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NEW Device Maps Sinkhole for Woman
When her insurer refuses to pay benefits, the Palm Harbor resident tries high-tech.
By: Robert Farley
St. Peterburg Times Staff Writer
September 24, 2001.
Palm Harbor - Cracks that formed about two years ago along the edges of the window frames in the bathroom were the first signs of a problem.
But more signs emerged during the ensuing months. Cracks formed along the outside cinder block walls of Wilhelmina Niemann's home at 606 14th St. The stone patio out back began to sink. Hairline cracks developed on the ceiling. The walls in her living room began to bulge.
An even more dramatic sign came with a thunderous crack as the thick wooden beam above a back window split open, leaving a seam several inches wide.
"It sounds like a bomb hit," Mrs. Niemann said.
A clue to the mysterious damaged last December when a small hole opened up in the front yard next to the front door. It was only a small hole, about a foot long. But it continued to grow.
Mrs. Niemann suspecting a sinkhole, called her insurance carries, State Farm Insurance. The insurance firm sent a geologist to examine the property. Mrs. Niemann said they concluded the problem was cased by construction debris buried beneath the house when it was constructed 46 years ago. The insurance company says it is not responsible to pay for damage caused by the settling of buried debris.
Mrs. Niemann said she has had other geologists come to her home who concluded the damage was likely due to a sinkhole. Sinkhole damage is covered in all Florida homeowner's insurance policies.
In June, Mrs. Niemann filed a lawsuit against State Farm in which she claimed State Farm has refused to pay benefits to which she is entitled.
In court pleading filed in August, the company sail, "Following a thorough investigation of the claim, State Farm disagrees that the loss was covered under the policy." The company filed a motion to have a arbitrator set the amount of loss.
Tom Hagerty, a Start Farm spokesman from the regional office in Winter Haven, declined to discuss the details of why the claim was denied.
"It is our policy not to comment on matters under litigation." Hagerty said.
On Friday, a geotechnical engineering firm, R.C. Kannan & Associates Inc. of Largo, performed tests they say should settle the issue for good.
Company president Ramanuja C. Kannan said there is a sinkhole causing the damage. And the problem will only get worse, he said, unless someone undertakes expensive repairs.
Kannan made that conclusion after using a fairly new technology that provides a graphic picture of the ground beneath. Called an OhmMapper and manufactured by Geometrics Inc., the equipment provides a continuous reading of the subsurface, rather than the sometimes hit-or-miss method of boring test holes, Kannan said.
Within just a couple of hours, Kannan said, he was able to determine there is a sinkhole at the root of Mrs. Niemann's problem. The small hole that opened up near the front of the house is larger than what is showing, he said, and extends underneath the house.
But the real culprit lies about 10 feet to the south, he said near the home's chimney. There, he said, is an underground void about 5 feet in diameter and perhaps 40 feet deep.
"It's like a 5-foot- wide pipe going down," he said.
That void connects to a sinkhole that could be up to 50 feet away, he said. It draws soil towards it, he said, causing the foundation problems for Mrs. Niemanann's home and the small hole near the front porch.
The repairs will not be inexpensive, Kannan said. Firs he said, they must locate the pockets in the limestone and fill them with cement or a mix of cement and clay. Then, he said, they need to stabilize the soil around the limestone. Lastly, he said, workers must improve the home's foundation. Total cost: $80,000."Conservatively" Kannan said.
Who will have to foot that bill remains to be seen because the lawsuit is still pending. Mrs. Niemann said she isn't sure what she'll do now. She hears the walls cracking occasionally and worries it won't be long before more serious damage befalls the house. She said she is half-packed, in case she nedds to move. But without an insurance settlement, she said, she can't afford to move. She hopes the results of Friday's soil tests hel her to get a settlement from the insurance company. "The good new is that maybe I can get the money to get out", she said.
- Staff writer Robert Farley can be reached at (727) 445-4185 or farley@sotimes.com
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