House Burned Up -- Anyone Know about Insurance?

[dfkrug]

That's one thing I wish there were more of out here. Basements are not common here in Calif. My understanding is that, for one, the foundation does not have to be deep in order to get below the frost line. So there is no structural need for a basement. Two, we typically to not have the boilers etc that would be seen in other parts of the country. So unless it is a custom build, you probably will not see basements out here(even the houses I know of in Truckee and Tahoe, where they get lots of snow and very cold).

I wish our house had a basement; it would be nice when it is 105 degrees in the summer... In addition to a nice expansion of the house.

If we were to move, and build a house, I would definitely want to have a basement built.

My parents house, which they inherited from my Grandfather, has a partial basement(just outside of Sacramento). But, it was an operational part of the chicken ranch; they stored eggs and stuff down there.

Do any other south-western folks know specifics why basements are not prevalent out here?

ROBERT, you are correct that builders in colder parts needed to make
foundations below the frost line. Often these houses had crawl spaces,
rather than basements, as tract builders cut costs everywhere they could.
I remember a new tract house my dad had built for us in OH back in 65 and it
was only a $500 option to have a full basement rather than a crawl space.
Most of our neighbors in nearly identical houses saved their $500 and had
only a partial basement with crawl space.

Anyway, you will find that many, if not most houses in CA built before WW2
have basements. Some were only partial cellars, used sometimes for the
furnace. Old furnaces may have used coal and depended on heat rising to
warm the house. No forced air.

One of the reasons that basements declined after WW2 is the rise of tract
building. Builders wanted to stamp out identical houses as fast and cheaply
as possible...the slab-on-grade was born. If you go look at recently built
CUSTOM houses in CA, you will find many have basements again. Many of the
newer houses in Tahoe are built by tract builders and they want to do it
the way they are familiar with, using the same sub-contractors.

As a fan of all-concrete insulated construction, I have found basements to
be very economical of energy and lot space, as well as $. Traditionally,
basements are built of cast concrete or CMUs (blocks). They are cold and
often damp. Modern insulated basements, built properly, are warm and dry,
and provide vastly superior earthquake resistance.

 

[ultrarunner]

Several reasons I can think of...

1. As you said, it's not that much extra if the frost line for the foundation is already significant.

2. Many areas in my area have high or very high water tables... making a basement a significant liability for the builder/architect.

3. More Stringent Egress Building Codes in some jurisdictions complicate construction and add to cost.

4. The entire "Fear" of moisture/mold issues...

That said, there is nothing finer than having a walkout basement... it opens-up a world of possibilities... just like an attic with a couple of dormers.

 

[MJ's Design guide]

Sounds like you don't have the room for a basement.

Your lot sounds small but very nice, and that bridge could be accented, as a highlight to getting to the home

an attic would be nice

As an engineer couldn't you figure out a contraption to use as a bridge to get from end of driveway to door of home, to work, and then recreate the bridge when the project is over? You could do some great designs with that bridge that is a 30 foot walkway. Expanding it might give you more space, and make the lot appear larger

Just a thought on design

 

[EddieWalker]

What about earthquakes and basements? With California building code being about earthquakes, and it seemed more and more strapping being required when I was there, what is the code for a basement?

Is it safer or does it cause more movement to the house?

I was still doing pier and beam homes in the late 80's, but that quickly changed to slab just about everywhere that I was aware of. More concrete, more rebar and deeper footings. In the hills, some of the slabs had to have piers that went down 20 and 30 feet with rebar tied together into triangles and then tied to the slab. I was all over my head what was going on and I wasn't involved in any of that type of work. Just observing what was happening. 100 yards of concrete was used on foundation for homes that were well under 2,000 sq ft and two stories tall. I've heard stories of allot more concrete needed on some homes if the soil was really bad.

Eddie

 

[Pilot]

Your leverage is the state insurance commissioner. When I worked for an insurance company in California in the early 70's, the second to last thing we wanted was for the ins. commissioner to get involved. The last thing they wanted was to be taken to court, because "those big, bad insurance companies" lose something like 97% of the time. Think juries.

I would get back to the adjuster's boss and demand a different adjuster. If he says "no", I would work my way up the chain. BTW, State Farm has a pretty good rep, as far as insurance company satisfaction ratings go--few have better reps, but most are worse than State Farm.

Lastly, when my brother's house burned partially, they had a lot of trouble finding a contractor to bid on the job because they never knew what they would find once they started tearing into it.

 

[dynasim]

I wonder if they are being more "diligent" because they are suing someone else for the money, and they want to show they minimized the cost as best as they could? That is not an excuse, but could be causing part of their behavior.

