters Zuri, 9 (adopted from Ethiopia), and Chiara, 5, have suffered a string of setbacks, including builders who delayed repairs to their property.

“Every step has been quite a difficult thing … it’s been hell,” Mrs Hermans said.

“People think because you’re insured you’ll be fine, but there’s been hundreds of hours of work that we’ve done that hasn’t been covered.”

The family was renting a house in Glen Waverley, but she said she returned to the family home almost every day to feed the fish and collect mail.

Mrs Hermans estimated the incident had cost them more than $100,000 and she was “shattered” by the lack of community support during their time of need.

Her children were so traumatised by the incident that whenever it rained they would ask if the roof was going to collapse, she said.

But Mrs Hermans said coming home on January 5, even though repairs were not quite finished, was “extraordinary”.

“We’ve had people walking past that we don’t even know saying ‘welcome back’,” she said.

“The girls were out in the street riding their bikes – that’s what we have missed.”

She said she was now “as tough as anyone”, and the couple were still on the waiting list to adopt another child from Ethiopia.

>> Have you battled to get repairs done after storm damage? Comment below.