I received a call today from an architectural client requesting my assistance. I thought it would be interesting to get input from others.
He, the architect, designed a house under the 2000 IRC (maybe the 2003, I don't know yet), hence no engineer. The chimney was about 42-43 feet tall of which about 15-16 feet were above the roof. The house experienced some 40mph winds and the chimney collapsed onto and into the house. Fortunately, no one was injuried.
The brick mason had modified the chimney slightly and made it tallerby a couple of feet. It was constructed of standard modular brick and there was no reinforcement.
The homeowner's insurance company sued the brick mason and now the mason's insurance company is sueing the architect (gee, who would have guessed that one).
Where does the liability fall? Of course, I'll have to study the IRC myself as well as the masonry code, but I was curious if anyone had any interesting comments or thoughts.
He, the architect, designed a house under the 2000 IRC (maybe the 2003, I don't know yet), hence no engineer. The chimney was about 42-43 feet tall of which about 15-16 feet were above the roof. The house experienced some 40mph winds and the chimney collapsed onto and into the house. Fortunately, no one was injuried.
The brick mason had modified the chimney slightly and made it tallerby a couple of feet. It was constructed of standard modular brick and there was no reinforcement.
The homeowner's insurance company sued the brick mason and now the mason's insurance company is sueing the architect (gee, who would have guessed that one).
Where does the liability fall? Of course, I'll have to study the IRC myself as well as the masonry code, but I was curious if anyone had any interesting comments or thoughts.