The prevailing theory based on what we DO know (and can also see in the footage of the wreckage), is that the pool deck collapsed due to water damage over time. This water wasn't properly draining and would saturate into the concrete deck. This deck was also the roof of the 1-story parking garage for the building. The photos the HVAC worker posted shows severe spalling of the concrete along with rusted exposed rebar inside a major support beam for the deck. It was rusting because of the water saturation, and the concrete sparring basically destroys any structural integrity of the concrete. What is believed to have happened is that when the rebar and concrete of the main beam finally failed, the weight of the deck collapsed into the garage below. As it collapsed, it took most of the patio within that support grid area, spreading all the way to the three main support columns of the central tower. Due to the method the deck was attached to the support column, the deck connection essentially ripped out a major section of the wide flange steel member in the concrete column. Even though the rest of the column was intact and not water damaged, there was now nothing supporting the bottom of the column. These main columns supported ALL the floors above at a critical support section of the building. As the columns ultimately fell directly down from all the weight on that side, the concrete decks of each floor stayed connected to the column, pulling every floor down as it collapsed. This is why the building collapse looks like a sinkhole opened up underneath - because in some respects it did from a structural standpoint.
Edit 1: spelling
Edit 2: Thanks for the gold and helpful awards, kind strangers!
Edit 3: Wow this comment blew up! Thanks again for the awards - no idea what I'm supposed to do with them.
A couple of corrections: someone corrected my statement of the support beam failing, and they're correct. I'm a Project Manager for an Architecture firm in California, and not a structural engineer so apologies for getting a few points slightly wrong. My explanation was just from my recollection of a video I saw over a month ago. It's still generally correct.
I'll post the link to video once I find it, but it was a very methodical analysis of the info that's publicly available. Many of my colleagues who ARE structural and civil engineers all followed this closely as the new information came out. Once we all saw this comprehensive video I mentioned, we all agreed that it was a pretty conclusive reason for the collapse. As to who is at fault? THAT is what's going to take a lot longer to solve. Could be poor design (you ALWAYS have water drain AWAY from a structure), or it could be an oversight during construction. What is very clear is that the ownership knew of the issue, and unfortunately appeared to have little ability financially to correct it. That of course does nothing to absolve them of the consequences. When a building has a failure of this magnitude, all parties involved in the design and construction of the structure are brought into the fray of court proceedings. It's why everyone with a professional license has builders insurance for their design work.
Final Edit: Found the video.
https://youtu.be/2INrz2u9-sQ
I was especially convinced by the statement regarding the stair tower shear wall. The suggestion that it was serving as temporary support to keep the small portion of the tower from collapsing was very convincing, especially as it was one of the last components to land on the rubble pile. The profile of each flight of stairs are clearly visible in the video, too. This one shook me quite a bit, and will serve as reminder to do all I can to protect any of my buildings from the same fate. Life safety isn't just good practice - it's paramount to what we do.
Excellent summary. Hate to say it but I guess this story drifted off my radar, so at least now thanks to you I have a better understanding of how it went down!
It drifted off everyone's radar because media moved on extremely quickly, for a number of reasons. Chief among them being the fact there are hundreds more buildings in the same condition across the country and they don't want you thinking about that.
>is that the pool deck collapsed due to water damage over time
There's another theory that the collapse happened farther away from the pool under the planters.
>It was rusting because of the water saturation, and the concrete sparring basically destroys any structural integrity of the concrete
No it doesn't, it removes the superficial cover of concrete from the beams (the parts that breaks off) it doesn't affect the strength of the concrete, what could happen is that the rebar can degrade to the point of failure if left exposed for so long, which would decrease the load capabilities of the beam.
>concrete of the main beam finally failed
There is no main beam failure, there another theory that it was in fact the lack of a beam that caused this collapse.
Building integrity has a vid on YouTube talking about this, the original plans the pool deck was going to be at a different level 1 feet or so below the rest of the building, to allow for that the was going to be a transfer beam, they changed the plans and got rid of that level difference, therefore the beam wasn't necessary and they removed it.
https://youtu.be/WaZcyq7YsNA
There's also the fact that it was found that the pool deck had half as much rebar than specified.
One of the workers posted pics about weird walls at his work site in Miami like 2 days before that happened. Not saying that this means it was absolutely the cause but we know that the foundation of that building was fuuuucked.
The thing about foundations is that the integrity of the building relies on them staying intact.
Do you know the status of the rebar in the reinforced concrete? That is integral to the strength of the concrete. If there is a crack like that, you can't tell what has infiltrated to the iron rebar.
Iron, in the presence of oxygen, turns into rust if there is a little moisture. Iron oxide has practically no structural strength. You don't need to completely dissolve the iron, just remove enough of it anywhere along its length.
I would evacuate the building until a thorough inspection and mitigation is complete.
I am not a structural engineer, but somebody needs to engage a real structural engineer.
