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observed that the first and second floors of petitioner’s home
were not level.
In 1990, petitioner hired Jack Santangelo (Santangelo) to
install marble tile in the entryway, master bathroom, fireplace,
upstairs bathroom vanity, bar in the den, and dining room, and on
the stairs from the living room to the dining room. He leveled
the floors where he installed new tile. The marble tile he
installed cost a few hundred dollars more than the tile that was
there previously. The only areas that are level are those that
Santangelo leveled: The entryway, the dining room, the stairs
to the living room and den, the downstairs half bath, and the
upstairs second bath and master bath.
Halpin and Lewis recommended that petitioner’s unit be
jacked up to level the floors. Halpin also recommended that the
roof be renailed to prevent stress in the roof line. However,
jacking up the building could cause several problems and might
not result in restoring petitioner’s home to its pre-earthquake
condition. Jacking up the middle unit could damage the
connections at the party walls and at the roof line. Jacking up
the building would force the plumb components (such as the second
floor walls) out of plumb. Finally, jacking up the unit would
put the part of the first floor that Santangelo had already
leveled out of level. Petitioner wanted a guaranty that the work
would not damage her marble tile. The Homeowners' Association
would not make that guaranty.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011