Fire Insurance. How do you proove value?
Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
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lucillle
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Deck caught fire, contact insurance?
Comments (11)Thanks for the advice everyone. I am leaning towards not calling the insurance company and will rebuild when possible. The damage was limited to a section of the railing & several pieces of decking. There is serious damage to a joist below which is completely gone. I will have a framer friend take a look and see if it's possible to make some repairs safely. If I did file a claim would I end up paying for the deck in the long run or would I just have to worry about future claims? This came at a bad time as I am working on a basement remodel and was planning to reside the house after that so there just isn't money in the budget right now for the deck. I guess since I would be residing that would be a good time to tear it down anyways. These projects seem never ending! Thanks, Mike...See MoreExterior damage caused by neighbor's house fire-my insurance pays
Comments (20)Small claims is the way to go. Your demeanor goes a long way with a judge, don't interrupt, talk to him not the person you are suing. I have sued 3 renters in small claims over 20 years and one future renter sued me. I won all but the one where I was sued. She backed out of renting the place after she put down a deposit of $200. I would have returned her deposit right away but she wrote me a threatening letter telling me if I didn't return her the deposit in 10 days she would sue me. Well, that did not set to well with me. A landlord has 30 days to return the deposit in this state. I waited 2 weeks and returned 3/4ths of it. I kept $50. for what she cost me. She won, but only $8. The judge was very pleased with me and told me so.....for giving part of the deposit back, he helped me with what she cost me. I owed her $8. and he may her pay the court costs which were $13. Changed my opinion of the judicial system for the better. This post was edited by EmmaR on Thu, Oct 10, 13 at 12:43...See MoreHow do you value your old house for insurance?
Comments (15)"Just out of curiosity, who here thinks that you can build an new old house? " You do not have to use old materials, just old techniques in most cases. Plaster instead of drywall, mud beds for tile floors and walls instead of cement board, etc. You neither can use nor want lead plumbing (DWV or supply), but cast iron is still available (though not with poured lead & oakum joints). Electrical wiring has moved a long way since K&T (and the lack of any electricity before that in many houses). Hardwood floors are not going to be as tight a grain as very old stuff (especially if it was virgin timber) but there is no shortage of wood flooring, even in very large widths of you want to pay the cost. Virgin reclaimed (from old buildings or bodies of water) is also available. There is no reason to use full size dimension lumber (though it can be found if you want to look & pay). Joist spans are likely smaller than in very old structures, so extra wood is likely to be needed (I have never considered the bouncy floors of an older structure a 'feature' worth preserving or repeating. I do not think anyone wants to exactly recreate the old house, just the important parts of the surface finishes. I have repaired 18th century townhouses in Alexandria, VA so that you cannot even tell without putting a hole in the wall to see the new framing and wiring....See MoreFire Damage - Insurance Claim Question
Comments (4)You said the key word: tile. Tile, like brick, is hard to color match. The color differs from firing to firing. Usually, all the tile for one roof comes from one batch of kiln firing. Look into other tile makers to see if they can come close to matching the style and color of your tile. You'll need to take along a sample tile. One alternative would be to remove all the tiles from the roof section that will be rebuilt and mix the old tiles with the new tiles. The roof will have a shingled effect rather than a continous color. However, this is a lot of work and it appears that your insurance company will not cover the extra labor. You may have to hire a lawyer or offer to pay for the extra labor. There is an upside. From your description, your house may have been saved because it had fire resistant roofing material. Remind your insurer that they could have been paying for an entire house, not just a roof repair....See Moremaire_cate
8 years agokayjones
8 years agomaire_cate
8 years agoElmer J Fudd
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoSuzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
8 years ago
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jim_1 (Zone 5B)