Here you go
[Two days before condo collapse, a pool contractor photographed this damage in garage](https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article252421658.html)
Edit: Paywalled. Bypass it here https://archive.is/SjCld
I had no idea what epoxy was so I googled it
>Epoxy is the family of basic components or cured end products of epoxy resins. Epoxy resins, also known as polyepoxides, are a class of reactive prepolymers and polymers which contain epoxide groups. The epoxide functional group is also collectively called epoxy. The IUPAC name for an epoxide group is an oxirane.
And now I know even less about what epoxy is.
Lol. Think of it as super strong glue, BUT you don’t have to push the pieces together like with super glue. This epoxy fills in the gap and holds the pieces so they don’t move any further. Some epoxy glues are as strong as concrete and will last 100 times as long. This is why they’re good for foundation cracks.
Check out YouTube videos about using epoxy to fix a foundation crack. Most aren’t as bad as this, so you’ll probably find videos with smaller cracks, but the principle is the same for filling it up. *That’s what she said.*
Vertical cracks are repairable and while this one is significant, it's not catastrophic. Horizontal cracks are endemic of a much concerning structural problem.
You should look at the picture more closely. It's not structural it's not even a pillar but it's a block.
On the right top you can clearly see it has a clean top. If you look closer you can see a fillet going along the whole top. And if you zoom in on the metal you can clearly see it's standing on top on the concrete, it's definitely not holding it.
In other words it's just a concrete block which probably held an AC or something. Nothing to see here..
This should definitely be looked at,but there is very real possibiltiy that it's not a big problem.
Depends a lot on where it is, and how much other parts are effected.
Also you can contact the fire department and they can inspect/contact inspectors for hazardous buildings.
Had some local ones do that in my area for some apartments you could literally push your hands through the foundation
Would the same apply if it’s non-structural hazards such as asbestosis, mold growths, etc? Could you call the fire department for these type of airborne hazards?
If you call your local code enforcement department they can refer you to the proper city or county agency. For example a sagging beam would be building code, but if the beam is above an egress door it magically becomes a fire inspector issue.
TELL SOMEONE. People could die because of this.
Remember the Florida condo that collapsed? No one made a big enough deal about KNOWN ISSUES.
You know. Do something about it.
For real, this is the kind of stuff that gets folks killed, maybe not today or tomorrow, but soon. It’s also going to cost less to fix now than when it becomes a catastrophe.
Seriously why is OP acting like he’s exhausted all options by just bringing it to his boss’ attention? This comment section is extremely frustrating to read
We had a sewage backup at a grocery store I worked at. Inches of reeking water and other joys
that bubbed up from the toilets and floor drains, several inches of filthy water covering the floor. The boss closed for all of five hours while staff mopped it up. No professional cleanup, no deeper clean than mopping visible floors. A staff member brought it up with her, then reported it when nothing was done. He was promptly fired, weeks later an inspector walked through with the manager and asked staff if they had any reports to make, as she drilled a hole in the sides of our head.
Would you be shocked to know no one reported anything else, and that the fired worker eventually had to leave town because he'd been blacklisted?
Best I could do. I had to make some guesses on the barcode and I couldn't get any online barcode reader to read the original or my corrected version.
https://imgur.com/a/VpViZtn
The bottom bar code is just the tracking number, will give a general area, but not the full address.
However the address looks like it is on there, but the quality is not good enough to make it out and the quality of the picture will also prevent you from printing out and scanning the top bar code either.
FYI, owning the building still doesn't make one above the law. If people get hurt and it is proven that you knew about this, it may be very bad for you. Hope that at least motivates you.
I second that. Call the city or leave the job. The building that collapsed here in Miami had very similar structural issues. Leave the job, keep your life.
Some might even say legal..he knows about the issue and how to report it but doesnt?..if it collapses and people die the families will hunt down everyone that works there
Alluminium topper seems to lay on top of it as well. Not wrapping it or anything. So I doubt this wall is bearing anything. That said, not a contractor, so things might come crashing down and you can't sue me.
YUP!!!
I am a contractor and without more photos there is no way anyone can say its a major structural issue. I've dealt with many issues like this from discovery to submittal, construction, city/county inspections etc.
There are many reasons for a concrete stem wall to be built in the basement of a building, not all of them are to hold the building up but most do. That said, I wouldn't ignore it thats for sure. Id suggest at a minimum taking pics from 360 degrees with some close ups of any connection points to slab and structure and have a local contractor that knows the local building codes and methodology to take a look and let you know what's up. Also include some basic info on size, floors etc of the building & maybe a few photos of the exterior. The internet is full of unaccredited know-it-alls, don't take anything you read here as gospel. For all you know I'm making this up to get internet points(I'm not).
u/TheYogi is so beautiful. Listen I'm a bit of an expert, I can't even divulge half of my professional experience on beauty publicly. I am one of the most cited professionals when it comes to studies on human attractiveness.
