Oops! Georgia Family Distraught After Contractor Destroys Wrong House

June 12, 2009— -- A Georgia homeowner whose cherished family home was mistakenly demolished said he wants to know how a contracted demolition crew could make such an egregious error.

The modest, three-bedroom house at 11 Byrd Trail in Carrollton was built by Al Byrd's father in 1950. Now it's a mangled pile of debris.

"It was disbelief," Byrd said of the moment he saw the remains of the house where he and his nine siblings were raised. "It was like a mirage."

An Austin-based realty company, Forestar Group Inc., had contracted the demolition of a vacant one-story house at 3050 Highway 16 South, about 150 yards from Byrd's house and on the opposite side of the road.

But Byrd, 64, said he was told by Larry Watts of Marietta, Ga.-based Southern Environmental Services that the crew that actually did the demolition had picked Byrd's house to destroy based on GPS coordinates.

But Forestar Chief Financial Officer Chris Nines told ABCNews.com that his company gave Southern Environmental Services color photos and an address to work from and that he has no idea how they allegedly got GPS coordinates.

"Certainly, we're not happy about it and feel bad for Mr. Byrd," Nines said.

Watts did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment. Brandon Hannah of North Georgia Container, the company subcontracted with Southern Environmental Services for the actual demolition, confirmed he was at the site, but declined to comment further.

Byrd, whose only daughter is getting married Saturday, now lives in Atlanta where he runs a eponymous consulting businesses but the family maintained the Byrd Trail home and were hoping to use it for an upcoming family reunion.

Byrd said his father, a plasterer who has since passed away, built the house for his wife and 10 children in 1950 using bricks from a nearby school that had burned down.

Though no one was living in the house when it was destroyed, Byrd said it had been home to many in the large family, most recently his nephew. The house was still furnished and contained many family heirlooms that were pulverized in the demolition.

"The most precious thing ... was the family Bible," Byrd said.

The Byrd family Bible, kept in the house as a kind of spiritual watchdog, contained a record of all the births and deaths in the family.

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