Collapsed Firewall in townhouse

[Annieokie]

My Townhouse was built in 2006. There are a total of 12. Out of the twelve at least 3 of them have had their firewalls collapse in the attic, including mine. One person had his replaced for $1500. Can the builder be held responsible for this?

[Jerry Simon]

My Townhouse was built in 2006. There are a total of 12. Out of the twelve at least 3 of them have had their firewalls collapse in the attic, including mine. One person had his replaced for $1500. Can the builder be held responsible for this?

Eleven years later? Would probably take a lawsuit (assuming builder didn't go belly-up after 2008).

Why did "one" person have his replaced? Wouldn't that have affected two units?

Sounds more like a Homeowner's Association thingy.

[Annieokie]

He had it replaced, I'm sure for protection. He said company who did the work said it wasn't attached properly. Seems strange that three have fallen within months of each other.

[Jerry Simon]

He had it replaced, I'm sure for protection. He said company who did the work said it wasn't attached properly. Seems strange that three have fallen within months of each other.

What I meant, was, I hope he shared the cost with the adjacent unit. . .

[Annieokie]

That's what I was thinking, it would affect two units. Thank goodness I'm on the end, only have one adjoining wall to another unit.

So you think the HOA should be the one to handle this legally?

[kurt]

That can only be determined by examining the By Laws of your association. Most of the HOA's that I work with, that would be a common element, i.e., an association issue. Your association may have different regulations.

[Jim Katen]

If they've "collapsed," then they certainly were built wrong.

In order for these walls to work properly, you have to have proper coverage on both sides. Just fixing the drywall on *your* side won't have much value.

I'd get the board to hire a contractor to fix all of them. It should end up being cheaper for everyone and the work will be better if it's uniform.

[kurt]

That's right. Inasmuch as these little walls can prevent catastrophic disaster, you want a good firewall. I've personally seen what happens when firewalls are incomplete or compromised, and it's bad. Really bad.

[Annieokie]

Shouldn't the builder be held accountable for this?

[Jim Katen]

Shouldn't the builder be held accountable for this?

After 11 years, that's a philosophical question with no real point. You're not going to get blood from that particular turnip.

Focus on fixing the problem, not assigning blame. Otherwise, you're just going to tarnish your chi.

[Jerry Simon]

Collapsing firewalls. Are they drywall or masonry block?

[Annieokie]

Dry wall

[Annieokie]

My neighbor who had his fixed said the contractor said it was installed with regular nails instead of wood screws.

[Marc]

My neighbor who had his fixed said the contractor said it was installed with regular nails instead of wood screws.

There's nails that will work and nails that won't. Same with screws.

Just a poorly done job is all.

Marc

[Leighton Jantz]

I agree with Jim, get it fixed, just last week I did an inspection where the unheated,detached garage built in '96 had drywall fastened with nails. The drywall was still up. There may not be enough ventilation in the attic space. There may be mechanical ventilation dumping warm moist air into the attic, making the drywall deteriorate. Or the installer hammered the nail heads though the outer layer of paper. There is several things that could cause this situation, to properly fix it you need someone who knows what they are doing to come and have a look. As to who would pay for repairs, maybe check with your board? Might as well get them all done at once.

[Jim Katen]

My neighbor who had his fixed said the contractor said it was installed with regular nails instead of wood screws.

That, in itself, is not a problem. I suspect that there were, in fact, too few nails and that they were poorly placed.

[kurt]

My neighbor who had his fixed said the contractor said it was installed with regular nails instead of wood screws.

This might be another outgrowth (or tumor) from Holme's show. He's always bragging how he only uses screws instead of nails. I've even had customers comment or ask "did they use screws or nails"; when I question them why they asked, it's always "that's what Holmes does".

[Jim Baird]

Rated assemblies can be put together a number of ways. If there is an HOA maybe they are lucky enough to have some original plans with details that show how things are put together.