City seeks quick demolition of sliding house
June 14, 2010 by · Leave a Comment
Pittsburgh building inspectors are putting out an emergency request for bids to demolish a condemned North Side home that is in danger of sliding down a hill and taking a neighboring house with it.
Inspectors are expected to be on the scene of 33 Semicir St. in Observatory Hill sometime this afternoon with contractors who will bid on the demolition.
Darlene Harris, city council president, said she hopes the work will start immediately because the rear of the house is being held up by a single concrete block pillar and could collapse at any time. The demolition will probably be done by hand, but the job might be delayed because the elderly owners of the home, Justin and Dorothy Defide, still have items inside. They are staying with relatives, as are the owners of several other homes nearby affected by a landslide triggered by heavy rain earlier this week.
The owner of the home immediately next door, Craig Householder, said this morning that he’s worried that a collapse will take his house with it, since the two homes are within a few feet of each other. His gas and water service has been shut off as a precaution.
Demolition of 33 Semicir may cost up to $8,000, Ms. Harris said, but she said the city has to take action.
“This isn’t a factor of money right now,” she said, “it’s a matter of safety.”