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Co. v. Willamette Steam Mills L. & M. Co., supra (held that a one
and one-half story lumberyard office, with a chimney that did not
extend to the ground, which rested on mud sills, was a removable
trade fixture under California Code section 1019). In each
instance, the buildings were not embedded into the land through
the use of a foundation or supported by beams sunk into the
ground several feet but rested on the surface by the use of mud
sills.9
Each of the improvements that we hold not to be a removable
trade fixture has a foundation that is several inches of either
heavy concrete or blacktop, which in most instances is embedded
below the ground surface, and/or has support beams that are sunk
into the ground several feet and are encased in concrete and/or
blacktop. In addition, the well uses a suction pump that is
located approximately 75 feet below the ground surface. Although
the estate argues that these improvements can be removed, their
removal would require significant effort. The statute clearly
refers to the “manner in which it is affixed” in determining
whether an improvement is integral to the premises. Because
these foundations are affixed to the ground as firmly as
possible, these improvements require heavy construction machinery
9 By definition, mud sills are “a supporting sill (as of a
building or bridge) resting directly on a base and especially the
earth”. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 763 (10th ed.
1996).
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