Church Steeple collapse, New London CT 11

[Sym P. le]

Thanks ALK, and looking closer with Google Maps, we can see anticipated displacement in the adjacent northwest buttress, particularly the arched window. Also significant deformation in the east nave roof framing.

Two images of west buttress from Google Maps.

East roof line - Google Maps

 

[ALK2415]

Sym P. le, do think there will investigation process, and some structural collapse report ?
if so they should prepare some guide lines that are feasible to implement across the US regions (and should be obligated BY LAW)
seeing these wonderful structures diminished is such a huge failure of public "government" officials and their designated duties of reservation such buildings ..

 

[Sym P. le]

I doubt there is much to learn that would serve the public. This would appear to be a private matter within the church congregation and since no one was injured, there is no broader negligence and certainly no criminality that can be implied. I do believe in educating the public rather than contemptuously dictating what they "need to know". More discussions on failures are helpful to that end.

Society on the whole has always suffered an infrastructure e.o.l. crisis and this is no different. It's a question of the financial sophistication of those that suffer. A broader discussion of public landmarks falls into the political realm, it's a question of where the electorate is willing to move scarce financial resources.

Contrarily, when there is an explicit contract as with tenancies or implicitly with publicly held infrastructure, these whoopsies have broader implications.

As per "post-tensioning", I doubt this is an apt use of terminology. This is more of a containment of escaping forces. You can't squeeze a structure back into shape. Short of applying a lifting force, the disheveled pile of rocks is just that, and even then, who is going to reset all the elements so they are resting upon each other rather than pushing off laterally?

 

[dik]

The loss of a lovely stone church.

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[ALK2415]

Sym P. le
I'm not promoting this specific retrofitting method, rather than speaking what I witnessed (from the Italian engineer), they utilized it almost everywhere for old buildings.
Also the "face-lifting" process, is mostly like sawing process with steel plate skeleton that working as stabilizing iron-shell form inside and outside for this kind of masonry structures.
Also I have few Christians friends, from which, I found that high percentage of donations goes to church institutions (same as here). So preserving them (keeping them standing) would be of common interest (for the religious leaders and common people) to keep this kind of institutions operating and efficient in helping the less fortunate.
@ All of us, should spare/pay some of our income to help others for better education and so forth

 

[ALK2415]

By the way, Sym P. le,
Recently we had similar problem where one of the historical Manara start to tilt (due to underground water uneven-disposal), so What i draw above is what has been done to keep them standing, kind of anchor it down.

 

[Debirlfan]

Not sure how to link this, but at

https://www.facebook.com/groups/346679428820631/user/100062782580697/

There's an interview with a gentleman who was working on other nearby buildings who claims he saw stress cracks in the granite that morning.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

As an aside clergy in Scotland while doing the divinity degree have structural engineering courses.

 

[Sym P. le]

Thanks Debirlfan, I believe this is the item from Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/NorwichCTRadio[/URL]]Pictured is the Engaging Heaven Chruch ... Steven Govoni who is the president of High Tide Capitol--a development company from the state of Maine--which is currently restoring several nearby properties in the city of New London, to which, the Manwaring building next door to the church was one of them--He said, he saw several stress cracks in the large granite blocks on the State Street side of the building earlier that morning. He said there were also pieces of granite from the blocks laying on the ground. He said they were standing in front of the building observing the architecture of the building.

ALK, I've been pushing back against casual use of terminology and construction techniques not because I'm an expert on all things but because I would rather be better informed. The problem with casual engineering is exemplified by the FIU bridge fiasco. Not only did casual oversight destroy the structure, it also impaired the investigation and continues to cloud the public discourse.

 

[Debirlfan]

Two comments I've seen posted on one of the New London facebook pages (New London Strong) - I have no idea of the accuracy:

State pier construction shook downtown for awhile driving piers to bedrock in the river

The architect warned in 1851 that the steeple was unstable and should be rebuilt


The other New London facebook group is Whale Tales Two, there's a lot of discussion there, too.

