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and asked if I should pull up the carpet to let it dry. Eric's response was not to pull up the carpet,but instead to put a
<br /> fan on it to dry it out,to which I complied.
<br /> � As of Tuesday,May 1,2001,a little over a week after I had reported the water leak,I had still heazd nothing
<br /> from Eagle Crest,the caipet was still sativated with the fan blowing on it and my use of towels to sop it up,and by
<br /> this point there was visible mold growing on the exterior wall and trim I have included pictures of this in my letter
<br /> to you. That day I also called Eagle Crest,and scheduled an appointment for that Friday to have Eagle Crest's
<br /> service man,Jerry,out to look at the problem
<br /> On Friday,May 4,2001,Jerry came out to my house. While there,he pulled up the carpet in the basement and
<br /> closet area,removed the porkions of the carpet pad that were wet or saturated,removed the trim that eachibited mold
<br /> visually,and cut out an approximately six-inch high piece of drywall along the majority of the lower level exterior
<br /> wall,which was the azea where mold was seen and/or where the sheetrock was soft to the touch. Left exposed was
<br /> the saturated wood framing,both green-treated and pine as well as the damp insulation and vapor guards. It should
<br /> be noted that with only this small section of drywall removed,and no insulation removed,it was impossible to
<br /> identify/locate the source of the water leakage(i.e.,cracks in the foundarion). He then insttucted me to place a fan
<br /> on it,wluch I did.
<br /> My next appointment was pushed back to Monday,June 4,2001,as Eric at Eagle Crest assured me that there
<br /> was no rush in getting Jerry out again sooner to complete his work. In that time period,every time it rained,the
<br /> cement flooring became damp,if not wet,as did the wood fran�ing on the wall. Additional azeas of visual mold
<br /> continued to grow on the walls,and the area of wetness spread further west along the exterior wall to the azea of
<br /> drywall that was not formerly removed. There was also a spot on the insulation that appeazed to be mold as well,
<br /> though to this point I am not certain. I called Eagle Crest several times during ttus period and wrote them a letter
<br /> dated May 22,2001 detailing the advancement of the problem
<br /> I called Eagle Crest on Wednesday,May 23,2001,and spoke to Eric about my letter(also faxed to them)from
<br /> the day before. My intenrion was to find out what the solurion to the problem was going to be,as I had heazd
<br /> nothing from them,and questioning Jerry was a futile effort. Eric informed that they were going to air out the damp
<br /> areas and then close them up. Case closed. I was obviously quite certain that this was not going to fix the problem,
<br /> and was simply a band-aid if you will to address the water currently in the basement. I posed the question as to what
<br /> would happen the next time it rained,wouldn't water still seep in? He didn't have an answer for me other than that
<br /> if and when that occurred,they would look into ideas such�as assessing the grade of the land.
<br /> Following tlus conversation,I called the City of Orono building inspector,Lyle Oman. I had asked him out to
<br /> my and neighboring townhomes to look at the problems earlier in the month. At that time he had suggested that the
<br /> appropriate fix might be to add drain tiling or a French drain to the base of the foundation to redirect water away
<br /> from the house. He had also indicated that it was likely there were cracks in the foundation at the present time. In
<br /> my phone conversation,I informed hun of my most recent conversation with Eric,and he was also displeased with
<br /> Eagle Crest's lack of a solution to the problem.
<br /> I then called the owner of Eagle Crest,Bill Gleason He had given me his personal phone number last October
<br /> when I was having so many plumbing/gas problems,and I was getting frustrated with the lack of a response from his
<br /> subordinates. He came out tt►at afternoon to my townhome and surveyed the problem on the interior and exterior. I
<br /> siurm�arized what he had said to me that afternoon in a letter dated May 24,2001. In short,he proposed that the
<br /> water leak was being caused by an inappropriate grade of the backyard that in tum directed water towards the house,
<br /> and with time the water pressure,which was more than the foundation structure was built to withstand,caused
<br /> leakage into the house. He suggested several ways to redirect the water away from the foundation,all wluch aze
<br /> listed in the letter dated May 24,2001. As for fixing the damage to the interior of the house,he detailed to me the
<br /> plan was to dry out the area,replace any parts of the drywall,wood trim and carpet pad that was damaged,to paint
<br /> the framing wood with a sealant,and closing everything back up.
<br /> The week following,the week of May 28,2001,Eagle Crest put in a drainage system directly to the south of the
<br /> sidewalk,running along the sidewalk. For your information,the sidewallc runs pazallel to the north side of the
<br /> townhomes,and approximately 10 feet froin the house. No one called to let me know this was being done or when;
<br /> I just reiurned home one evening and found the garden area along the sidewalk tom up and mulch and dirt strewn
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