A rather large retaining wall for my house collapsed today. Where would I see on my insurance paperwork if retaining walls are covered by my insurance company?
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Retaining Walls
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Last: 3 yr ago by lobopride
Yikes, not certain about the insurance but how far away was your house from the old top of wall location? How tall was the wall? I'd be concerned for the potential of settlement of this side of the house if the slope is unstable.
Any photos of what the wall looked like before it collapsed? I would be surprised they would cover it unless it was engineered. Was it installed by the builder?
With more rain in the the forecast it seems like getting a geotech or civil engineer out there to help assess and design a solution.
With more rain in the the forecast it seems like getting a geotech or civil engineer out there to help assess and design a solution.
It was installed by the builder (Gehan) in 2008.
It is about 20' from the actual house. The house supposedly had an upgraded foundation because of being close to the retaining wall. That's a good point on pre-fall pics. Not sure if I have any or not.
It is about 20' from the actual house. The house supposedly had an upgraded foundation because of being close to the retaining wall. That's a good point on pre-fall pics. Not sure if I have any or not.
I would call a rentention company like Schnabel now and have their engineers dial something up for your property.
That looks like a scary situation.
That looks like a scary situation.
Was the wall built to specifications by a competent geotechnical (subset of civil) engineer?
Probably moot at this point unless it is in some type of a commons area. Do you own the wall or is/was it owned by the HOA or other entity?
Probably moot at this point unless it is in some type of a commons area. Do you own the wall or is/was it owned by the HOA or other entity?
The wall was built by the home builder (Gehan). It is completely owned by me. Not in a commons area. The permit for the retaining wall in no way matches what was actually built. A neighbor started to sue the builder but it was cost prohibitive.
I feel like this is going to turn in to a big ole Charlie foxtrot
Dang - that does look significant. I'm no engineer, but I'm thinking sheet piling.
There are so many things wrong in that picture!
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This is not good
How close is that edge to the house now?
There is a concrete patio that it is within a few feet of. The actual foundation of the house is still ~20' away. The angle of the picture makes it look closer to the house than it is. Still scary but I'm cautiously optimistic.
I hope everything works out but I'm not sure I would be comfortable there.
Goodness...what part of the state?
Based on that soil, it looks like Dallas metro area.
lobopride said:
The wall was built by the home builder (Gehan). It is completely owned by me. Not in a commons area. The permit for the retaining wall in no way matches what was actually built. A neighbor started to sue the builder but it was cost prohibitive.
My hunch... before this is over the lawsuit path would have been cheaper
Gehan has been around for a while and is a pretty large outfit. Have you tried contacting them? Send pics when you do. I assume they will try and squirrel out of it and maybe even blame the developer.lobopride said:
It was installed by the builder (Gehan) in 2008.
It is about 20' from the actual house. The house supposedly had an upgraded foundation because of being close to the retaining wall. That's a good point on pre-fall pics. Not sure if I have any or not.
But optics here are pretty bad - and if they do not play ball then send it in to the local news folks who will give Gehan a call and confirm their official response is "tough cookie". My guess is they will try and do something.
Regarding your house I am going to make some assumptions without knowing where you are. If DFW as another suggested, then the actual pad your house sits on would have been "engineered" including compacting and stabilization. The surrounding yard and retaining wall are not part of the pad and wall should have been far enough to not impact the pad.
By upgraded foundation that could mean piers under the foundation which is a positive. Get you an engineer out there to take a look.
Finally, is it covered by you HO policy? If so, go ahead and make the claim. They may then pursue Gehan and/or the developer and its less mess for you.
All good advice. Yes it's DFW (little elm to be exact). Homeowners insurance covered the fence and shed which will help a bit with the total cost. I have a great retaining wall company doing the work. They are getting it engineered, surveyed, and permitted with the total quote. It is a lot of money but hopefully this is the only time I have to do it.
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