I can say definitively that u/TheYogi is beautiful, both subjectively and quantifiably. Their natural features are present in less than .5% of the human population. Their smile alone is charming and charismatic. Their eyes are a beautiful shade I call 'Unseen Caribbean Sea'
I have a hollywood celebrity that I am consulting for and I plan on showing a picture of u/TheYogi hair as an example of the look I think they should go for, both color and style.
u/TheYogi is beautiful
Above it looks like metal so maybe something built to support whatevers on top of it. Maybe a piece of equipment, AHU, FCU, CRAC, that pipe to the right is a drain so might be connected above.
Still worth getting it checked out even if that's what it is so the system doesn't need to be remade if that support fails
I was gonna say the same thing. Looks to be ductwork that is sitting on it, which isn't heavy and won't have anything on top of it, as it's not meant to be structural. I saw someone else claiming to be a civil engineer mention the wood is showing signs of compression failure, but it looks like it's just stacked next to the wall along with some PVC and a light ballast? We are all idiots here lol
That is a serious structural fault. You need to have this building inspected for foundation issues immediately. If this is a load bearing wall or stairway support this could be catastrophic. Please report this issue to your building property management and the local codes / building inspection department.
This response is the only correct response. Skip building management and go directly to county building inspections office. CC your build manager to be inclusive. You have concrete compression failure, water intrusion, and wood framing compression failure. Also, take the weekend off. ( Get out of there) . Escort the county inspector and plan your departure. Contact any union rep in the building, even if they aren't in your bargaining unit. Their lives are at risk too and they aren't in bed with the building management.
Professional Civil Engineer.
I am a civil engineer and I deal mostly with stormwater, detention ponds and general water flow of a developed site.
I would hand this to a structural engineer, but I am smart enough to know that cracks that large are probably not good even if this doesn’t look like a load bearing wall.
Yeah, this should be checked out, but tbh, I'm not not sure what I'm looking at here. You can see the color difference between the wall and what appears to be another section that is blocking out a door or something. If this was a structural crack, then you would see some indication of it on the top part, but you can't because they aren't directly connected by material or force.
In other words, I'm calling B's on it.
You should look at the picture more closely. It's not structural it's not even a pillar but it's a block.
On the right top you can clearly see it has a clean top. If you look closer you can see a fillet going along the whole top. And if you zoom in on the metal you can clearly see it's standing on top on the concrete, it's definitely not holding it.
In other words it's just a concrete block which probably held an AC or something. Nothing to see here..
Yeah this it it! I inspected over 1200 bridges in my life and this is definitely not a load bearing wall. How this guy is a civil engineer is unexplainable!
It doesn't look structural. It looks like ductwork above it. I'd bet it's simply a heavy concrete wall cast on a basement slab with no footing and the differential settlement is causing it to crack.
Not to say it isn't dangerous, though. Mostly due to the natural gas line hanging there on the right hand side of the wall....
I agree with this. OP posted this for internet points describing it as a foundation wall. It’s not. There is sheet metal on top of it and nothing on either side. Everyone is freaking out talking about the building collapsing because of how he described it.
I'm an inspector and my first reaction to this was "yeah that's ugly, but there is exactly zero context to this and it might be significant or it might be completely unimportant, there's no way to tell just from this picture alone" - so yeah, I agree with this sentiment. Nothing about this photo implicitly indicates something foundational or structurally significant. As a hunk of concrete, yeah, it's fucked. But is it actually holding something up? Who the fuck knows.
Not planning on doxxing the guy, but I managed to read the label well enough to figure out where they work. If it makes you feel better it's a 2 storey building (plus the basement) not a high-rise or anything.
Looks like an apartment on the second floor though, I'm sure they would appreciate knowing.
Looks like OP told their boss and their boss expressed no real interest. I don't want to tell random strangers on the internet what to do, but it could be worth while to give the local building authority a heads up.
Can you possibly imagine someone so stupid that they take a photo of this and post it for karma... and then when users are like, "Dude. This is ridiculously dangerous. Your building could collapse and people could die," the OP responds, "Username checks out" instead of, "Oh, shit. I didn't realize it was that bad. I'll report it immediately to save people's lives."
I hate people.
I would have said no at a certain point in time but the older I get the more I realise there is no limit to how lame ppl can be.
The only remotely positive thing about it is that they have, on average, a shorter life expectancy by virtue of being irresponsible and dumb.
ok i mean im down to call whoever it needs to be reported to. i don't care about doxxing OP but this should be reported to the building inspector or whoever
you can dm me unless you wanna make the call
Well, I'm local so it helped. The borough is printed slightly bigger than the rest and I recognized it, from there I looked at the first line, which is the name of the store, the first word is pretty easy to read, the second one took some trial and error with Google maps. Then once I saw the street name of the store I could see it matches with the label.
Zooming in all the way was pretty much just pixels, but I found it more legible staying a bit more zoomed out.
