.....His troubles with the greenhouse began on Jan. 7, when an overnight storm began dumping what would amount to more than a foot of snow in parts of Greenwich. Augustin has limited mobility, but his wife Kathy, 68, who co-owns the farm, was able to spring into action, clearing snow as it piled up on top of their plastic-covered greenhouse through the night.
She retired for a few hours of rest in their nearby home at 5 a.m., only to resume the effort later that morning, Augustin said.
But by noon, the greenhouse could no longer hold under the accumulation of snow and freezing rain, he said. Its steel support beams buckled under the weight, and a tear that formed in the plastic cover allowed hundreds of pounds of slush to pour inside, damaging the heating, cooling and electrical equipment, and drenching the chopped wood that was being stored there.....
'I say to the agent, `Then what the hell am I paying insurance for?' '
After some haggling, he was able convinced the agent to let him submit an independent appraisal, in hopes of getting at least partially reimbursed, only to have another rude awakening, when he found out that a replacement would cost about $21,000.
'The agent says to me, `I thought it was going to be a couple thousand dollars,' ' Augustin recalled of their subsequent phone conversation. 'I say to him, `You can't even buy the front door for that now!' '
Lucky for him, Augustin had 'a very good friend' waiting in the wings to help him out -- an investment banker friend, who's agreed to underwrite some of the replacement costs, Augustin said. The donor wants to remain anonymous.
Late last week, the parts for the new greenhouse began arriving, and soon, John and Kathy Augustin plan to begin building a new greenhouse....
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