Phoenix Business Group
Consumer Advocacy Services

Cosmetic vs. Structural Damage

A family thought they had only "cosmetic" damage to their home after the Northridge quake. Grateful to have escaped without injury to any family members, they were relieved when the building inspector tagged their house "green" meaning that their home was safe to re-enter. Their insurance company sent out an engineer who, after a 1 hour inspection that did not include entry into the crawl space or attic, reassured them that the damage to the house was "cosmetic". They did not object when their insurance adjuster informed them that they should receive a check within 60 days for $6,500.00 to reimburse them for cosmetic repairs, half the price of replacing a fallen block wall and damage to crystal and china "in full payment" of their claim.

But as time passed, they began to worry. At night the roof groaned. The upstairs floors were squeaky and wavy, resembling a fun-house at an old-time amusement park. They did not remember them being that way. Windows which worked before the earthquake were now stuck and would not open. The screen on the sliding glass door was so loose it fell out of its tracks on several occasions.

A contractor and an engineer performed a subsequent inspection and found the following damage after the claim had been "settled":

The foundation wall under the house had 11 vertical cracks in it, ranging from hairline to 3/8-inch wide. It was no longer monolithic.
The north wall (the one with the stuck windows) was badly off plumb. The stucco on the north wall was no longer connected to the studs. It hung like a curtain. There was no lateral resistance left in the north wall. When the paint was removed from the east wall with a wire brush, thin cracks were found to cover 60 percent of the horizontal length of the wall.
The rafters were no longer attached to the ridge beam. Four rafters had separated and sunk by four inches pushing out the north wall. (In order to access and replace the rafters, the contractor knew the roof would need to be removed.)
The fireplace, which had no cracks in the firebox, had sheared beneath the roofline. The chimney could have been pushed over by hand from the roof.

The contractor estimated the real cost of repairing the damage was not $6,500.00 plus a $10,000.00 deductible, but was close to $160,000.00!

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