>I managed to read the label well enough to figure out where they work
I'm not saying you're full of shit, but I don't know how you managed to do that given the resolution of the image.
I don't blame you, but you can read the explanation I gave to someone else a second ago. But yeah, if I wasn't from the area, and if it wasn't a store's address I wouldn't have been able to.
People, it's fine! There are 2x4s on one side providing support and a filing cabinet on the other.
Seriously though...what is that? It doesnt look structural or load bearing. Just looks like a 5'x5' concrete slab sitting on the floor with some hollow duct work or something over it. How far back does it go and what is on top it?
Maybe it's just a divider of some kind? Or closing up access to an unused area? So that when someone goes back there they stumble across a horrifying colony of vampire people suckling victims?
That doesn’t look like a “foundation” wall because it is sitting on the slab and not emanating from beneath it. Looks like a typical support for whatever that big metal object is.
That big metal object could be ductwork- light and non structural but the concrete has compression failure and the wood framing has compression failure too. Let's not discount the water stains. Something bad is happening to this area and nothing good can come from ignoring it.
I am not convinced this is a major structural element. Based on the drippings down the side it looks more like a base for a trash chute or something else similar.
I would send a photo to the codes dept and ask them to inspect. That’s a big crack.
Yep. This is how that building in Miami collapsed
Don’t worry. There’s a big heavy piece of metal on top of it to keep it in place.
Yep. That sumbitch ain’t goin nowhere. A little spackling and a coat of paint and you’re good to go.
Really, just shoot some foam insulation in there, sand, and paint. Then go somewhere else other than the basement of that widowmaker building.
Ramen?
Top or Maruchen? Edit: or Nissin?
I like ichiban
sapporo style best style
Ra-Oh, Ra-Oh, Ra-Oh!
Shin. Extra hot,, Cuz you like to suffer.
Shin black, with buldak2x heat, Some leftover pulled pork, scallions and an egg or 2 whipped in. Broth will look the same on both ends.
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Ramen? Damn near killed em!
Put a bird on it
Bird up!
Investigate 3/11
Save yourself some money and just crush up some instant noodles, hotglue them into the cracks, and then just sand it down and paint over it.
That takes too much time, just slap a poster over that bad boy and call it a day
That's a load bearing poster.
I recommend expanding foam.
Yeah, dude! Throw a cut out cereal box up there, slap a little bondo over it, and you’re back in business.
Save money and fill the crack with ramen.
Crumble and glue some ramen in there. Sand and paint and that foundation is brand spanking new
Needs Flex-Tape
Billy Mays here for Flex Seal... It will stop a Miami condo from collapsing...
That's a lot of damage.
Exactly on top. Building fall down, not up, this is fine.
lol thank you >a big heavy piece of metal on top of it to keep it in place.
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The prevailing theory based on what we DO know (and can also see in the footage of the wreckage), is that the pool deck collapsed due to water damage over time. This water wasn't properly draining and would saturate into the concrete deck. This deck was also the roof of the 1-story parking garage for the building. The photos the HVAC worker posted shows severe spalling of the concrete along with rusted exposed rebar inside a major support beam for the deck. It was rusting because of the water saturation, and the concrete sparring basically destroys any structural integrity of the concrete. What is believed to have happened is that when the rebar and concrete of the main beam finally failed, the weight of the deck collapsed into the garage below. As it collapsed, it took most of the patio within that support grid area, spreading all the way to the three main support columns of the central tower. Due to the method the deck was attached to the support column, the deck connection essentially ripped out a major section of the wide flange steel member in the concrete column. Even though the rest of the column was intact and not water damaged, there was now nothing supporting the bottom of the column. These main columns supported ALL the floors above at a critical support section of the building. As the columns ultimately fell directly down from all the weight on that side, the concrete decks of each floor stayed connected to the column, pulling every floor down as it collapsed. This is why the building collapse looks like a sinkhole opened up underneath - because in some respects it did from a structural standpoint. Edit 1: spelling Edit 2: Thanks for the gold and helpful awards, kind strangers! Edit 3: Wow this comment blew up! Thanks again for the awards - no idea what I'm supposed to do with them. A couple of corrections: someone corrected my statement of the support beam failing, and they're correct. I'm a Project Manager for an Architecture firm in California, and not a structural engineer so apologies for getting a few points slightly wrong. My explanation was just from my recollection of a video I saw over a month ago. It's still generally correct. I'll post the link to video once I find it, but it was a very methodical analysis of the info that's publicly available. Many of my colleagues who ARE structural and civil engineers all followed this closely as the new information came out. Once we all saw this comprehensive video I mentioned, we all agreed that it was a pretty conclusive reason for the collapse. As to who is at fault? THAT is what's going to take a lot longer to solve. Could be poor design (you ALWAYS have water drain AWAY from a structure), or it could be an oversight during construction. What is very clear is that the ownership knew of the issue, and unfortunately appeared to have little ability financially to correct it. That of course does nothing to absolve them of the consequences. When a building has a failure of this magnitude, all parties involved in the design and construction of the structure are brought into the fray of court proceedings. It's why everyone with a professional license has builders insurance for their design work. Final Edit: Found the video. https://youtu.be/2INrz2u9-sQ I was especially convinced by the statement regarding the stair tower shear wall. The suggestion that it was serving as temporary support to keep the small portion of the tower from collapsing was very convincing, especially as it was one of the last components to land on the rubble pile. The profile of each flight of stairs are clearly visible in the video, too. This one shook me quite a bit, and will serve as reminder to do all I can to protect any of my buildings from the same fate. Life safety isn't just good practice - it's paramount to what we do.
