MT. WASHINGTON, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Mt. Washington man's home is slowly sinking into a large sinkhole.
Looking at Frank Besednjak's home from the street view, you don't notice anything wrong, but when you go into the basement, you can see the damage.
An outside look at Frank Besednjak's newly renovated home where he discovered a 55-foot-wide sinkhole directly under his home. There are multiple cracks in the driveway. (Photo by WDRB Reporter Molly Jett)
"It truly sucks because this is my home," Besednjak said. "I raised my kids here."
Besednjak is living on a 50-56 foot deep sinkhole that has caused part of his house to drop about an inch.
"I never noticed that until I took the carpet up," Besednjak said.
A crack in the basement runs across the majority of the home.
"He [the inspector] said I have a 55-foot-wide sinkhole directly under my house. If the house sinks in, I lose $860,000,"Â Besednjak said.
Besednjak had just finished a nearly two year, $86,000 renovation when he discovered new cracks in his wall.
"I called the people who did my drywall, and I said this drywall is cracking you need to come back and fix it," Besednjak said.
A look at Frank Besednjak's newly renovated home where he discovered a 55-foot-wide sinkhole directly under his home. (Photo by WDRB Reporter Molly Jett)
They came to fix it, but the damage kept happening. That's when Besednjak tore up his carpet.
"The renovations helped me realize I have a major problem. I mean, a major problem," Besednjak said. "I came to the conclusion after I went the basement and I tore the carpeting out that the house must be sinking or some the house is falling apart or something."Â
Besednjak hired a geologist and a structural engineer who both confirmed the sinkhole in November.
He made an insurance claim on his 'sinkhole' policy.
"They said that they will not pay the policy unless my house is condemned," Besednjak said.
He went to the city in March to see what could be done. Mt. Washington Mayor Stuart Owen says he's talked to Besednjak a couple of times.
"We want to help Frank and ultimately I believe that we will be able to condemn the property. However, there is a process that we have to go through to get there," Owen said.
Owen says the City of Mt. Washington's building and housing official and the city attorney are also involved in the discussions about Besednjak's home.
"I hate that he's experiencing this. It's horrible that anyone would have to go through this and how bizarre is this? This is just an unusual circumstances in the city,"Â Owen said. "As soon as we get a letter from an engineer that states 'the danger is imminent. It's here. We need to condemn this.' Then, we will move very quickly."
As he continues to wait, Besednjak measures his home daily with lasers and he stays alert.
"Every once and a while I'm watching TV and a cat is looking up in the air and I look into the other room like something is going on and I get on alert. So, I'm living at this in high stress level, all day, not knowing if something might happen,"Â Besednjak said.
WDRB reached out to Kentucky Farm Bureau Insurance, but per company policy, they say they "do not discuss open claims publicly."
Besednjak has lived in his home for 29 years.
"Well, what I hate is the fact that I have no control over what's going on right now. It's not like I'm gonna go do this and make it better. I have to wait for other people. And it's unfortunate that I have to go through a bureaucratic system in government that delays everything,"Â Besednjak said.
Sinkholes in Kentucky have made national headlines before. You likely remember all this damage after a sinkhole swallowed corvettes in Bowling Green.
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