“the contractors began demolition and in the process, knocked down an adjoining wall between our houses”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Nathan Castellanos

“Dear PoPville,

I live in a semi-detached home and the house I am attached to is currently being renovated. On December 23rd, the contractors began demolition and in the process, knocked down an adjoining wall between our houses about 4-5 feet long. While their home is two stories, mine is three and I can clearly see into their home from my basement because they have knocked all the way down through the floor joists and through the wall into my house.

This is concerning due to the possible structural and asbestos issues this may pose to my home as well as the possibility of mice and rodents entering my home from an unfinished work site.

The lead contractor offered to come over, look at the damage and fix it and seemed very concerned about doing everything he could to rectify the situation but he’s not my contractor and I don’t know that I trust them to perform the work under the table.

Besides calling for an inspection and possible structural engineer, does the PoPville community have any advice for dealing with DCRA? The owners have all of the necessary permits (I checked) and this is a quick flip for profit so I’m sure they don’t want to be tied up with stop work orders and insurance claims.”