ST9302-CS 990126Mr. Start Phillips
City Project Inspector
City of Coppell
p.O. Box 478
Coppell, Texas 75019
RE: Fence Damage - 804 Sugarberry Drive
Dear Stan:
Ja
A few days have passed since my fence was damaged as a result of the wo
repaired very quickly, and some has not been repaired. I appreciate your fi
I would be hearing from the contractor, but I have heard nothing. Conse¢
before everyone begins to forget about it. In fact, I have already forgotten t
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Last week, I believe Monday 1/18/99, I noticed a mound of dirt rising abo
have a gate providing access to Sandy Lake Road, so I decided to inspec, my mca. I [ouno someone had spray
painted 2 large orange circles on my fence with the number 11 inside the circles. I immediately called the City to
complain and left a voice mail.
The next day, I believe Tuesday 1/19/99, I came home for lunch to see if there was a message on my answering
machine. There was no message, and I noticed a mound of dirt now extending from one end of my fence line to the
other, on Sandy Lake Road. The dirt was considerably higher than my fence and it was piled against my fence,
about 4' high. The weight of the dirt had caused the individual panels to bow. One panel had given way and a
large piece of dirt was protruding through my fence. Four other panels sustained cracked cross rail damage. There
were also some individual pickets broken on other panels.
I called the City to complain, and you called me back within 10 minutes, which was a pleasant surprise. You
advised me:
· you had seen the dirt against the fence,
· you had instructed the contractor to move it,
· you advised the contractor they would need to contact me for repairs,
you had seen the orange paint on my fence, and
· you advised the contractor they would need to repair it.
To my surprise, I found all of the dirt had been removed by the time I came home from work that evening, and a
temporary repair had been made to the panel that had broken.
The next day, I came home for lunch to discover the broken panel had been completely replaced and the pickets that
had orange spray paint on them had been replaced. You also were nice enough to call me to confirm this activity
had taken place. It was during that call that you mentioned the contractor would be in touch to discuss the
additional damage.
I intend to be picky about that fence, since I personally spent hours erecting it, myself. I was very meticulous in the
construction. The replacement of pickets where the orange paint is fine, even though those pickets are a different
color due to aging. I'm not that picky. The replacement panel is also a different color, but again, I'm not that
picky. However, that fence is constructed with cedar rails and pickets. I'm not sure the replacement panel used
cedar. As you know, cedar lasts longer than white pine. It may very well be cedar, but it looks like white pine to
/
January 26, 1999
Mr. Stan Philhps
City Project Inspector
City of Coppell
P.O. Box 478
Coppell, Texas 75019
RE: Fence Damage - 804 Sugarberry Drive
Dear Stan:
A few days have passed since my fence was damaged as a result of the work on Sandy Lake Road. Some of it was
repaired very quickly, and some has not been repaired. I appreciate your fast response and efforts. You advised me
I would be hearing from the contractor, but I have heard nothing. Consequently, I want to commit this to writing
before everyone begins to forget about it. In fact, I have already forgotten the exact dates.
Last week, I believe Monday 1/18/99, I noticed a mound of dirt rising above my fence along Sandy Lake Road. I
have a gate providing access to Sandy Lake Road, so I decided to inspect the area. I found someone had spray
painted 2 large orange circles on my fence with the number 11 inside the circles. I immediately called the City to
complain and left a voice mail.
The next day, I believe Tuesday 1/19/99, I came home for lunch to see ff there was a message on my answering
machine. There was no message, and I noticed a mound of dirt now extending from one end of my fence line to the
other, on Sandy Lake Road. The dirt was considerably higher than my fence and it was piled against my fence,
about 4' high. The weight of the dirt had caused the individual panels to bow. One panel had given way and a
large piece of dirt was protruding through my fence. Four other panels sustained cracked cross rail damage. There
were also some individual pickets broken on other panels.
I called the City to complain, and you called me back within 10 minutes, which was a pleasant surprise. You
advised me:
· you had seen the dirt against the fence,
· you had instructed the contractor to move it,
· you advised the contractor they would need to contact me for repairs,
you had seen the orange paint on my fence, and
· you advised the contractor they would need to repair it.
To my surprise, I found all of the dirt had been removed by the time I came home from work that evening, and a
temporary repair had been made to the panel that had broken.
The next day, I came home for lunch to discover the broken panel had been completely replaced and the pickets that
had orange spray paint on them had been replaced. You also were nice enough to call me to conf'um this activity
had taken place. It was during that call that you mentioned the contractor would be in touch to discuss the
additional damage.
I intend to be picky about that fence, since I personally spent hours erecting it, myself. I was very meticulous in the
construction. The replacement of pickets where the orange paint is fine, even though those pickets are a different
color due to aging. I'm not that picky. The replacement panel is also a different color, but again, I'm not that
picky. However, that fence is constructed with cedar rails and pickets. I'm not sure the replacement panel used
cedar. As you know, cedar lasts longer than white pine. It may very well be cedar, but it looks like white pine to
me. They only used 3 nails in each picket to secure it rather than the 6 1 placed in evelst picket. The other damage
that has not been repaired involves 4 (I beheve) rails along the bottom of 4 panels. They bowed so far with the dirt
against the fence, that they cracked. Now that the dirt is off the fence, it is harder to see the cracks. That might
explain why they were not repaired. Nonetheless, I expect them to be repaired. The cracks will allow water and
early rot of the rails. There are some individual pickets that remain broken, as well. I have a number of
photographs of the damaged areas that I took while the dirt was against the fence. The damage was quite noticeable
when the dirt was against the fence.
Thank you for help. I will wait to hear something from the City and/or the conlractor about the remaining damage.
Sincerely, . /r~
Don W. Ellington ~)
804 Sugarberry Dff-ve
Coppell, Texas 75019
972-462-?194