Roofing Accident / Property Damage Q?

[GWN7]

How many sq ft is the building and what sort of foundation is it on?

For the amount of $ damage you quoted the insurance company could tear it down to the foundation and rebuild it to look exactly like it did before. Even if the foundation couldn't be certified by a engineer and they had to replace it they would be ahead. They should be able to get clearance from the city for the historical part as it would look exactly like the original building.

[Scuba Steve]

It's in the 1,440 sq ft range and on a pier and beam foundation. The City of Charleston is weird about historical things or even buildings that are just plain old. Anything like that would have to go through a separate Board of Architecture review and I doubt it would pass. For perspective, this is what they had to do with a building under a block away instead of tear it down:

[intakexhaust]

Originally Posted by Scuba Steve

It's been a while so there is a little to update.


The city will not allow the place to be demolished, which I actually appreciate. It's considered historic since it is officially a contributing property in a nationally-designated historic neighborhood.

I have two quotes now, both excluding dealing with additional unknown issues, the Board of Architecture and FEMA (something else that must be addressed due to % damage).

Sorry for all your troubles in this situation but its interesting in regards to the historic dwelling and preservation.

It seems the government is going to dictate you of what they want. Not so sure I'd like that. Are you in the property for income or for the love of the property?

Is the structure value really worth it? How close to original will it be if repaired? After repairs, what percentage of the structure will be original and historic significant? I'd rather push for a 'replica' if had to be. Could pull some trim, doors, stair's, basin's etc. from the old before demo and re-use. Also, might be a tough sell later on if laws require you to disclose prior damage and -flood / water- damage. But from the looks of that last image, perhaps dwelling like this are acceptable to the area.

[fintstone]

I have a rental from this period and had to do major repairs. I could have torn it down and built a better home for less money, but chose not to. I did a lot of "while you are in there" work. Once the walls were open, poor wiring, plumbing and insulation are expensive, but obvious fixes. So are HVAC, roofing, foundation, etc. (jacked up the house and poured a concrete slab and at the same time, turned a dirt floored basement into good living space). It was costly, but in the end, gave me a problem-free home that was relatively new and modern inside, but looked like it did when freshly built in the '20's on the outside. It has been constantly rented at higher than market for almost 10 years.. and the value is much higher if I sell.

[Scuba Steve]

flintstone put it well - in this neighborhood being the non-historic house, though rent may be identical, would result in a loss of value compared to the others that surround it if I were to sell. Things may be different in other parts of the country or world.

The Board of Architecture (governmental entity) is a pain sometimes but has probably been a net positive for the city. They basically operate downtown and try to preserve the character or nature of the historic area. Buildings and neighborhoods go back to the early 1700s and I'm sure a lot of what they've done has helped build up the tourism industry here.

When the time comes we already have a plan to carefully remove the old reusable interior materials and I'll take the opportunity to refinish them on my own time and dime. The walls are (were) plaster and lathe and I'd like the replacements to be too for sound deadening purposes since there's a school across the street. The only modification I have planned is to take part of an old enclosed rear porch and put a 1/2 bath in there.

[Scuba Steve]

So, this is still an ongoing thing. It's been five months now with no progress whatsoever. Without getting into too many details both the roofing company and the supply house were served and I haven't heard anything about their reply yet. Perhaps I'll know a little more next week.

[DanielDudley]

Shouldn't you put in a claim with your Insurance company, and let them pursue the responsible parties ?

[Scuba Steve]

Tried that months ago and unfortunately this is not something that's covered. The wait is more annoying than anything; I hate leaving things unfinished like this for so long. There are a lot of things I would like to start at home but can't because this will take a lot of my attention once things finally move.