Condominium collapses!

Did you see the Engineers photos?
There are quite a few bridges/parking ramps around the Metro with concrete missing and steel showing.
Is this just the beginning of catastrophic failures in the US?

Eelpoutguy wrote:

Did you see the Engineers photos?
There are quite a few bridges/parking ramps around the Metro with concrete missing and steel showing.
Is this just the beginning of catastrophic failures in the US?

Like I had already said, these structural issues are far more common then one would think. Thats what keeps me working non stop. Moa is a prime example of what you think looks nice but I can tell you behind the scenes is a tragedy.
Sadly that’s how most big older buildings are.

What I fail to understand is why only a portion of it collapsed. Usually something like this would pull the whole building down, right? Seems really strange.

gimruis wrote:

What I fail to understand is why only a portion of it collapsed. Usually something like this would pull the whole building down, right? Seems really strange.

No. Not strange at all. Pretty normal, bad beams folded and gave up, the weight is transfered down not across. That’s why you see columns every 50 or 100 ft all the way up and across on big buildings.

Bearcat89 wrote:

No. Not strange at all. Pretty normal, bad beams folded and gave up, the weight is transfered down not across. That’s why you see columns every 50 or 100 ft all the way up and across on big buildings.

Interesting. Do you think just that the portion of the building was built with lesser quality materials? Since the building was built by the same supplier/contractor then perhaps the entire building may be at risk.

I’m not going to jump on the lesser quality band wagon yet.
I’ll speculate is was a combination of a few issues with poor design and lack of maintenance being close to the top of the list.

Eelpoutguy wrote:

I’m not going to jump on the lesser quality band wagon yet.
I’ll speculate is was a combination of a few issues with poor design and lack of maintenance being close to the top of the list.

Agree. I wouldn’t say it was materials, it was most likely neglect

“One other clue that a problem started at the bottom of the building: Immediately before the collapse, one of the residents saw a hole of sorts opening near the pool.

Michael Stratton said his wife, Cassie Stratton, who is missing, was on the phone with him and was looking out through the window of her fourth-floor unit when, she told him, the hole appeared. After that, the call cut off.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/27/us/miami-building-investigation-clues.html

Here’s another story that points to the substructure gave out.

“Any time that we had high tides away from the ordinary, any King Tide or anything like that, we would have a lot of saltwater come in through the bottom of the of the foundation,”

http://www.newsweek.com/ex-maintenance-manager-surfside-condo-that-collapsed-recalls-saltwater-intrusion-1604508?amp=1

Water flowing under a foundation is never a good sign.

Water flowing under a foundation is never a good sign.
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Thats why buildings near water, swamps, ponds and other wet lands are built on grade beams and pilings. For example a job I was on Friday in Hopkins. Any where from 2ft to 12 ft void under slab with basically a river flowing under it.

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Bearcat89 wrote:

Water flowing under a foundation is never a good sign.

Thats why buildings near water, swamps, ponds and other wet lands are built on grade beams and pilings. For example a job I was on Friday in Hopkins. Any where from 2ft to 12 ft void under slab with basically a river flowing under it.
[/quote]

So on a build like that, did the ground wash away to create the void or was it supported underneath and built like a bridge?

And how long has that been an approved design method? Would a 40 year old condo have similar engineering?

BTW- not questioning your knowledge, this kind of stuff interests me and like to learn about the things you(I) don’t see everyday.

So speaking of infrastructure and rotting buildings that keep passing inspection. This was a column I exposed today. The rebar was paper thin in some areas. This is stuff we find all the time in all cities but I work around mpls most days

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Bearcat89 wrote:

So speaking of infrastructure and rotting buildings that keep passing inspection. This was a column I exposed today. The rebar was paper thin in some areas. This is stuff we find all the time in all cities but I work around mpls most days

Come on Bearcat! They can’t afford to worry about those when they have an 18 million dollar urban farm to build……

mahtofire14 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bearcat89 wrote:</div>
So speaking of infrastructure and rotting buildings that keep passing inspection. This was a column I exposed today. The rebar was paper thin in some areas. This is stuff we find all the time in all cities but I work around mpls most days

Come on Bearcat! They can’t afford to worry about those when they have an 18 million dollar urban farm to build……

A what now?

LabDaddy1 wrote:

A what now?

I was wrong. $12 million.

https://kstp.com/minnesota-news/neighborhood-group-pledges-123m-to-build-urban-farm-in-south-minneapolis/6222223/

Jeez.

Beads, that’s quite the tomato grow you’re planning…

LabDaddy1 wrote:

Jeez.

Beads, that’s quite the tomato grow you’re planning…

I guess to keep somewhat on topic here, I haven’t been to the state fair in quite a few years. Only went once every few years anyways though. Was fun with friends and “imported” booze, but even then prices were ridiculous. Can’t imagine now… Can’t fathom dropping 18$ on a bucket of average(barely) chocolate chip cookies. Then again, I never ate them with that fresh milk, so maybe that’s why. Don’t want to know what a glass of milk costs!

I dont think you stayed anywhere near topic

Bearcat89 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>LabDaddy1 wrote:</div>
Jeez.

Beads, that’s quite the tomato grow you’re planning…

I guess to keep somewhat on topic here, I haven’t been to the state fair in quite a few years. Only went once every few years anyways though. Was fun with friends and “imported” booze, but even then prices were ridiculous. Can’t imagine now… Can’t fathom dropping 18$ on a bucket of average(barely) chocolate chip cookies. Then again, I never ate them with that fresh milk, so maybe that’s why. Don’t want to know what a glass of milk costs!

I dont think you stayed anywhere near topic

Oh boy

I think I must have won first prize in some category with that one lol

Welcome to the twilight zone

LabDaddy1 wrote:

Oh boy

I think I must have won first prize in some category with that one lol

Welcome to the twilight zone

You gave me a solid laugh this morning. I’m known to pull that same move

Bearcat89 wrote:

So speaking of infrastructure and rotting buildings that keep passing inspection. This was a column I exposed today. The rebar was paper thin in some areas. This is stuff we find all the time in all cities but I work around mpls most days

There’s bunch of parking ramps in MPLS like that. There is also a bunch of ramps that have HUGE amounts of ground water flowing beneath them.

Some are so bad that the lower level of the ramp always has standing water in it. Even with several pumps running 24/7 to remove it.

Bring a fishing rod…..LOL

Bearcat89 wrote:

Water flowing under a foundation is never a good sign.

Thats why buildings near water, swamps, ponds and other wet lands are built on grade beams and pilings. For example a job I was on Friday in Hopkins. Any where from 2ft to 12 ft void under slab with basically a river flowing under it.
[/quote]

mahtofire14 wrote:

They can’t afford to worry about those when they have an 18 million dollar urban farm to build……

I wonder how much $$ it will be to clean it up once they start excavation? From the news article:
-A seven-year push to build an “Urban Farm” in the middle of a heavily industrial area of Minneapolis…
-a 7.6-acre site of the former Roof Depot
-The plot sits next to a foundry and an asphalt company in an area that is zoned industrial…

Is there any SuperFund money left?

Did you read the article?

“The site was once on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund list but has since been cleaned up. Whatever chemicals remain beneath the old Roof Depot building and concrete parking lot do not pose a threat to the groundwater or residents.”

Whoops.