bring it on, bowman. let's go to court. let the public decide who the victims here are. lawbreaker toothman? shenandoah county? us? ruffner? citizens of shenandoah county? citizens of the commonwealth of virginia? citizens beyond shenandoah county, virginia?
briefly, here are the facts:
1. when we purchased our house, unbeknown to us, the builder had not graded our lot per the approved grading plan and R401.3 of the virginia building code.
2. months later, after heavy rains, I found standing water in our crawl space.
3. as heavy rains continued over the next few months, the amount of water in our crawl space grew.
4. at some point I mentioned to our duplex "roofmate" that there was standing water in our crawl space.
5. our roofmate contacted the shenandoah county building inspection and code enforcement department.
6. the shenandoah county building official and an inspector with the building inspection and code enforcement department met with our roofmate.
7. after their meeting (neither me nor my wife were present; I was not home at the time) our roofmate asked my wife if the county inspector could inspect our crawl space. Jenny called me, and we agreed.
8. afterwards the building official told us "if there's a code violation then the builder will have to fix it."
9. the following day, the building official met with our roofmate and said that there was no code violaion, explaining that she didn't qualify under section 19.2-8 of the virginia code.
10. on june 30 I sent mark griffey (shenandoah county building official) an email entitled "formal complaint, building code violation". I pointed out that R401.3 had been violated. I also pointed out that we were eligible under section 19.2-8 to submit this code violation complaint. finally, I said: "Should you reject my formal complaint, then I request a meeting at county offices with you and other county personnel or outside consultants involved in the decision not to issue a notice of violation of the building code to the builder for this violation."
11. griffey told me in an email that he was sending a notice of violation to the builder.
12. griffey didn't send a notice of violation to the builder. when I asked him to explain why, he said that "they" had decided to "reach out" to the builder.
13. some time later, locations of underground utilities were marked and the builder brought 2 large rolls of flexible plastic pipe and placed them behind our house. I contacted griffey and asked what was going on.
14. on july 26 griffey sent an email entitled "updated drawing".
15. on july 30 I replied to griffey's email with 13 specific comments plus general comments regarding the unsuitability of the plan. griffey did not respond to my comments.
16. on aug. 7, sept. 14, dec. 3 and dec. 4 jordan bowman, shenandoah county attorney, sent threatening letters to me and my wife.
17. on aug. 14, at our expense, we contracted to have a waterproof slope installed on our property consistent with the approved grading plan and R401.3.
18. there's mold in our crawl space.
19. the floor and duct insulation in our crawl space were saturated and ruined by the flooding.
20. R408.3.1 requires: "Exposed earth is covered with a continuous Class I vapor retarder. Joints of the vapor retarder shall overlap by 6 inches (152 mm) and shall be sealed or taped." the loose sheets of moisture barrier in our crawl space were neither sealed nor taped.
21. R408.5 requires: "The under-floor grade shall be cleaned of all vegetation and organic material. All wood forms used for placing concrete shall be removed before a building is occupied or used for any purpose. All construction materials shall be removed before a building is occupied or used for any purpose." paper, cardboard, leaves, pieces of wood, conduit, air duct hangers, fasteners, brick, concrete, insulation, and other construction debris litter our crawl space.
22. there are other defects in our house that result from bad science and poor construction and inspection. e.g., customer talk: alan toothman construction, inc.: BIG hole in the wall, BIG hole in the head
what is not known
- how did the water get in our crawl space?
- if our lot had been graded according to the approved grading plan and R401.3, then would our crawl space have flooded?
- maybe. the answer to this question will never be known.
- will our crawl space dry out with drier weather?
- maybe. time will tell. given the amount of water in our crawl space, it will likely take many months of warm, dry weather to dry the space out.
- is the water in our roofmate's crawl space connected with the flooding in ours?
- maybe. however, I've inspected our crawl space many times and I've never seen any standing water within 6 to 8 feet from our common wall.
- if the water in our roofmate's crawl space is connected to the flooding in ours, then how much is coming from our crawl space and how much is coming from other sources?
- IMHO, this is indeterminable. I do know that the ground in the front and the rear of our roofmate's house slopes towards the foundation walls. IMHO, this is where the water in our roofmate's crawl space comes from.
finally:
- why has shenandoah county steadfastly defended lawbreaking builder alan toothman construction, inc.?
- why does the county attorney continue to harass us with threatening letters? (we're in our seventies.)
- why did the county refuse to meet with us as I requested (#10 above)?
- why didn't the county reply to my comments on the unsuitability of the toothman "fix" (#14 & 15)?
- toothman's and shenandoah county's "fix" does not comply with R401.3. R401.3 requires:
- "R401.3 Drainage. Surface drainage shall be diverted to a storm sewer conveyance or other approved point of collection that does not create a hazard to the dwelling unit. Lots shall be graded to drain surface water away from foundation walls. The grade shall fall a minimum of six inches (152 mm) within the first 10 feet (3048 mm)."
- "Exception: Where lot lines, walls, slopes or other physical barriers prohibit six inches (152 mm) of fall within 10 feet (3048 mm), drains or swales shall be constructed to ensure drainage away from the structure. Impervious surfaces within 10 feet (3048 mm) of the building foundation shall be sloped a minimum of 2.0% away from the building."
- the "Exception" applies only "where lot lines, walls, slopes or other physical barriers prohibit six inches of fall within 10 feet". No such prohibition exists, as shown on the approved grading plan for our lot.
- toothman's and shenandoah county's interpretation of the exception in R401.3 as being an "either/or" situation is incorrect. The exception only applies if the ground can't be sloped away from foundation walls for 10 feet. As the approved grading plan shows, this is not the case with our lot.
it doesn't pass the smell test--either toothman is jim jones and bowman and griffey are drinking the kool-aid, or something worse is going on.
despite the facts that:
- we own the property, we were denied a seat at the table--see #10 & #15 above.
- I have a degree in civil engineering, we were denied a seat at the table--see #10 & #15 above.
- I held licenses to practice civil engineering in Virginia and several other states, we were denied a seat at the table--see #10 & #15 above.
- I have over 40 years' experience in civil engineering and construction, we were denied a seat at the table--see #10 & #15 above.
citizens:
- you deserve to be protected from construction that doesn't meet the state building code
- you deserve competent building inspection and code enforcement
- you deserve county and state government that defends you--not lawbreaking builders
➤ SPEAK OUT
➤ SPREAD THE WORD
➤ VOTE virginia
shenandoah county
building inspection
code enforcement
mark griffey
attorney
jordan bowman
conrad helsley
alan toothman construction, inc.