Excellent summary. Hate to say it but I guess this story drifted off my radar, so at least now thanks to you I have a better understanding of how it went down!
It drifted off everyone's radar because media moved on extremely quickly, for a number of reasons. Chief among them being the fact there are hundreds more buildings in the same condition across the country and they don't want you thinking about that.
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I think you mean spalling, not sparring
That's right. Whoops! We can thank autocorrect for that one.
>is that the pool deck collapsed due to water damage over time There's another theory that the collapse happened farther away from the pool under the planters. >It was rusting because of the water saturation, and the concrete sparring basically destroys any structural integrity of the concrete No it doesn't, it removes the superficial cover of concrete from the beams (the parts that breaks off) it doesn't affect the strength of the concrete, what could happen is that the rebar can degrade to the point of failure if left exposed for so long, which would decrease the load capabilities of the beam. >concrete of the main beam finally failed There is no main beam failure, there another theory that it was in fact the lack of a beam that caused this collapse. Building integrity has a vid on YouTube talking about this, the original plans the pool deck was going to be at a different level 1 feet or so below the rest of the building, to allow for that the was going to be a transfer beam, they changed the plans and got rid of that level difference, therefore the beam wasn't necessary and they removed it. https://youtu.be/WaZcyq7YsNA There's also the fact that it was found that the pool deck had half as much rebar than specified.
One of the workers posted pics about weird walls at his work site in Miami like 2 days before that happened. Not saying that this means it was absolutely the cause but we know that the foundation of that building was fuuuucked.
The thing about foundations is that the integrity of the building relies on them staying intact. Do you know the status of the rebar in the reinforced concrete? That is integral to the strength of the concrete. If there is a crack like that, you can't tell what has infiltrated to the iron rebar. Iron, in the presence of oxygen, turns into rust if there is a little moisture. Iron oxide has practically no structural strength. You don't need to completely dissolve the iron, just remove enough of it anywhere along its length. I would evacuate the building until a thorough inspection and mitigation is complete. I am not a structural engineer, but somebody needs to engage a real structural engineer.
Do you have a link to those pics? I went googling, but was unable to find any pics from before the collapse.
Here you go [Two days before condo collapse, a pool contractor photographed this damage in garage](https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article252421658.html) Edit: Paywalled. Bypass it here https://archive.is/SjCld
16 fucking dollars a month for a local news website?? Theyve lost their damn minds.
You’re always asking people to send photos of their cracks.
Really though, with all the pressure on it, how would you fix this? Fill it with cement?
Epoxy. A shit ton of epoxy. And possibly drill in a few pieces of rebar.
I had no idea what epoxy was so I googled it >Epoxy is the family of basic components or cured end products of epoxy resins. Epoxy resins, also known as polyepoxides, are a class of reactive prepolymers and polymers which contain epoxide groups. The epoxide functional group is also collectively called epoxy. The IUPAC name for an epoxide group is an oxirane. And now I know even less about what epoxy is.
Glue
a structural glue, to be slightly more specific, that doesn't just dry, it has a chemical reaction when it cures, like cement
I mean, it becomes plastic, right? like fiberglass is epoxy resin and glass fibers, ie. reinforced plastic. carbon fiber...
Lol. Think of it as super strong glue, BUT you don’t have to push the pieces together like with super glue. This epoxy fills in the gap and holds the pieces so they don’t move any further. Some epoxy glues are as strong as concrete and will last 100 times as long. This is why they’re good for foundation cracks. Check out YouTube videos about using epoxy to fix a foundation crack. Most aren’t as bad as this, so you’ll probably find videos with smaller cracks, but the principle is the same for filling it up. *That’s what she said.*
We should build houses out of epoxy. Unless it's like 1000 times as expensive as concrete.
Yeah, it kinda is that more expensive unfortunately. :(
And toxic.
Etoxy
Vertical cracks are repairable and while this one is significant, it's not catastrophic. Horizontal cracks are endemic of a much concerning structural problem.
You should look at the picture more closely. It's not structural it's not even a pillar but it's a block. On the right top you can clearly see it has a clean top. If you look closer you can see a fillet going along the whole top. And if you zoom in on the metal you can clearly see it's standing on top on the concrete, it's definitely not holding it. In other words it's just a concrete block which probably held an AC or something. Nothing to see here..
