Let this be a lesson to all of us

[Mike K]

It is relatively easy and inexpensive these days to install a sprinkler system inside and around a garage/shed. You can even activate the system from a mobile phone or have auto heat sensors to switch the system on. In the last big bushfire down in Gippsland, a guy lost his collection of restored Holdens, the local paper was full of sympathy for the guy, it ran a story with pics of the burnt out shed . I thought to myself , if that guy had spent 500 bucks on a sprinkler system he may still have his collection of lovely ? Holdens .

During the black Saturday fire storm , a friend of mine was working at Mt. Tassie, where the TV transmitters and ABC radio towers sit , my friend was there by himself . He watched the fire approach up the mountain side, he decided to shelter in the below ground car park , the fire destroyed the large generator room . BTW this fire was deliberately started by a local , the mentally disturbed idiot was caught. My friends boss rang him and asked if there was anything the ABC could do , my friend pleaded with the boss, " please take macca off the air "

[rob love]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

It is relatively easy and inexpensive these days to install a sprinkler system inside and around a garage/shed.

That doesn't work here. You would have to heat the building or the pipes will freeze and crack.

We had a fair size pole shed built at the museum a few years ago for storage of some of the less sensitive artifacts. We cannot have electricity (lights or a plug) because to have that the fire code says we need to have a sprinkler system, and to have sprinklers we need to insulate and have heat. The addition of lights would take a simple $50,000 shed and turn it into several hundred thousand dollar structure.

[maple_leaf_eh]

The collector had made an effort to find and gather old vehicles. (Sound familiar?) The issue I see is with his valuation of the old cars at fully restored price, not scrap or as-is condition. Maybe $200,000 at the farm gate.

My house insurance policy doesn't cover unlicenced vehicles in the yard. There is a nominal reimbursement clause for items not inside the house, which is going to cover the lawnmowers, snowblower and yard furniture. So, the trailer, the M151A2 and M38A1 parts are not covered.

I'm also struggling in a competitive insurance market for a house which is not being lived in at present. The one insurer that will give me a policy wants three times the premium of a house with someone living in it. There are also conditions which complicate matters. The moment the electricity is disconnected and the heat goes off, the market value of the property plummets. So, I visit the house as often as I can. I have the neighbours watching it, and the plan is to sell it as quickly as possible.