 

[Sym P. le]

https://news.yahoo.com/opinion-first-congregational-church-steeple-013700467.html[/URL]]In the letter, the architect of the church, Lepold Eidlitz, wrote gravely that the only sure remedy was to "take down the whole of the steeple and tower and have it rebuilt by a more competent and reliable person than your general contractor."

Shoddy work from day one in 1851. "Hamden-based architecture and engineering firm Silver Petrucelli & Associates" have egg on their face after giving a clean bill of health in 2010. The building changed hands in 2015.

 

[dik]

This 'ancient' letter opens up a whole new 'can of worms'. It would be interesting to see if the old architect explained why it was unsound. As far as the 2010 report... never send a boy to do a man's work (binary terms for PC).

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[Sym P. le]

ALK2415, I believe I'm now understanding the purpose of post-tensioning in masonry structures and why you pointed it out. To the extent that it is a controlled construction technique, it certainly is an important modern practice, even in retro-fitting structures. For example, as you indicated, a post-tensioned row of blocks above an arch can relieve the load imposed on the arch and thus the lateral load on vertical supports adjacent to the arch. Where I see a problem is in the event that a structure has lost its shape and measures are not taken to stabilize the structure prior to upgrading the structural elements. Using elastic bands to pull a structure into shape seems reckless and tensioning a pile of rubble seems rather senseless.

Unfortunately, we don't have significant information on the issues this structure faced. With any luck, the owners may reveal the structures history though I'm thinking the lawyers will advise against it.

 

[dik]

You have to be careful with the forces... see what happened with the Florida pedestrian bridge... with a little post tensioning...

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[ALK2415]

Most likely the Tower leaning was caused by the continuous settlement of underneath foundation, or even nearby tunnel excavation that disturb the supporting soil layers.
Historical Building has been losing its binding material (lime-sand mortar), while remaining building units are rock solid. this lead to weaking the vertical walls against tension forces and start to displace laterally which cause vertical arches to their support.
Using any means of tensioning will prevent (to stop) this lateral displacement.
Also in my case, our tower starts to tilt vertically, so we add the vertical PT-rods and with gradual tensioning to give some kind to internal anchoring that the vertical wall couldn't provide or sustained during heavy lateral wind forces.
Also, if you notice "IRON-SHELL" term means providing steel plates from inside and outside (carefully tailored) to provide a secondary steel structure that will support the original building.
steel strong in both tension and compression while stone blocks are only strong in compression.
the 2nd alternative would be replacing the deteriorated mortar layers.
...
Public awareness would not be attracted, unless there will be a court ruling (public punishment), in order to make other similar buildings will gain the same attention and repair them with public donations. Yes, only public will save their heritage and religious sites.

 

[dik]

I think the system's broken... you can kill 100 people in Florida, and walk away, unscathed... or the Grenfell Towers in London... same effect.

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[Debirlfan]

Local word is that the building sold a few years ago for $250,000. Considering that you're lucky to buy a small one story house around here for that.... My guess is that the sellers knew there were issues and couldn't unload it fast enough.

 

[Sym P. le]

Soils may not be an issue in this event. Many soils in the North East are very thin though I'm not familiar with this area.

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/76388494.pdf[/URL]]“the highest elevation of a granite ledge, offering on its rounded summit a peerless platform for a church.”[sup]237[/sup]

237 Frances Manwaring Caulkins, History of New London, Connecticut. From the first survey of the coast in 1612, to 1860 (New London, CT: H. D. Utley, 1895), p. 588.

There are situations where bedrock creates a harsh environment for structures given that it does not attenuate seismic activity very well. Over 170 years, this could be an additional burden to a poorly built / maintained structure. I suspect the issues complained about by the architect are more akin to something inane such as laying out and constructing a straight wall (or a wall accommodating corner buttressing for the tower). All told, it seems the issues were believed to be more of a cosmetic concern than a fatal structural concern.

 

[3DDave]

The low prices was probably abatement issues of asbestos or lead pigmented paint. Also the decrease in church membership leaving buildings like this with fewer buyers. It wasn't easily convertible to living, office, or retail space.

 

[GPR_Tech]

Some interesting commentary on possible causes of the collapse from Jeff Ostroff

https://youtu.be/2F9tDefJbJ8?feature=shared