Jump to content

Mass casualty building collapse in Miami


Recommended Posts

41 minutes ago, deadshank said:

This calls for more knee jerk reaction tweets from unqualified and moronic tweeter twats. 

 THAT is some scary ass shit.  

I can totally imagine the terror the architect, engineer, and contractor of record are going thru this very moment.... along with the poor souls trapped in that rubble of course.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

 THAT is some scary ass shit.  

I can totally imagine the terror the architect, engineer, and contractor of record are going thru this very moment.... along with the poor souls trapped in that rubble of course.

Years ago when Hurricane Rita blew in across Galveston and on into Houston, Anderson Cooper was reporting live at the Galveston Convention Center out in front of the porte cochere facing the seawall.  
 

We installed the tile roof on the porte cochere and the tower tops way up high.  We used all sorts of stainless steel screws and mechanical fastening techniques per engineering specs to make the tile roof as wind resistant as possible.  
 

I was at home watching the live CNN reports and thinking “I hope our danged roof doesn’t fly off on national TV.” 
 

Per the reports we got, the roof actually held up very well until the roof next door flew off and acted like missiles when it hit the roof we installed and subsequently tore the everliving piss out of it. It was a total loss.   
 

/csb

  • Hook 'Em 4
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 THAT is some scary ass shit.  
I can totally imagine the terror the architect, engineer, and contractor of record are going thru this very moment.... along with the poor souls trapped in that rubble of course.
It appears it was built in 1981 so there's a fair chance they're long gone.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, Orale said:
1 hour ago, Onboard 2.0 said:
 THAT is some scary ass shit.  
I can totally imagine the terror the architect, engineer, and contractor of record are going thru this very moment.... along with the poor souls trapped in that rubble of course.

It appears it was built in 1981 so there's a fair chance they're long gone.

 

17 minutes ago, Orale said:

It appears it was built in 1981 so there's a fair chance they're long gone.

Could be, but I'd still be fucking freaking out knowing a building I designed, engineered, built collapsed.  I don't even know what the statute of liability limitations is.  It's 5 years in Va. I believe, but don't know how that applies to a catastrophic loss of life situation like this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I mean…are there not building inspections? Is one just buying a lottery ticket if you buy a home in a high-rise? Why don’t we see more buildings collapse?

Because building codes for new construction even in the 80’s is still far more advanced than that of the present day codes in other countries
  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

46 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Could be, but I'd still be fucking freaking out knowing a building I designed, engineered, built collapsed.  I don't even know what the statute of liability limitations is. 

I would assume the entire chain would have insurance, at least at the time of build, correct?  Liability?  Malpractice?  Other policies?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lawyers are going to have a field day with this

Construction defect claims have to be brought within 10 years of the building’s completion in Texas and I’d bet Florida has the same thing. So if the building was actually completed in 1981, any claim against the builder, contractors, engineer, architect, etc. lapsed 30 years ago.
  • Rage+1 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I grew up down in Miami around the time this was built.  I have no idea what happened with this building but let’s just say that there were always rumors about the shortcuts taken in building many of the high rises on the beach in South Florida.  My friend and his family are in the iron workers business down there so they used to build a lot of these things and he used to say, “wait until a hurricane takes a direct hit on the high rises on the beach and you may see some fall apart”.  I am not sure how you do shortcuts on buildings to save money but I guess there are ways.  Now this wasn’t a hurricane and who knows what caused it but this is probably not the only poorly designed high rise in South Florida unfortunately.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

I mean…are there not building inspections? Is one just buying a lottery ticket if you buy a home in a high-rise? Why don’t we see more buildings collapse?

 

15 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

Maybe Miami has a huge problem with its oversight of construction:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_International_University_pedestrian_bridge_collapse

 

Due to hurricanes, Miami-Dade has some of, if not the most, stringent construction guidelines in the country.  Sure, most of it is wind-related. 

Who knows what happened here?  Is the collapse due to lack of inspections?  Lack of following engineering and architectural specs and best practices?  Concrete pours and steel erection are heavily inspected by not only public building inspectors but also by privately contracted licensed engineers and inspectors.  There is just too much money at stake and at risk by banks to just let "whatever" happen (here's a bunch of money! good lucks boys!).  Multiply the risk by X to the jillion on prime commerical, high-rise property.

  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is horrible.  That recent video from across the street---that does not look like faulty rebar that evaded the last building inspection.  And we can crack wise all we want about local government ineptitude, but having a lot of family and friends in SE Florida...they inspect the shit out of those buildings for weather purposes.  

I guess a sudden sinkhole is a likely candidate.  But I would like to hear from our resident engineers/construction experts.  The middle section just collapsing instantly like that.  How is that possible?  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for that ^ pos rep.  I figured we'd have experts on here.

I'm sure there's an army of Miami-area lawyers at City Hall right now seeing if any permits had been filed for any kind of work on that building, particularly roofing or concrete work.  If there was roofing work, that guy is halfway to the Bahamas by now.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, GopherRock said:

IIRC the 35W bridge in Minneapolis was caused by a seized pier bearing that eventually overloaded a gusset plate. I don't remember if deck loading had much to do with it.

This is fucked up six ways from Sunday. 

From the Wiki:

The NTSB cited a design flaw as the likely cause of the collapse, noting that a too-thin gusset plate ripped along a line of rivets, and additional weight on the bridge at the time contributed to the catastrophic failure.[6]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...