Support beams in Berkeley balcony collapse found to be severely rotted

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Support beams in Berkeley balcony collapse found to be severely rotted

Reuters in San Francisco
Tuesday 23 June 2015 21.02 BST

Wooden support beams sheared off in the collapse of a fourth-floor apartment balcony that killed six people in Berkeley, California, last week were found to be severely rotted, city building inspectors said in a report issued on Tuesday.

The report did not directly address how building and safety inspectors believe the wooden joists became so badly decayed that they failed just eight years after the five-story Library Gardens apartment complex was completed.

But the analysis recommends new building regulations that call for greater ventilation of enclosed structures exposed to weather, such as balconies, landings, decks and stairways, and for new inspections of all such spaces within six months of enactment of the proposed ordinance.

“The inspectors observed that the deck joist ends protruding from the exterior wall appeared to be severely dry rotted,” the nine-page memorandum said. Dry rot also was found in the horizontal beams supporting the third-floor balcony below it, posing a danger of structural failure there as well.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/23/berkeley-balcony-collapse-california-rotting-wood

[Warpy]

1. Pretty much what they said from the first

It looked like there was adequate support but the joists just snapped off. They shouldn't have done that unless there was an underlying problem, either bugs or rot.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. When I was in SF. they built a small 2 story 20 unit apt. complex down the street

I watched the progress as I went by on my way to and from work. This was in 2004.
They had the place framed up, then the plywood siding and flooring, ...the plywood was made from that fiberboard that is all pressed together.
So the pressboard walls are on, then it rained for a couple of days, then they stuck the roof on and put up the outside stucco type and inside drywalls, over the wet plywood.
The units were ready to rent in about 90 days from clearing the land for building.

[onehandle]

2. First thing I thought when I saw the photo. nt

[CreekDog]

3. The DUers who blamed the victims are mostly silent as these stories come out

it would have been good if they'd chosen to be silent when they were blaming the victims, rather than when the news makes it clear they were wrong to have done so.