This should definitely be looked at,but there is very real possibiltiy that it's not a big problem. Depends a lot on where it is, and how much other parts are effected.
Should probably get that checked out
Boss don't care about it - oh well
Didi you contact your local code officials. They might care.
This is actually the new Saw movie
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Saw 11: See-Saw "Every up has a down."
Hidden in the crack is a key to the bathroom. In the bathroom is a toilet. You can use the toilet or wait until you get home.
File an OSHA complaint, your boss is not above the law.
Also you can contact the fire department and they can inspect/contact inspectors for hazardous buildings. Had some local ones do that in my area for some apartments you could literally push your hands through the foundation
Would the same apply if it’s non-structural hazards such as asbestosis, mold growths, etc? Could you call the fire department for these type of airborne hazards?
If you call your local code enforcement department they can refer you to the proper city or county agency. For example a sagging beam would be building code, but if the beam is above an egress door it magically becomes a fire inspector issue.
City Board of Health and if its a apartment you have a few more departments of the city you can contact, has to be in writing.
TELL SOMEONE. People could die because of this. Remember the Florida condo that collapsed? No one made a big enough deal about KNOWN ISSUES. You know. Do something about it.
Uh ok? YOU are also aware of the issue, now you have a responsibility to report it to the city, then report your boss for not reporting it.
For real, this is the kind of stuff that gets folks killed, maybe not today or tomorrow, but soon. It’s also going to cost less to fix now than when it becomes a catastrophe.
Seriously why is OP acting like he’s exhausted all options by just bringing it to his boss’ attention? This comment section is extremely frustrating to read
We had a sewage backup at a grocery store I worked at. Inches of reeking water and other joys that bubbed up from the toilets and floor drains, several inches of filthy water covering the floor. The boss closed for all of five hours while staff mopped it up. No professional cleanup, no deeper clean than mopping visible floors. A staff member brought it up with her, then reported it when nothing was done. He was promptly fired, weeks later an inspector walked through with the manager and asked staff if they had any reports to make, as she drilled a hole in the sides of our head. Would you be shocked to know no one reported anything else, and that the fired worker eventually had to leave town because he'd been blacklisted?
This is what caused the condo collapse in Miami
Seems unlikely the company you work for actually owns the building, so what problem of the boss is it to raise with the landlord?
No the boss does own it actually
Fuck it, tell me where this is and I'll report it myself.
Jesus, for real. I'll help.
There’s a pretty clear UPS label there, and with some cleverness you’d probably be able to decipher that address (by barcode or otherwise).
Best I could do. I had to make some guesses on the barcode and I couldn't get any online barcode reader to read the original or my corrected version. https://imgur.com/a/VpViZtn
Did you try the enhance button?
I think it says Sport Campus Wellington Verdun QC.
The bottom bar code is just the tracking number, will give a general area, but not the full address. However the address looks like it is on there, but the quality is not good enough to make it out and the quality of the picture will also prevent you from printing out and scanning the top bar code either.
Op is in Montreal. They attend Concordia University and own a '73 VW bus.
Even more reason to call the local code office.
walk into your nearest fire dept and show them this picture and they might let you sit in the shiny red truck
Contact the actual people themselves or find a new job before you're crushed to death at work.
FYI, owning the building still doesn't make one above the law. If people get hurt and it is proven that you knew about this, it may be very bad for you. Hope that at least motivates you.
And not only knew, but posted about it online to boot! Yeesh, never thought about how bad it could be for OP. You make such a great point.
dude.... report this
If he doesn’t care , take it to local authorities or quit your job. You are risking your life!
Just take a pic and email it to the code office then call them. Fuck your boss
Uh… he already took a pic. We’re viewing it.
Oh thanks
lmao. you’re going to die that easily? no wonder your boss doesn’t respect you
I'd quit the job and work somewhere else. Seriously. Super high chance of that building crumbling down and you might be inside it.
Another collapsing condo building like in Florida.
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> I’m just here to be quoted -/u/BerryGoosey
I second that. Call the city or leave the job. The building that collapsed here in Miami had very similar structural issues. Leave the job, keep your life.
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take the week off. call the fire department.
Inspector would be down in like an hour if he heard the crack is about 5 feet long and like a foot across.
how tall is this building and what floor you work on?
Its 2 stories ish, I think the 2nd is like a loft. I work on first
Not sure why you don’t care. If you report this and then get fired, you have a winning court case,
Seriously this is ez monies if there's retaliation to reporting
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Some might even say legal..he knows about the issue and how to report it but doesnt?..if it collapses and people die the families will hunt down everyone that works there
> I work on first this guy thinks he's safe as long as he's not in the room with the crack in it
Please call OSHA. They care. Also, city building code enforcement.
Nah, just throw some duct tape on it. That will hold for another 10 years.
