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collapse Keith Steiskal
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Contact Us The Evidence The Porch Collapse
Unlicensed architect David Hulseberg Bill Mueller Ted Klioris Keith Steiskal Steve Sebby DuPage Theatre DuPage County
The proof
Click the picture below to see a copy of the police report from the day of the porch collapse.
The police report
 
Click the picture below to listen to Keith Steiskal, in his own words, try to cover for Paul Grimes and his builder buddies at Sunrise Homes.
idiot

 

 
 
 
 

This where the discovery of Paul Grimes’ illegal practice of architecture happened, so it's worth mentioning. If you are unfortunate enough to own a home built by a local builder who used Paul Grimes as the architect, this case study may give you insight into what you should expect from the Village of Lombard.

  • If a problem is discovered (perhaps after a collapse), the Village of Lombard may directly contact the original builder (without your knowledge) to make repairs to defects on your home.
  • The Village of Lombard may inspect your property without your permission. The inspection will most likely be superficial and sub-standard, missing many of the defects.
  • The builder will send out inexperienced workers to begin work on your home without your knowledge or permission. They will have no knowledge of building codes, and perhaps operate under the direction of a Village employee. You will receive no written notices of these ongoing actions.
  • The Village of Lombard employees will most likely lie and try to minimize the defects on behalf of their local builder buddies. Keep in mind, these guys built some of their personal homes.
  • If an architect is needed, you can expect a Village of Lombard employee to personally escort the original unlicensed "architect" onto your property to design a repair for the defects in his earlier design.
  • If you're unhappy with the shoddy repairs, and you don't go along with the "plan" or raise a "stink", you can expect the Village of Lombard to try and intimidate you in one or more ways, including but not limited to: trespassing onto your property, lying about permits, and threatening to tear down existing structures on your property. You can also expect the threats of large fines if you don't allow the builder and the Village of Lombard to do as they please with your property.
  • If you try to appeal any of their actions along the way, you will illegally be denied a hearing.
  • And finally, you can expect the Village of Lombard to pass inspection on the substandard work done by the builder whether it meets code or not.

 

  
Why did the porch collapse

Here’s what you might expect to find at your house if it was designed by Paul Grimes and built by a local Lombard builder:

  • They weren't designed by an Illinois licensed professional.
  • The porches weren't built to the minimum standards of the building code, as required by law.
  • The wrong hardware was used. It was not galvanized or stainless steel as required by code, therefore the hardware rusted out, significantly weakening the connection.
  • There was no flashing as required by code.
  • There wasn't enough hardware, and it wasn't installed properly or in the right place.
  • The porches were not supported by anything more than a few undersized lag screws, barely penetrating into the buildings’ OSB sheathing.
  • They were never inspected by the Village of Lombard after they were built, prior to issuing a Certificate of Occupancy.
 
Packed with lying goodness
Keith Steiskal is a building inspector whose job it is to ensure that construction meets code. He doesn’t appear to be very good at it. The porches in question were observed by several Illinois licensed structural engineers, an Illinois licensed forensic architect (sent out by one of the insurance companies) and a well known porch/deck expert. The conclusions were all the same – the porches were dangerous and very poorly built, but settling concrete was not the reason for the porch collapse. Click the pictures below to enlarge them.
Lots of Lies Even more lies

Pictures of shoddy construction
After the collapse, before repairs.
These pictures were taken before any repairs were done. You can clearly see that the concrete did not settle 12 inches as stated in Keith Steiskal's letter. The opened drywall and the removed stair thread were done by a homeowner, not the Village of Lombard. The major defects were discovered through this inspection. Keith either completely got it wrong, or was protecting the interests of the builder (not the homeowners). Click the picture on the right to see several pictures of the porches before the repairs.
After the collapse, before repairs
First repair attempt.
These pictures were taken after the porches were "repaired". The Village of Lombard Inspector was ready to pass inspection on the porches in this condition. He was even arguing with one of the homeowners about the shoddy work illustrated in the pictures. At this point, the issues with the ledger board attachments were not even addressed. Click the picture on the right to see several pictures of the first "repair" attempt.
After first reapir attempt
After final repair and a passed inspection even though the porches do not meet code.
These pictures were taken after the porches were completely "repaired," inspected, approved and a letter sent to the homeowners telling them the porches were repaired safely and meet all codes. Click the picture on the right to see a few of the numerous code violations on the porches that currently exist. Do these appear code compliant? Do they appear safe to you?
After final repair and inspection

 
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