Lenihan Family Emergency Roof Rebuild
Donation protected
Luke & Sarah Lenihan have a lovely little family with 2 small children, a girl (almost 5), and a boy (3). For any of you that know them or have met them, you know that they are all a joy to spend time with. You may have seen Facebook posts earlier this year with them sharing their excitement over the purchase of their first home. It truly was exciting, for all of us! However, immediately after closing on the purchase, there were costly discoveries, missed or overlooked by the inspection company, that have ultimately led to this being the best remaining option to help them make their home safe for their family.
Their adorable Enumclaw home was built in 1914. It is in a great location relative to the town and their lot is very large and perfect for their family (which also includes 2 dogs). The finished portion of the home is just 760 square feet (2 bds, 1 bath) with an unfinished upstairs ‘attic’ area with low sloped ceilings that was planned to be finished for a shared bedroom and play area for the kids.
Right away, Luke set out to get started on turning this space into the kids’ room. The first step was to take out the insulation that was in the underside on the roof. Initial discovery…mold (a lot of it) and a soft roof. At one point, bracing his hand on the underside of the roof, Luke’s whole hand almost went through the roof to the outside! Several roofing inspections, framing inspections and engineering consultations later, they now know that their entire roof (not just the roofing, but the whole top of the house -trusses) must be rebuilt and replaced for their home to be sound. The potential domino effect of this repair is unimaginable…ultimately including the possibility of having to redo the framing of the exterior walls to support the roof which must be built to meet city code.
Everyone expects to face some repairs and do some improvements when moving into an older home, and Luke & Sarah are no different. They just didn’t know that an inspection could go so wrong as to miss something so costly and devastating. They borrowed money to buy this home. The payment fits into their budget and they borrowed what they were qualified for. They can’t borrow money to fix it because they don’t qualify and they can’t afford an additional loan payment. They submitted a claim against the inspector which was denied. After this, they met with a lawyer who informed them they would end up paying him as much or more than what they would get from the inspector.
This wasn’t the only “big” item that was missed during their inspection. Luke & Sarah’s home owner’s insurance required that the inspector confirm that there was no “knob & tube” wiring in the house. If there was, they would not insure the house because it’s old wiring and more likely to cause a fire. Sarah told the inspector this prior to the inspection. The inspection occurred and the inspector signed off that there was no knob & tube wiring in the house. A handful of days later, Sarah was warming some food up in the microwave and the wiring in the wall caught fire. Luke was able to act quickly to put it out. After checking the outlet involved, additional outlets and several light switches, Luke found that most of the house was knob & tube wiring.
Luke & Sarah have worked so hard to make their new house livable and nice, both inside and out. They have faced every new found problem with strength and thanksgiving by the grace of God whom they faithfully serve. If you find yourself led to give and are able, it will be used to make this house structurally sound and safe to live in. The smallest of donations can help, because through the small giving of many, much can be accomplished.
Their adorable Enumclaw home was built in 1914. It is in a great location relative to the town and their lot is very large and perfect for their family (which also includes 2 dogs). The finished portion of the home is just 760 square feet (2 bds, 1 bath) with an unfinished upstairs ‘attic’ area with low sloped ceilings that was planned to be finished for a shared bedroom and play area for the kids.
Right away, Luke set out to get started on turning this space into the kids’ room. The first step was to take out the insulation that was in the underside on the roof. Initial discovery…mold (a lot of it) and a soft roof. At one point, bracing his hand on the underside of the roof, Luke’s whole hand almost went through the roof to the outside! Several roofing inspections, framing inspections and engineering consultations later, they now know that their entire roof (not just the roofing, but the whole top of the house -trusses) must be rebuilt and replaced for their home to be sound. The potential domino effect of this repair is unimaginable…ultimately including the possibility of having to redo the framing of the exterior walls to support the roof which must be built to meet city code.
Everyone expects to face some repairs and do some improvements when moving into an older home, and Luke & Sarah are no different. They just didn’t know that an inspection could go so wrong as to miss something so costly and devastating. They borrowed money to buy this home. The payment fits into their budget and they borrowed what they were qualified for. They can’t borrow money to fix it because they don’t qualify and they can’t afford an additional loan payment. They submitted a claim against the inspector which was denied. After this, they met with a lawyer who informed them they would end up paying him as much or more than what they would get from the inspector.
This wasn’t the only “big” item that was missed during their inspection. Luke & Sarah’s home owner’s insurance required that the inspector confirm that there was no “knob & tube” wiring in the house. If there was, they would not insure the house because it’s old wiring and more likely to cause a fire. Sarah told the inspector this prior to the inspection. The inspection occurred and the inspector signed off that there was no knob & tube wiring in the house. A handful of days later, Sarah was warming some food up in the microwave and the wiring in the wall caught fire. Luke was able to act quickly to put it out. After checking the outlet involved, additional outlets and several light switches, Luke found that most of the house was knob & tube wiring.
Luke & Sarah have worked so hard to make their new house livable and nice, both inside and out. They have faced every new found problem with strength and thanksgiving by the grace of God whom they faithfully serve. If you find yourself led to give and are able, it will be used to make this house structurally sound and safe to live in. The smallest of donations can help, because through the small giving of many, much can be accomplished.
Organizer and beneficiary
Dawn Schmidt
Organizer
Tacoma, WA
Sarah Lenihan
Beneficiary