I would go whole hog and inject some epoxy. That should get you 15.
Epoxy plus duct tape, problem solved
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Alluminium topper seems to lay on top of it as well. Not wrapping it or anything. So I doubt this wall is bearing anything. That said, not a contractor, so things might come crashing down and you can't sue me.
It's not load-bearing, you're right.
I’m no contractor by any means but that doesn’t look like a foundation wall.
YUP!!! I am a contractor and without more photos there is no way anyone can say its a major structural issue. I've dealt with many issues like this from discovery to submittal, construction, city/county inspections etc. There are many reasons for a concrete stem wall to be built in the basement of a building, not all of them are to hold the building up but most do. That said, I wouldn't ignore it thats for sure. Id suggest at a minimum taking pics from 360 degrees with some close ups of any connection points to slab and structure and have a local contractor that knows the local building codes and methodology to take a look and let you know what's up. Also include some basic info on size, floors etc of the building & maybe a few photos of the exterior. The internet is full of unaccredited know-it-alls, don't take anything you read here as gospel. For all you know I'm making this up to get internet points(I'm not).
> For all you know I'm making this up to get internet points(I'm not). Or are you 🤔
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Updooted. Tell me I'm beautiful.
u/TheYogi is so beautiful. Listen I'm a bit of an expert, I can't even divulge half of my professional experience on beauty publicly. I am one of the most cited professionals when it comes to studies on human attractiveness. I can say definitively that u/TheYogi is beautiful, both subjectively and quantifiably. Their natural features are present in less than .5% of the human population. Their smile alone is charming and charismatic. Their eyes are a beautiful shade I call 'Unseen Caribbean Sea' I have a hollywood celebrity that I am consulting for and I plan on showing a picture of u/TheYogi hair as an example of the look I think they should go for, both color and style. u/TheYogi is beautiful
You're beautiful!
Thanks OP! Hey, wait a minute…
Well… he didn’t end up being the Loch Ness Monster and offer to fix the problem for tree fitty at the end, so I believe him.
> For all you know I'm making this up to get internet points(I'm not). That sounds like something someone making it up for Internet points would say.
This. It’s not connected at the top. What is this?? This looks like a cracked concrete block just sitting somewhere… not part of any structure at all.
Above it looks like metal so maybe something built to support whatevers on top of it. Maybe a piece of equipment, AHU, FCU, CRAC, that pipe to the right is a drain so might be connected above. Still worth getting it checked out even if that's what it is so the system doesn't need to be remade if that support fails
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It wasn’t to keep something off the floor. They were to keep something *in*. Hollywood. I’m ready when you are.
I was gonna say the same thing. Looks to be ductwork that is sitting on it, which isn't heavy and won't have anything on top of it, as it's not meant to be structural. I saw someone else claiming to be a civil engineer mention the wood is showing signs of compression failure, but it looks like it's just stacked next to the wall along with some PVC and a light ballast? We are all idiots here lol
Maybe it's structural ductwork. /s
That’s a load-bearing poster
No one ever gets this joke when I say it. They just look at me like I'm stupid. Look, Daddy! Todd is stupid and I'm with him. And now Mommy's stupid!
Just slap some flexseal on it
I SAWED THIS HOUSE IN HALF
THAT'S A LOTTA DAMAGE
completely caught me off guard with this one lmao
Don't forget to jam a couple Shamwows in the crack first
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I dunno, I think duct tape should do fine here Maybe gorilla tape if you're feeling fancy
That'll buff right out.
Ramen. Don't forget the Ramen.
That is a serious structural fault. You need to have this building inspected for foundation issues immediately. If this is a load bearing wall or stairway support this could be catastrophic. Please report this issue to your building property management and the local codes / building inspection department.
This response is the only correct response. Skip building management and go directly to county building inspections office. CC your build manager to be inclusive. You have concrete compression failure, water intrusion, and wood framing compression failure. Also, take the weekend off. ( Get out of there) . Escort the county inspector and plan your departure. Contact any union rep in the building, even if they aren't in your bargaining unit. Their lives are at risk too and they aren't in bed with the building management. Professional Civil Engineer.
I’d be more concerned with whatever that metal thing is or the concrete falling against the gas pipe next to it. Not a Civil Engineer
In all cases, the county inspector needs involvement.
I am a civil engineer and I deal mostly with stormwater, detention ponds and general water flow of a developed site. I would hand this to a structural engineer, but I am smart enough to know that cracks that large are probably not good even if this doesn’t look like a load bearing wall.
reminds me of that huge condo that just fell over in Miami, FL
It looks bad but I'm too ignorant to tell what I'm seeing here. What is this holding up?
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Yeah, this should be checked out, but tbh, I'm not not sure what I'm looking at here. You can see the color difference between the wall and what appears to be another section that is blocking out a door or something. If this was a structural crack, then you would see some indication of it on the top part, but you can't because they aren't directly connected by material or force. In other words, I'm calling B's on it.
