Just Venting

[coinman123]

I just wanted to vent, because I am not very happy right now. We hired some tree removers to remove a couple large, semi-dead pines, that we were scared might land on our shed, house, barn, or livestock. Anyways, they were not supposed to come until Thursday, but came today, which was fine. Anyways, they said on Thursday they were going to bring the crane to remove the monster pine that is just ten feet away from our house. Anyways, I heard a big crash and crack half an hour ago, looked out and saw a tree crash right on top of our late 19th century shed that we were going to restore. I am extremely angry right now, but tried to stay polite to them, they are calling their boss over to assess the situation in half an hour. The hole roof has a two foot wide gash, and the wall in the right corner has it too. I will post photos soon.

Here is a photo of the shed that I took before we bought the house (old owner's stuff is outside the shed), we were planning on doing a restoration to make it more stable, it had a very good frame. All the nails I could find in it were square nails.


I am not sure if I want them to remove any trees around my priceless historic chestnut gun stalk post barn. Or my new house, which I am very proud of, which has lasted 270 years, and I am not sure can still withstand a tree landing on it.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[Terry Soloman]

Wow! Sorry to hear about the damage. Hang in there, and keep us posted on the outcome!

 

[Tpmetal]

sounds like the workers skipped a corner somewhere.... dropping trees around houses is no joke.

 

[dirtdigginfool]

Coinman, sorry to hear about the damage caused by careless/incompetent workers. I would certainly be hesitant of them dropping any more trees near any structure. I take it they are insured and bonded? Even if so, they don't make'em like they used to...I hate to see things like that destroyed carelessly that have been around for two and a half centuries...Good luck, keep us posted...Ddf

 

[releventchair]

The entire purpose of hiring a professional who is licensed bonded and insured is for such mess ups.
I would fully expect them to restore the building to the condition it was in before they hit it even if they were not. (Though I would not hire uncovered outfits).
As far as further work by them? Hey ,once bit ,twice shy.

 

[ARC]

First...
who did you hire to cut the tree's ?.. the three stooges ?

I don't blame ya for being pissed... I would be pissed as well for it seems avoidable... now a headache from hell.

Second...

These buildings are SUPER COOL.

Third... So I cant help to wonder what the house "story" is... age etc.

Not to mention property history in general.

Anyway... too cool.

 

[boogeyman]

Awesome buildings! Jeeze, 200+ years & mother nature didn't take em down & a few monkeys can in one fell swoop..... Hope you are already on the phone with the tree crews insurance co.!

Hope it works out for you! Would be very interested in seeing pics when you get em restored!

 

[coinman123]

The shed is almost cut in half (ok, maybe not that bad), they said that the tree cut in half when they were cutting it, and swerved into the shed. I still really wanted to keep it, loving the cool look to it, but everyone else wants to accept his offer of tearing it down for free. I guess I will have to face reality and handle the lose. He is also offering $500 if we decided not to take it down (which seems like a small amount, but it would cost $2000 to remove the shed). I was polite to him while talking, and then left to go on a hike on some nice trails nearby, where I found a cellar hole and a ton of stone walls. Photos coming soon.

 

[coinman123]

Third... So I cant help to wonder what the house "story" is... age etc.

Not to mention property history in general.

Anyway... too cool.

I was able to find out the history after a long time of digging through deeds and documents. My town was settled in the mid 1730's, and in 1740 the man who built my house moved to the town. He settled in the center of town at first, then moved to the northeast corner, to lot 70 in around 1744. According to documents, he built a homestead (which was still an active farm in 1880, according to a book written then), and started a family. He was also a Lieutenant in the French and Indian War, head of the town's division of the militia, and laid down most of the roads also building some of the meeting houses in the town. The deeds go back to the late 1760's, and in 1779 there is one where he gives our house to his son, in 1817 he gave it to his son. In 1844 a sawmill owner got it, and stays there until he dies in the 1870's, and his heirs lived there until around 1900. To confirm my research, I dug around for an old plat map of the town, and found the proprietor's map from the 1740's, with the name of the man who built my house on lot 70. Some documents from the late 1800's refer also to it as Abel's or Joseph's old farm (Joseph was the man who built the house, and Abel was his son). There is also a map from the 1850's with the name of the man who lived there then. It's very cool to live in a house with such a long and interesting history. Luckily the shed wasn't quite as old as the house or barn, I estimate the shed was built sometime between 1880 and 1920.

 

[ecmjamsit]

I'd talk to a lawyer and see if he can recover damages.

 

[coinman123]

The damage on shed

House with the glacier rock visible in photo.

The barn

The house

The Monster Pine, leaning toward the house, and yes the camera was completely straight when I took the photo.

 

[ECS]

I'd talk to a lawyer and see if he can recover damages.

The company should have insurance.

 

[digger460]

Yikes! That leaner would make me nervous!! That pic of your shed is sickening. How do you replace that? Sorry for your situation. I will donate a few hundred square nails for your rehab. Good Luck brother

 

[sawmill man]

I get calls all the time to do this but im not going to ,i sure hope they are insured . accidents do happen but thats a real shame.

 

[coinman123]

I will donate a few hundred square nails for your rehab. Good Luck brother

I have enough to build a mansion at this point , just have to get 200 years of rust off from being underground.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Hello Coinman123,

So sorry to see the damage on that beautiful old shed! IMHO, I would make them (legally) restore it to its original (before tree) condition, then you could complete the restoration project in time. From the photos it looks like it can be repaired but, your in person to see the severity of the actual damage and can make a better determination of its future.

Regards,

Doc

 

[AlienLifeForm]

Ouch, they did a number on that shed. So their proposed remedy to their mistake is to tear it down for free? Still leaves you with a loss, would not be acceptable to me. I'd also be pissed if I had to pay for their 'tree work' after that.

 

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

I would have them do an insurance claim or just pay you cash and use the $$ to have it restored/ repaired

 

[coinman123]

I was removing some antique hardware and noticed that the shed was in far worse condition, from before the tree fell on it, than I though before. I was taking out the old window on top and noticed a stack antique windows in the loft. When I removed them I saw a ton of mice run away. I looked at the roof and saw multiple holes and rot, and the loft is completely rotted so badly from water falling through the holes in the roof that you can put your finger through it. The clapboards feel like sponges, and the wood behind it is slightly rotted. The right wall is also slightly leaning away from the shed, and can be seen slightly in my first photo of the shed in my original post. At least it wasn't in pristine condition when they did that. I also found another small piece of tree damage that broke some of the beams. I did manage to recover some nice hardware though.

 

[uglymailman]

Your ridgepole and top plate are damaged. That is NOT an easy fix. It might not have been much of a shed BEFORE they had an accident, but $500.00 wont repair it and I doubt it would "patch" it. I'd hold out for a replacement. When you talk to the tree trimmers insurance co., be sure to mention "actual and punitive" damages. Good luck.