Vacation’s Over at the Lake

This project reflects an atypical single-family mess. I say a mess because of what was uncovered in the demolition and mitigation process. The fire could have been worse at the Lake House. Unfortunately, the fire was the least of the problems. Effectively, the house (cottage) was an evolution in remodeling over several owners. Some parts were done better than others, but few were done well. Challenges ranged from stairs far from code-worthy to decks with severely overtaxed framing and roof systems at their max with limited insulation. Cap it off with an owner that wanted to change the floor plan significantly during the repair process and one might say, every solution bred new problems. Fortunately, we and the builder survived to tell the story. I was just impressed with the claim’s adjuster, frankly. Separating the various components to this mess was nothing short of a feat. Sometimes, they are truly unsung heros.