Wednesday, May 31, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
DAMAGE: Residents
want to see roofs
replaced
Continued from page 5
to the design drawings, basi-
cally,” Milstead said.
The item most at issue is
the apparent absence of ice
shield on the roofs of the
units.
Sean Palagyi made a
Better Business Bureau com-
plaint regarding the lack
of ice shield, and Hayden
Homes responded that, “Your
home was constructed in
accordance with all building
codes and requirements that
applied on the date of con-
struction… Neither the City
of (Sisters) nor (Deschutes
County) required the instal-
lation of an ice barrier when
your home was constructed in
2013.”
As far as the residents are
concerned, Hayden is dodg-
ing the issue. Plans are clearly
stamped “ice shield required
for severe climate.”
“It doesn’t matter what the
code says,” Milstead argues.
“If the architect draws it, you
put it in the way the architect
and engineers had it.”
“If they had just put the ice
guard down when they built
the houses in the first place,
we wouldn’t be sitting here
with the problems of today,”
Palagyi said.
The
homeowners
acknowledge that last winter
was exceptionally bad, and
leakage has been a problem
for homeowners across the
region. But they emphasize
the scale of the damage to
their individual units and to
the development as a whole.
“It was just complete
intrusion of water every-
where,” Burton said.
The walls of many rooms
in her home remain torn out.
In response to Palagyi’s
complaint, Hayden noted
that, “During severe cold
weather and snow storms,
snow may build up on the
roof and cause ice dams. Ice
dams are naturally occurring
due to extreme weather as
snow ... melts over a roof sur-
face that exceeds 32°F. As the
melting snow flows down the
roof and it reaches the por-
tion of the roof that is below
32°F (the eave), it freezes and
begins to cause ice buildup,
especially at gutters and val-
leys. The ice dam then traps
water which is then forced
through the shingles and into
the attic and living space.
“While this can be a very
disconcerting situation, it is
the responsibility of the HOA
and homeowner to main-
tain and clear any snow and
ice from the roofs to prevent
ice dams. Ice dams will not
occur if the snow is removed
promptly, and are not covered
under the Hayden Homes
warranty. Insulation is not
required on the underside of
the roof. The attic insulation
is blown in and is at a depth
that meets or exceeds code.”
While single-family
homeowners are responsible
for removing snow from their
roofs, in the case of the town-
homes, that responsibility
falls to the HOA. The home-
owners told The Nugget that
they had little luck getting
action on removal.
DON’T
MISS
OUT
on this week’s inserts in the Nugget:
DESCHUTES PUBLIC LIBRARY: Check
out all the fun off erings for kids and adults
this June and July at the Sisters Library!
RAY’S FOOD PLACE: It’s a Mega Meat
& Produce Sale, Friday through Sunday,
June 2-4! Take advantage of great deals!
LIFE LINE SCREENING: Stay stroke
free! Life Line Screening will be in Sisters
on Monday June 12; check the details!
“They didn’t come to clear
the snow off,” Burton said.
“We were calling and beg-
ging them.”
The homeowners say their
quality of life has been sig-
nificantly impacted. Turner,
Burton, and Palagyi are using
only a portion of their homes.
Pepples has gone ahead and
had repair work done, but the
retired airline pilot is wor-
ried about leaving his home
to travel — which is why he
purchased a townhome in the
first place.
“I cannot leave my house
now because I’m afraid I’ll
have more leaks,” he said.
“It’s totally disrupted my
plans for retirement.”
Turner said he and Lorrie
are concerned about what
happens next — or if they try
to sell.
“We’re certainly wor-
ried about the future of our
home,” Bill said.
Burton says that she has
talked to an attorney twice
about the situation, but the
homeowners don’t really
want to lawyer up and take
legal action. They simply
want to be made whole.
The report commissioned
by the homeowners con-
cludes, “A harsh winter like
this past one is hard to build
for. However, paying closer
25
PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS
Damage to the interior of homes has been extensive.
attention to standard con-
struction practices, being
consistent, and following the
construction plans and city-
approved drawings would
have helped reduce or elimi-
nate the damage caused by
ice dams.”
The homeowners’ prior-
ity is simple: They want their
homes retrofitted so that they
won’t have to go through
what they experienced last
winter again.
“I want them to tear off the
roof and put ice shield down
the way they said they were
going to do in their plans,”
said Palagyi.
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for all ages.
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