Following a significant rain event, the shared boulder wall of some Queensland homeowners collapsed, leaving them feeling as though they are literally between a rock and a hard place.
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| Residents with collapsed boulder wall call out long insurance wait |
Residents with collapsed boulder wall call out long insurance wait
The neighbours in Brisbane's north claim their insurance firms have yet to show up seven months later.
A Current Affair spoke with Dave Barnham, a resident of Murrumba Downs, who said, "We literally looked out the window and heard and saw it just go straight into the pool."
Mr. Barnham and his wife Tia claimed that their home was formerly in excellent condition, complete with a well-kept lawn and sparkling pool.
But when the city saw its heaviest rainstorm in years in February, the three-meter boulder retaining wall behind the pool fell, giving rise to a rockpool that nobody asked for.
The stones "just literally flew out" after being wet to the point where they could no longer support themselves, according to Mr. Barnham.
We are looking at quotations of about $350,000, according to Mrs. Barnham.
Seven months later, their backyard still resembles a construction site.
They are unable to fix it until Bill Small, who lives above them, hears back from his insurance provider because it has been declared a risk zone.
Mrs. Barnham remarked, "All we know is what our neighbours are telling us.
The boulder wall divides the two estates, but because the Barnhams have taken the worst of the damage, they are eager to find a solution.
They claimed to have gotten in touch with their insurance provider, Youi, right away and to have requested evaluations from structural and geotechnical engineers.
In essence, Mrs. Barnham claimed, "that retainer wall has constructed a dam."
"The water has backed up behind that wall and leaked down that stairs as well as via the drainage from that wall."
According to one story, the beginning of the wall's deterioration was caused by excessive runoff, which was probably caused by the overflow of three water tanks on the neighbours' property and the channelling of water to the stairs.
The other assessment said that the wall had not been built to Australian standards and that the failure of the wall was caused by material washout, saturated soil, a lack of drainage, and reduced stability.
Rocks may begin to "kind of get closer to dwellings" if the situation worsens, Mr. Barnham warned.
The neighbouring property's shared fence has given way, and 72-year-old Chris Price is worried for his residence.
The retaining wall is only two to three metres from from his bedroom, he claimed.
He filed a claim with his insurance company, Suncorp, expressing worries about the boulder wall's structural soundness.
- Retaining walls are not insured, according to Suncorp, but they must be made safe by law.
- even months have passed, and almost nothing has done, according to Price.
- We called Small in an effort to learn more about the strategies of his insurance.
- Until further notice, it remains in the control of my insurance, according to Small.
- However, Mrs. Barnham claimed that for them, "patience is wearing very thin."
We're prepared to sign a contract to begin the work, but we are unable to do so until we know how our neighbours will proceed because the work will also be done on their land, she added.
Although the parents indicated work wouldn't begin until the middle of next year, even if a contract were signed today, their three youngsters, who are all under 13, will have a difficult summer.
The entire impact of not having that there, according to Mrs. Barnham, "I don't believe they are aware of yet,"
While Youi acknowledged it handled Mr. and Mrs. Barnham's claim to their satisfaction some months ago, Suncorp told A Current Affair that due to privacy, it is unable to reveal the contents of its client claims until they have signed a form of authorisation giving permission.
Suncorp spokesperson: In order to decide what to do next, we have reviewed Mr. Price's claim in greater detail and will continue to examine the harm. We apologise for any annoyance and distress this claim has caused Mr. Price. Despite the complexity of the claim, we will make every effort to move the process along so that it can be finished as soon as possible.
Youi's assertion: Youi can attest to the effective resolution of Mr. and Mrs. Barnham's
