WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — Safe, sturdy, and secure: A Washington County family received a brand-new wall after a local company learned their basement exterior wall was crumbling, and insurance wouldn’t cover the expense.
“You might have a month or two it might fall tomorrow,” said Courtnei Flannigan when Channel 11 News first spoke with her in November.
Channel 11 News first aired the story of the Flannigan family in November. Courtnei Flannigan her husband and their five kids had just learned that the first home they purchased together was falling apart.
“They were saying if the wall didn’t get fixed the whole upstairs would just collapse in,” she explained.
A fake wall in the laundry room was covering buckling bricks dirt and a crumbling foundation. The faux was missed during their 2018 home inspection and for years was eroding over time.
“The weight of the snow was pushing the soil,” Courtnei explained. “And when the temps warmed it pushed the soil down and the soil pushed against the wall.”
Unfortunately, the family insurance wouldn’t cover the repairs, and the cost was more than $20,000 to fix.
A caution Flannigan now shares with other young homeowners.
“Check everything if you think it might be silly, nothing is silly, make sure everything is safe. Double check and ask questions,” she said.
At the time the family had begun a GoFundMe, but donations were trickling in slowly, and the winter weather was working against them. That was until their story aired on Channel 11 News, larger donations were gifted and Keystone Basements heard their story and put it on a brand-new wall for a fraction of the cost.
“Luckily these people were able to help because I just could get help anywhere.”
Flannigan showed us their new state-of-the-art wall keeping her family safe and secure.
“Me and my husband made a joke that we were going to eat dinner back there because it just looks so good and it’s safe now,” she shared.
The homeowners told us that because of this company’s generosity, they will be able to make additional repairs that the wall caused.
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