Snow-damaged house a home, but only for mould

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Snow-damaged house a home, but only for mould

Seven months have passed since Hesson's bungalow split along

the roof's ridge line and time has done neither him nor his family's

home any favours, reports Graham .

Graham , The Ottawa Citizen*

Published: Tuesday, October 14, 2008

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=2fde5259-

997b-49b1-9cad-b16aae99f328 & p=1

Today, a combination of circumstances has resulted in no work being

done on the house and he considers it a total loss.

Mr. Hesson says he has no real quarrel with his insurance company,

which put them up in a hotel for about three weeks and is paying the

rent on the Westboro home in which they're living.

" It looks like they're trying to get the final numbers together as

to whether they're going to fix the house or tear it down and start

over -- what's more expensive -- it's just one of those things, " he

said, noting that engineers, estimators and contractors were

stretched to the limit in dealing with the amount of snow damage to

structures throughout the area.

Plastic sheeting and blue tarps were installed over what's left of

the roof and the rafters to keep the interior dry. They are now

badly ripped, serving only to help keep moisture in the building.

In any case, a lot of damage had been done before the tarps were put

in place, Mr. Hesson said, because " two days after the roof went, it

warmed up and water poured inside. "

Now, moisture coats the inside of the windows, and the floors are

obviously wet, despite several days of dry weather. The walls and

floors are stained and discoloured by colonies of mould. Moisture

has swollen the interior doors to the extent that they don't fit in

their frames.

Hardwood floors and the board subfloors are twisted and warped from

exposure to water over the months. They're covered with sodden

insulation and wall and ceiling board -- and likely animal

droppings, since the building is easily accessible to the critters.

The condition of the basement, totally finished not long before the

collapse, is a matter for conjecture, since no one dares to venture

there.

The chimney that had been leaning away from the front of the house,

is gone, and large cracks are visible in the foundation in two

areas, one of which is missing a large chunk of concrete below a zig-

zag crack where mortar between wall bricks has been broken.

Within a week or so, Mr. Hesson hopes, his insurance company will

make a decision on what has to be done to return the structure to

livability.

" Naturally, they're trying to do it as economically as possible for

the company, " he said.

" They've been inside trying to determine whether they can salvage

and re-use anything. "

Since his wife is allergic to mould, he added, the chances of being

able to use any of the material from inside are remote.

" I can't see them being able to reuse anything. I think the only

answer is to demolish the building, and that'll be difficult to do

safely because of the mould problem, " he said.

Once the decision on the main structure has been made, the

foundation and footings will have to be excavated to see whether

they can be repaired to carry the weight of the house, he said. If

they're unsound, then the basement, too, will have to be replaced.

Once the decisions are made, hopefully in a week or so, work can

begin.

Representatives of the insurance company, TD Meloche Monnex, could

not be reached for comment.

" We may move in next spring sometime -- maybe, " Mr. Hesson says.

He doesn't sound convinced.