Demolition of storm-damaged house on Plum Island put off because of debris

By Gal Tziperman Lotan, Globe Correspondent

Demolition of another Plum Island home damaged in Friday’s storm has been put off until Monday morning because the area is littered with debris, said Newbury building inspector Sam Joslin.

The house, at 37 Annapolis Way, did not collapse completely but was deemed uninhabitable after high tides snapped at least one of its support beams and ate away at its concrete foundation Friday. The home was assessed at $836,500. It had been scheduled for demolition between high tides today.

Crews plan to clean the area today while the contractor scheduled to take the house down works on supporting other houses in the area, Joslin said.

“There really just aren’t going to be enough hours in the day today,” he said.

Engineers also plan to inspect three houses on Fordham Way, numbers 34, 36, and 38. Joslin said the houses will probably have to be demolished as well, but homeowners could install temporary support beams so they can remove their belongings.

“It could be a month” before the houses are demolished, he said. ”We’ve just got to take it step by step.”

Two houses were demolished Saturday after they toppled off their foundations: a nearly $700,000 home at 31 Annapolis Way and an $800,900 home at 41 Annapolis Way.

The other six houses Joslin was concerned about as tides began rising Friday are temporarily uninhabitable, but can probably be repaired, he said.

“Though they may have suffered over the last few tides a little bit more, I don’t think the structures have suffered to the point of collapse,” Joslin said.