What If?

     T. A. Mills, a professional engineer for TAM Consultants, performed an inspection at 1102 Garden Creek Road in Mathews County (next to Artistic Design Studio) on December 10, 2010. Mr. Mills outlined his conclusions, which included the following:

The house originally had several floor levels prior to lifting. The house was lifted and new foundations were constructed which in some cases did not have wall heights properly matched to the previous sill plate heights. The house was then lowered onto this foundation. New floors were then installed. In some cases the new floor system was of a different overall depth of the previous floor system. The differences in floor depths and mismatched foundation wall heights was attempted to be accounted for by cutting the bottom of the walls and setting the walls onto the new floor systems. This had at a minimum the following detrimental affects:

Floor levels of the house were changed (some steps were removed and some were changed in height). Excessive deformation of the structure occurred. Interior volume and ceiling height was reduced. Some doors do not properly operate. The structural attachment of the house walls to the floor system appears to be inadequate and incapable of the accommodating lateral loads due to wind. Lack of a nailer to secure drywall to along the bottom edges of walls.

There does not appear to be a valid reason as to why the contractor chose this method and in our opinion it has resulted in significant damage and deformation to the structure.

In addition it appears that the collapse of the floor system under its own weight during the lifting process resulted in significant structural deformation and distress to the immediate and likely surrounding areas. If this had not occurred it is likely that much of the interior deformations in this area and surrounding areas would have been avoided. 

A sampling of local and state building codes that were NOT adhered to is as follows:

-Spacing between guardrail posts exceeds code requirement of 6-0.

-Stair risers noted to be open risers with a gap exceeding 6 inches, in violation of   IRC section R311.5.3.3.

-Ledger boards not properly flashed, in violation of IRC section R703.8.

-No cross bracing between deck posts and band boards/deck beams. (Exh. C-12,

  pgs. 3-4)

-Not clear that a secure attachment is made between walls of the house and the

 foundation.

-Not clear if new construction will properly shed water.

-Untreated wood noted to be either in contact with or in very close proximity to

  masonry, in violation of code.

-Chimney on right side of the house has a large crease and is cracked; significant drywall cracking and gapping at various locations within the house. (Exc. C-12,  pgs. 5-10)

-Venting does not comply with minimum IRC requirements. (Exh. C-12, pg  4-5).

    The question remains. What if this home belonged to you?

      Mr. & Mrs. Wade Brooks own the above described home. They cannot live in it. A Certificate of Occupancy was not issued nor was a final inspection performed by Alan T. Ward, then county building inspector. This is information told to investigator, Michael Heaney, of the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation Compliance & Investigations Division. 

    Why does this have meaning to the reader? One may think ‘those poor people’. While that is a natural and honest feeling the flip side of the coin is that ‘tax dollars’ were used to do this to American citizens on the Middle Peninsula of Virginia. Government entities involved were as follows: Debbie Messmer. She represented FEMA and VDEM and was responsible for coordinating the project with the County of Mathews. Wayne Talley, of Bay Aging, a licensed contractor acting as an agent for the County, approved the draw payments to the contractor whose bid to complete the project was the lowest.

     A hearing occurred in January of 2012 in Richmond, Virginia. This article is being written in April 2012. The Brooks family of six has lived outside the comfort of their home for several years now. Would you like to be a member of the Brooks family? How do you think you would feel if your home was destroyed by multiple levels of government? Can ‘due diligence’ be found anywhere performed at any time in the saga of this event? Will the responsible ‘parties’ please stand up and receive punishment?

      ‘What If’ written by Sharon Slaughter