Chris

 

[CurlyDave]

I am going to upgrade and accent the bridge as part of the rebuild.

When I originally built this house, I opted for vaulted ceilings in the upstairs bedrooms rather than an attic. The attic is much more practical, but the vaulted ceilings look nicer and have a lot of appeal to buyers.

Just like basements, attics are another feature of past houses on the way out. Just about every new house I see uses trusses instead of stick-framed rafters and ceiling joists. While there are truss designs which will provide an attic of sorts, it is only a pale imitation of a real attic.

The house has a detached garage, and somewhere back in the dim mists of prehistoric times an enclosed lean-to was added on one side. The area in the lean-to is excellent storage, and serves much the same function as an attic, with the exception that it is at ground level, instead of up a rickety pull-down ladder.

There are substitutes for the bridge which would work during construction, the simplest being a culvert for the stream and a pile of dirt for access. But, there are enough old rock retaining walls and centuries old oaks around so once I got equipment to the house, it couldn't move around. (The house was once owned by the local Sheriff, and legend has it that the rock retaining walls were built by chain gangs.)

For right now, I am going to let the insurance company think that everything must be done by hand as they estimate reconstruction costs. Once they pay me for the loss, I am free to use the money in any way I see fit.

I am hoping not to waste too much of it.

 

[SnowRidge]

Interesting thread. I just stumbled across it and a couple of things jumped out at me.

1. Dealing with the California state insurance commissioner. That office has to be the most pro consumer state insurance office in the country. When I lived there, I had an insurance company refuse to pay a substanial refund due me when I cancelled a policy. Basically, they told me they had the right to retain all the premiums and to go blank myself. One letter to the insurance commisioner fixed that in a hurry. I got my refund in a short order along with a letter whining about how I should have given them a chance to work it out before filing a complaint. Yeah right!

2. Servpro. Servpro was one of my customers when I lived in Sacramento. It was pretty much just a basic cleaning company back then. I serviced the typewriters at their "World Headquarters" there. A woman who managed the front office and claimed to be the owners' daughter would just raise holy heck everytime I showed up. Nothing made her happy, and it seemed like she just lived to rain on anyone else's parade. She had a top notch set of lungs and used them to the fullest. Except for one particular chiroprator, Servpro was far and away my worst customer. When I got transfered to a new territory, one of the biggest benefits was Servpro not being in it.

I just noticed they relocated to Tennessee where I now live. Bummer.

 

[CurlyDave]

Dave,

... Is there a way to request another adjuster? This one just seems stuck in some fantasy land without any regard to making things right for you. You'd almost think she had something personal against you? Is she friends or related to the Realtor who burned your house down? ...

Eddie

I asked my agent for a different adjustor at the beginning of this. He couldn't get it done and said it was very hard to do.

Almost everyone I talk to (the fire reconstruction business is a small world) says she is very difficult.

The best chance I have is to keep on communicating in writing. So far I have two instances of her initially refusing to provide something the policy says I should have, and two of her completely evading my tough questions to her. From what I hear, if we get to four or five instances of a denial of what should be covered, even if they later provide it, I have enough to go to the insurance commissioner and claim "bad faith" on the part of State Farm. These are words an insurance company hates to hear, because the commissioner will penalize them for it. Penalties start at "get another adjustor" and go up to "take out your checkbook and open wide".

Because I have a written record, and I have been keeping a log of our phone conversations, I am in good shape here. I just need to get enough bad faith dealings to be certain they will be penalized.

The real estate agent is a different issue. She is the neighbor across the street, and her husband and I have been trading tools, tips, and help for 30 years. She is still my friend, and when the house is finished, I will list it with her again. She understands completely that the only way to force her insurance company to pay is a lawsuit against her. That is business. We are still friends, and we both want some insurance company to pay up to the max. She was negligent, but it was an accident, not a deliberate act.

Besides, she is going to have to pay more for insurance, and needs the commission on my house...

 

[MJ's Design guide]

No doubt you can figure out a system getting to the home

Angle the bridge may be nicer esthetically than the straight "typical" footbridge.

Angling walls is good. Curves are nice as well

I bet when that house was first built, it had a "loft" type attic
perhaps updating that look, might work well

you mention losing 40 foot of space at top of stairwell-
angle staircase going up, and bedrooms circling it might work

Are you going to place rooms where they were? Kitchen? Bath?
change the dining room location, if you get my drift

Adding closets to a kitchen are always useful

consider light with wooded lot, and creek!!!!