Most shocking case of negligence I have seen to date.

[HermanLJ]

I was asked to do an inspection on a 100 year old warehouse being converted to offices.

They had cast a 50mm screed on top of the timber floors. In addition to that there were multiple SUV's parked on the floor as well while they were doing their renovations.

The joys of being an engineer in Africa.

http://imgur.com/a/fDo0c

 

[MikeHalloran]

I can't figure out what's supporting what.

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[JAE]

The earth isn't a pure sphere. It is more of a bulge - like a pear.

Therefore, near the equator, gravity is much less. You have nothing to worry about.

Be happy.

 

[HermanLJ]

Mike,

The transfer of loads is as follows:

50mm screed (not visible here) -> timber floor -> small bearer beams (the ones that have failed) -> deep beams not supported on walls/columns -> deep beams supported on walls columns

If you have a look at the last pic you can see it clearer.

 

[HermanLJ]

@JAE hahahaha. Now that kind of logic would fit in perfectly here!

 

[rb1957]

not my area, so it may be a stupid question ... are inspecting whether the project meets code or whether it has been built as planned ?

Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati

 

[msquared48]

Looks like very inefficient framing to me.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[BAretired]

Ordinarily, one would expect a warehouse load to be much greater than office loading, but broken members tend to suggest a potential problem. The third photo seems to indicate that two joists have failed. The floor should have been analyzed before starting the work.

BA

 

[BAretired]

Ordinarily, one would expect a warehouse load to be much greater than office loading, but broken members tend to suggest a potential problem. The third photo seems to indicate that two joists have failed. The floor should have been analyzed before starting the work.

BA

 

[BAretired]

Looks like I had an itchy trigger finger there.

BA

 

[msquared48]

You must have caught it from Ron.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[HermanLJ]

rb1957: It was a zoning inspection (not really my field but I was the only one in the area).

BA: It was a wool factory so I doubt the design loads were very high. The design code in that time was still working stress design or something like that. The main rebar is also totally smooth like your mild steel would be nowadays. Very strange to see.

 

[hokie66]

Those look like laminated beams, so not 100 years old.

Woolstores are designed for very heavy loading, in the vicinity of 200 PSF. I have worked on several old woolstore buildings, converted into residential, and we added concrete screeds to level the floors. Just what in the pictures did you find negligent?

 

[hokie66]

Hang on, maybe I was looking at those pictures wrongly. Looking closer at your photos, the beams look like cast in place concrete, and the joists maybe precast concrete, and they have used timber joists to replace only the broken/spalled ones. Is that correct? As BA said, the floor should have been analyzed as the first step.