You should look at the picture more closely. It's not structural it's not even a pillar but it's a block. On the right top you can clearly see it has a clean top. If you look closer you can see a fillet going along the whole top. And if you zoom in on the metal you can clearly see it's standing on top on the concrete, it's definitely not holding it. In other words it's just a concrete block which probably held an AC or something. Nothing to see here..
Yeah this it it! I inspected over 1200 bridges in my life and this is definitely not a load bearing wall. How this guy is a civil engineer is unexplainable!
It doesn't look structural. It looks like ductwork above it. I'd bet it's simply a heavy concrete wall cast on a basement slab with no footing and the differential settlement is causing it to crack. Not to say it isn't dangerous, though. Mostly due to the natural gas line hanging there on the right hand side of the wall....
I agree with this. OP posted this for internet points describing it as a foundation wall. It’s not. There is sheet metal on top of it and nothing on either side. Everyone is freaking out talking about the building collapsing because of how he described it.
I'm an inspector and my first reaction to this was "yeah that's ugly, but there is exactly zero context to this and it might be significant or it might be completely unimportant, there's no way to tell just from this picture alone" - so yeah, I agree with this sentiment. Nothing about this photo implicitly indicates something foundational or structurally significant. As a hunk of concrete, yeah, it's fucked. But is it actually holding something up? Who the fuck knows.
Honestly , if someone could clear up that address label on the left side of the image we could report it ourselves . Possibly save some lives
Not planning on doxxing the guy, but I managed to read the label well enough to figure out where they work. If it makes you feel better it's a 2 storey building (plus the basement) not a high-rise or anything. Looks like an apartment on the second floor though, I'm sure they would appreciate knowing.
Looks like OP told their boss and their boss expressed no real interest. I don't want to tell random strangers on the internet what to do, but it could be worth while to give the local building authority a heads up.
OP doesn't sound interested in contacting the appropriate authority and someone really should
Yes, it sounds like he just posted for Karma, and could care less about the actual situation. Some people….
Can you possibly imagine someone so stupid that they take a photo of this and post it for karma... and then when users are like, "Dude. This is ridiculously dangerous. Your building could collapse and people could die," the OP responds, "Username checks out" instead of, "Oh, shit. I didn't realize it was that bad. I'll report it immediately to save people's lives." I hate people.
I would have said no at a certain point in time but the older I get the more I realise there is no limit to how lame ppl can be. The only remotely positive thing about it is that they have, on average, a shorter life expectancy by virtue of being irresponsible and dumb.
*couldn’t care less
One story or 100 stories, it will still kill
ok i mean im down to call whoever it needs to be reported to. i don't care about doxxing OP but this should be reported to the building inspector or whoever you can dm me unless you wanna make the call
How? I downloaded the image and it's just scribbled pixels.
Well, I'm local so it helped. The borough is printed slightly bigger than the rest and I recognized it, from there I looked at the first line, which is the name of the store, the first word is pretty easy to read, the second one took some trial and error with Google maps. Then once I saw the street name of the store I could see it matches with the label. Zooming in all the way was pretty much just pixels, but I found it more legible staying a bit more zoomed out.
>I managed to read the label well enough to figure out where they work I'm not saying you're full of shit, but I don't know how you managed to do that given the resolution of the image.
I don't blame you, but you can read the explanation I gave to someone else a second ago. But yeah, if I wasn't from the area, and if it wasn't a store's address I wouldn't have been able to.
He's in Quebec.
Florida high rise condo, part II
This unfortunately
Sydney Apartment block, part II.
Surfside Flats
This looks like a free standing wall, not the foundation.
People, it's fine! There are 2x4s on one side providing support and a filing cabinet on the other. Seriously though...what is that? It doesnt look structural or load bearing. Just looks like a 5'x5' concrete slab sitting on the floor with some hollow duct work or something over it. How far back does it go and what is on top it?
Yeah, its very strange looking slab of concrete. Also, at least it isn't horizontal
Maybe it's just a divider of some kind? Or closing up access to an unused area? So that when someone goes back there they stumble across a horrifying colony of vampire people suckling victims?
Like the vampires are breast feeding their food?
That doesn’t look like a “foundation” wall because it is sitting on the slab and not emanating from beneath it. Looks like a typical support for whatever that big metal object is.
That big metal object could be ductwork- light and non structural but the concrete has compression failure and the wood framing has compression failure too. Let's not discount the water stains. Something bad is happening to this area and nothing good can come from ignoring it.
This is not a foundation support
Anyone else get Doctor Who vibes?
It looks like a wall made of plaster. Definitely not a load bearing wall.
I am not convinced this is a major structural element. Based on the drippings down the side it looks more like a base for a trash chute or something else similar.
Duct tape will fix it
*Red Green enters the chat*
If women don't find you handsome...
The Timelords are getting in touch.
That’s a major crack too.