Originally Posted by
Drew Wiley
Pieter - as you no doubt know, most of the '06 SF earthquake damage was actually due to fire. After a prior severe quake in the 1880's, which actually liquified the ground under what is now downtown SF, certain building standards were imposed in SF, including more secure chimneys. That 1880's quake and another severe one slightly earlier actually originated on this side of the Bay, along the Hayward Fault, which is just a few blocks from me. There was little damage around here at the time because it was mostly all farmland or otherwise undeveloped.
But many homeowner policies, including mine, will cover FIRE damage per se, even if a quake was involved. All I was hinting at is that if a quake was so severe as to affect thousands of buildings in the area, the major carriers would likely default anyway - it would just be too expensive for them to handle. You can't insure for everything, just common sense risks and liabilities.
As far as what windows cost, the business I worked for was the biggest Marvin dealership west of the Mississippi, and the official warranty handler for all of northern California. We always got paid and won, even when the property owner, contractor, and architect were all at war with one another, pointing the finger of blame, and suing each other for some expensive mishap. Ultimately, we held all the cards, no matter who sold the windows to them. I've seen a steel clad window sixty feet across needing replacement due to improper installation, involving 30K per day overhead, with a big crane n all. All the squabblers had already lost 50K apiece to lawyers.
I didn't work in that Dept per se, but was routinely consulted over sealants, coatings, and necessary equipment to facilitate efficient replacement, and sometimes did training seminars. Obviously, I also had an inside track if I needed any window or door work myself. But the climate here is very temperate, and my heating bills are low. On any kind of NEW construction, however, double glazed windows are mandatory code.
Bookmarks