Description
Owners at 3000 2nd Avenue North, have made numerous alterations to the property, since 2006. Several of these projects required pulling permits. Several areas may require deeper inspections.
Kitchen was gutted changed and moved. New appliances and cabinetry were added. Electric and plumbing were rerouted and altered. The gas line may have been extended.
BATHROOM was gutted, changed, and moved. Plumbing and electric rerouted. Ceilings were dropped (not just the vent area). Recess lighting was added with less than 8’ between the shower’s threshold and light. The fixture does not meet NEC 410.10. The shower tile blocks an existing exterior window. The window is visible on the outside of the home. The bathroom has no exhaust fan and I did not see a fire alarm in other rooms.
Both kitchen and bathroom have multiplied their loads and densities exponentially.
The renovations put an extra burden of stress on the 100 year old joist system and walls. The original plaster work has either been removed or was covered by sheet rock which was recently modified. This could be to hide stress cracks.
Back screen porch was completely removed.
The back area now has an enclosed porch which was converted into a small indoor laundry room. Again electric and plumbing was added and altered. The room has a door to the backyard. Stairs leading to the back yard have fallen. I have been to two open houses and both times the back stairs were not fixed. The stress load on the joists should be checked.
The front porch was gutted, altered and expanded with visible code violations. When the current owners purchased the home it had one set of concrete stairs with railings on both sides of the stairs facing 30th street. Currently, they have two staircases. The stairs leading from 2nd Ave N do not meet ICC residential code standards. Railings that were removed left holes in the lower half of the only two freestanding brick columns. They also removed a center column that originally would have aided in supporting the front porch’s roof. The holes in the columns present a breach in the integrity of the remaining columns.
The roof to the front porch was gutted and altered. The roof is now leaning right and seems to be pulling from the house on the left. The supporting joists needs attention.
At least a dozen original windows have been replaced. The homes original windows were in mint operational condition with no breaks or no visible cracks to glass. All windows opened and closed with no leaks. In October, a few windows had missing locking hardware. The parlor a.k.a. sunroom windows have not been maintained and need attention. The parlor was originally an entrance to this home.
All these changes and more had been done since 2006. The previous owners, the Youschaks, did not make these changes. The Youschaks lived in the home less than a year from 2005 to the start of 2006. They currently reside about 20 minutes south of Tampa. They would be a good source to confirm what I am saying. I also have the 2005, listing and know the agent who still works in the area.
The original owners were the Mc Cooks. They did not make the above changes and the home was well maintained. Miss Sarah Mc Cook had lived in the home for almost 80 years. She was an educated women and prided herself on this home. Her father built the home and was a honorary woodsman. This home no longer has any of the original wood visible.
To see the outside changes simply use Google Maps | Street View and choose previous years. The changes mainly happened after 2010. The house has great curb appeal which detracts from many of the issues.
Lastly and most currently, over Thanksgiving week I noticed the covering on many of the windows had still been in place. They have been covered since Halloween. When I checked, I found they had replaced at least 12 original windows with store bought windows with white grids. The window replacement job has been hidden to us. I check the city and county sites for permits. They have no permits. They have never pulled any permits for any of the work they have done on this home. A city inspector needs to check this latest project. The inspector will probably quickly assume the siding is asbestos. Let me assure the inspector it is asbestos. Currently, the asbestos has been recently compromised by the re-fitting of the new windows. I would also assume the renovations and removal of the screen porch may have also compromised the asbestos siding.
Presently, evidence of the broken and cut asbestos siding will be found on the ground under several of the windows. If there was larger debris they clean it up. However I think most of the work had been done from the inside.
I have lived in this area for most of my life and knew Miss Mc Cook. I never met the current owners and tried discussing my concerns with the realtor. Wishing no ill-will on them only to get this home checked and safe. The home was in good order when they bought it. Our neighbors had no idea. I just hope the city can help mitigate and rectified some of these safety concerns.
If you need additional information you can contact me. I have previous photos, other documents, and other contacts. I have the former owners information and know the estate attorney for the late Miss McCook.
Thank you for your time and your quick handling in resolving this matter.
ATTACHED: image shows on the left is an image from the 2005 listing (MFRMLS #U7109973) as the house was before current owners. The right is a picture taken from Zillow. Many undermined changes. Notice the roof has been gutted, porch expanded, railing removed, and a middle column is gone. The house is darling but the owners don't seem to care about codes and permits.
also asked...
A. Construction without permit
A. No
14 Comments
Stefan (Registered User)
I actually read your entire post which, if I hadn’t been reading Ron Chernow’s ‘Grant’ for the better half of this evening, I’m not sure I would have gotten through it. You were quite detailed which it impressive, however, posting all that on this site will get you absolutely nowhere, trust me. Okay, so tomorrow when you log in you will see something to the extent of ‘We’ve read your post and we’ve now passed it along to the city’s... blah blah blah blah blah...’ and hopefully you’re not pacified with just that. If this is your last resort after calling building inspectors, going down to city hall, contacting Rick K., employing an attorney who specializes in such, in all respect, you’re banging your head against one of that house’s walls whether they drywalled over horse hair or not.
Acknowledged Customer Support (Verified Official)
Update from the Codes Compliance Department: a case has already been opened and is currently being investigated for this reported address. Any further updates or action will be handled by the Codes department. To track the status of this case, or to find contact information for the assigned investigator, click here:
https://actiononline.stpete.org/Click2GovCE/casesearch.html?caseYear=18&caseNumber=31046
or call 727-893-7373 and refer to the above case number or to the property address.
Didi01 (Registered User)
Didi01 (Registered User)
Coastal Lily (Registered User)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Stefan (Registered User)
F Watson, it wouldn’t hurt contacting the HKNA: Brenda Gordon at darbreg@aol.com (not sure if she’s still the president of the association). Also give Earl Hamilton a ring too at (727) 892-5471. He’s a city’s code violation inspector. There’s also the codes investigation supervisor: Joe Waugh at joe.waugh@stpete.org/ (727) 892-5155.
Hope this helps.
Gary (Registered User)
My spouse and I have been residents of Historic Kenwood for almost 15 years. We live relatively close to this home. We never met the current owners either. The place was usually rented.
My spouse and I feel duped. We witnessed the changes and never thought someone would be doing roof and deck changes without permits. They did add a fence and even tore it down this summer only to put it backup. I can attest to the outside work and the all the changes happened in 2011. They either are blatantly ignorant or blatantly lack respect for building codes. We pulled several permits in the past few months and past few years. We don't even have a historic home. It was not that difficult. Pulling permits protects the health, safety and welfare of the general public, including current property owners, their families, their guests, and future owners of the property, as well as adjoining property owners.
Gary (Registered User)
Stefan (Registered User)
Coastal Lily (Registered User)
Gary, I am also to close for comfort! (stones throw) I checked and the owners have an LLC and have several properties in this area. If you check the tax assessor site and just do a stroll on Google with there names you will find that they should know better. I am just asking that the City of St. Pete start living up to your own codes!
F Watson, you can try reaching out to HKNA. I know Linda Kellett is on the board. She lives right by this property too. Because this could be public I only feel comfortable giving her HK email treasurer@historickenwood.org
Didi01 To find permits the easiest way is to start with PCPAO.org. Put the property address in and look. It will take you to another site but it does simplify the matter. You can always try calling the City of St. Pete 727-893-7373
Mike O'Malley (Registered User)
Closed Customer Support (Verified Official)
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