Insurance Company rejects CBO and Structural Engineering Findings 3

[BVWayne]

I am a Florida CBO who recently had a housefire that heated the interior of the building to over 900 degrees for approx. 45 minutes. The fire did not penetrate the drywall membrane of the trusses, but did dry-out the core of the drywall (calvinization). There was bat insulation which held residual heat for hours beyond the period of time the fire department extinguished the fire. The trusses have shown signs of charring and discoloration of the gusset plates of the trusses. As a professional, I hired a structural engineer to access the damage and he concluded that the fire compromised the trusses and since more than 30% of the trusses require replacement, this is now a Level - 3 Alteration according Florida Building Code Existing. Insurance company states that the trusses just don't look that bad and they have repaired worse. I have attached a Fire Model for those of you interested in heat damage to trusses. Your comments are welcome and appreciated. Particular comments to why trusses don't have to look so charred to be compromised would be especially helpful.

I believe this is an issue because I have Code Insurance on my policy and if they agree to the truss replacement, they will then have to bring the entire structure up to current code.



Wayne D. Smith, Jr., CBO, MCP, CEAP, LEED AP

 

[cntw1953]

Another free nice image viewer is ifranview, it can be download from many sources, just do a word search to get download site. THe beauty of it is it makes tiny email-able slide show, which can be viewed by the recipient without the program.

 

[BVWayne]

ok guys - I had my wife put the photos together and zip it. I'm going to be on the road again, so I'll be interested in what you guys think about the readings. Some of the photos, she tells me didn't come out, so forgive the bad images, I will have them deleted. I apologize for the delay, but there was no Xmas this year in my house... (Hoping you guys had a Happy Holiday, and that your wives didn't burn down the house)...

Wayne D. Smith, Jr., CBO, MCP, CEAP, LEED AP

 

[concretemasonry]

BVWayne -

The length of time this post is being drawn out indicates a definite different of opinions and possible long term contest.

An insurance company does not have to accept every opinion and can outwardly reject any opinions since they probably also have well qualified professional reports from engineers that have a good expert witness record that goes beyond opinions and includes long term experience and documentation.

Codes have little to do this, since the code is only the worst way you can build (not necessarily appropriate) the best way and still be legal and is generally prescriptive in nature and not always based on technology, but tradition and ease of enforcement.

 

[BVWayne]

Dick,

Many posts ago, you told me to expect this to be long and drawn out... what I'm praying for is that they act in good faith and make me whole again. what they are trying to do is pay .30 on a dollar using a forensic firm that we have heard hasn't seen a roof yet that needs replacing...

So, I'm seeking advice from guys like you in the know. I believe in coming to a mutual understanding and would like to discuss it with the company. However, I just got the report and am told that if I disagree with any part of it, that they are going straight to appraisal. So, I don't even get to discuss it.

Wayne D. Smith, Jr., CBO, MCP, CEAP, LEED AP