Who's fault is it?

[maybe]

We had a severe downburst or tornado type windstorm in June. Our roof had a partial collapsed and drove the pillar or column in the living room down into the plywood floor about 1/4". The living room is 25' X 30' with no support walls or patricians. The other 3/4 of the home has many support walls and patricians and is in great condition. We believe the downburst caused the collapse of the living room due to the fact of no support patricians or walls. The collapse progressed over a 2 month period with popping and wood splintering sounds after the initial downburst. Interior trim was popping loose everywhere. The large beam that runs across the highest point of the ceiling is trying to sever at the point where the pillar supports it. The pillar has dug deep into the plywood floor and has collapsed an area about 5 ft in diameter. The pillar will not go through the floor entirely because of the 6ea 2 x 12's underneath it. As you have guessed, the insurance "Farmers/Foremost won't pay, they say "possible settling issues". I guess that would mean only a small area of our home has settled and the rest of our home is fine. I have an appraisal dated 4 years prior with no problems with roof, foundation, deterioration, etc.....I have statements from many people no damages were present prior to the storm. I have weather report etc... Would the insurance company not be liable or is this a manufacturing problem? Crazy isn't it? Thank you.

[rmurray]

Actually the symptoms you describe are those of a settling problem...Yes small parts of the home can settle and not the rest. The storm might well have dropped enough water to wash out part of the underlying support of the home...I highly doubt this is an open span structural problem. That would be far more rare than the storm damage or settling problems that do occur. Your next step would be to get professional help in evaluating your problem, its causes and most important the solution. If qualified professionals seem to agree with you, you will need quality local legal advice to deal with the insurance company and/or manufacturer. You should start this process soon before any damage progresses futher. Good Luck

[David Oxhandler]

I agree with Mr. Murray... it is doubtful that what you are seeing is a open span structural problem. If it was there would be many homes of the same model that were having this same problem. You can call the builder and see if this has been common to your model but as the home is over 4 years old your warranty has probably expired.

I dont know where you are located but on most soil conditions it would be unusual for that much settlement all at once and all of a sudden after the home has been in place for a number of years. Had you noticed any unlevel or uneven conditions prior to the storm? Is there evidence under the home of any kind of wash out.. water undermining the foundation support?

The most important thing at this moment is to not let the situation continue unchecked. Regardless of who is responsible for the repair costs you must get a qualified professional in to at least shore up the center line beam so that it wont continue to collapse. This might be as simple as jacking up and putting a 4x4 support under the stressed area to give temporary support so that the collapsing process is stopped. It is imposable to say from here what needs to be done... but you MUST do something

Seek legal advice, take photos, document the damage and whatever you do to repair or stop the deterioration but get that area supported ASAP. The more you permit the roof to just continue to fall the more devastating the damage could be. If you permit it to just keep going it is possible that it could lead to much greater problems or even a total loss.

The insurance company might have some or total responsibility... tornados are weird as they can demolish a brick and steel building and leave the wood framed home next door untouched, making it difficult to prove you have a legitimate claim. If they are denying your claim you can pursue legal pressure, ask for mediation, start a law suite but your primary problem is to prevent any more damage... then you can go the best 2 out of three falls with the insurance guys.. for right now do what you must to protect your investment and save your home.

[mannymanbo]

I must respectfully disagree with the experts on this one.
First and foremeost, unless you are talking a flood, the foundation should not wash out. Your site is required to be graded to shed water from all 4 sides (see the installation manual).

Now, your problem with the marriage wall support columns (which is what I think you are talking about) should be bearing on the floor which is supported by the floor joists (framing). If your coulumns sunk into the pplywood, there is not a support undernealth. Additionally, the failure of the roof system indicates other issues as well (such as failed fasteners holding the ridge beam to truss).

Contact an engineer! and take pictures of everything.

[David Oxhandler]

Manny -

Everything you say is absolutely true...... here comes the but... but we know this home is over 4 years old. We don't know really how old it is or what state it is located in. It was not many years ago that site preparation was not an installation requirement in most states. Manufactured homes were treated more like temporary structures. Here in Florida, just a few years ago, we were not required to take soil samples and all homes on all sites were set up basically the same way, with spread footers and anchors eight foot on center.

Years ago If the owner selected a spot that was low and held water or during heavy rains had water running enough to cause wash outs, the problem was the owners and for the most part the local building code folks just didn't get involved.

The adoption of national installation standards has been a great but mostly unnoticed benefit. The reason it is not noticed much is because it is preventing problems that previously haunted a high percentage of MH owners. When you don't have a problem the reasons why are naturally often unnoticed.

I have been out of the retail business now for about seven years. During the time I was selling homes the vast majority of problems from homeowners stemmed directly from poor installation practices. People were amazed that a few hours of reliving stopped the problems with the windows, the cabinets, marriage lines, and even poor drainage in the sinks and tubs.