Beachfront home called a safety hazard

Beachfront home called a safety hazard

By BRYAN NOONAN
Staff Writer
Publication Date: 10/07/04

ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH -- Police are keeping careful watch on a beachfront home that began to crumble Friday night under the weight of dozens of stacks of shingles placed on the roof before renovations.

The condemned home at 1 Second Lane is a danger to people who may try to get near for a closer look, said St. Augustine Beach Police Chief Richard Hedges.

"It's a safety hazard, to say the least," Hedges said. "We have extra patrols to make sure there are no children that are curious that go by. If it does collapse, it could injure someone."

Trespassers will be arrested, said St. Augustine Beach Police Officer Sarah Smith during a patrol Wednesday. She said officers patrol the home on each shift, circling around and looking through windows to make sure nobody is inside. But that's as far as she'll go.

"I'm not going in it," Smith said. "I don't want the roof to fall in on me."

When the weight of the shingles caved the roof about 11 p.m. Friday, the walls of the home pushed inward and outward. Building officials went to the home Monday morning and condemned it immediately, saying the home could collapse at any time, according to Gary Larson, director of the Building and Zoning Department at St. Augustine Beach. He said a home has to have more than 50 percent structural damage to be condemned.

"The house is collapsing into the inside," Larson said. "Structurally, it can't be saved."

Outside the home are warnings posted: "No Trespassing," and "Danger. This building is deemed unsafe for human occupancy."

Larson said if you own a home built prior to 1970 and want to remodel, contact your city or county building department to get a recommendation on the integrity of the structure.

Phil Mays bought the home in 2001 and said it was in excellent condition. He said it survived the tropical storms in August and September, with only a few shingles lost. The home was restored about five years ago to maintain its old Florida character. He said the home had all pine floors, bead boarding on the walls and ceilings and new bathrooms, a Jacuzzi and steam room.
"That's why I bought the house," he said.
Though the tropical storms didn't cause so much as a leak in the roof, he said it was time to renovate it.

He said it was ironic that it appears to be the hands of man, rather than Mother Nature, that destroyed his home this hurricane season.

Now he is awaiting bulldozers to begin demolishing the home so he can get inside to see what he can salvage. He said with the unstable walls on all sides, even he is not allowed in the home.

He said he is still waiting for an insurance adjuster to check into the losses before he begins talks with the contractor.

"We need to get the insurance adjuster out there, that's the first thing," he said. "Until I talk to them, I don't know where I'm going to go next."

He did not know the value of the home, but said it was priceless to him with its old Florida-style renovations.
The roof contractor could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.


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