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Old house crunched by much older tree
(by Joan Demirjian - October 01, 2008)
Old house crunched by much older tree
By JOAN DEMIRJIAN
Most people are back to normal after the winds from Hurricane Ike blew through Ohio on Sept. 14, leaving many without electricity for days and with downed trees in the yards.
But William and Karen Thailing are far from their daily routines.
At the height of the windstorm, a tree in their back yard toppled onto their house on Bell Street in Chagrin Falls. The oak tree that broke off is estimated to be about 250 years old, according to the Thailings.
Mr. Thailing had been grilling on the back deck that Sunday evening just before the high winds caused the tree to break and crash into the house. He had gone inside to the kitchen, right off the deck, when the tree cracked under the high winds.
"I was standing in the kitchen, and he came in from grilling," Mrs. Thailing said.
It was silent until the tree hit, they said. The sound was deafening, they said of the tree when the trunk and branches fell on the roof.
"All of a sudden, the plaster started falling in the kitchen," she said. "It was like a bomb going off. It was all over in seconds."
The tree fell over the kitchen and on a car outside. "It fell through the middle of the house, ripping through the roof," Mrs. Thailing said.
"It went through the roof into the second floor, and the limbs broke through," Mr. Thailing said. "It shook the whole house," he said. "It was a terrifying experience."
The tree broke off about halfway up and hit all the ceiling rafters at once.
However, from the front of the house, the damage that was caused by the tree couldn't be seen, she said.
When the plaster started falling down, they ran out of the house. "Everyone heard it around us," Mrs. Thailing said. "We saw the neighbors running over." They were calling 911 on cell phones, she said. "It was surreal."
It was an estimated three tons on the house. It took six men from Van Curen Tree Service to work on the tree, Mrs. Thailing said. "They were here at 6:30 in the evening on Sunday and then here at 7 in the morning on Monday."
Historically, the house is of interest in the village. It was built in 1915 and is a Montgomery Ward catalog house, shipped in by rail to be constructed on the site.
The roofing contractor said, if it had been a newer house, the damages would have been greater, Mrs. Thailing said. "The old wood is so strong," she said, but a whole new roof is required.
Inside, the east half of the two-bedroom house was undamaged.
After the tree fell, they called their insurance agent, who was eating dinner at the time but was quick to respond, she said.
The roof was wide open, according to Mrs. Thailing.
They called in police and firefighters, who advised the Thailings to leave the house. They packed a suitcase and eventually occupied a room at a hotel in Beachwood.
"There was nothing in Chagrin Falls, because there was no electricity," Mrs. Thailing said.
"We stayed with friends until we got approval from the insurance company to stay in a hotel."
They covered furniture with tarps to keep them from damage in case of rain.
She said neighbors and the companies they are working with have been extremely helpful. "Everyone is being so kind and generous," Mrs. Thailing said. "They have been emotionally supportive."
The irony is that the Thailings took care of the tree all these years, they said. "We had it pruned when it was needed, and everyone said it was a gorgeous tree," Mrs. Thailing said.
Because their house is at the edge of a ravine that goes down to a small stream, the huge tree and its massive root system have been credited with stabilizing the steep incline over the years. They plan to leave what is left in place and to encourage other trees along the bank to grow as well, they said.
Each day, they are at the house, checking on the progress of the rebuilding project. A wall inside that was damaged has to be rebuilt.
"It's open ended right now," Mr. Thailing said of the time frame of the project. "Fortunately, we have good insurance."
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