Posted on 06/16/2015 3:55:50 AM PDT by Zakeet
All building codes in the US require structural tie in of the balcony to the building structure.
But, don’t forget, illegals make up a majority of the framing contractors in this country, and they will build just like they did in their home country. Nails and lag screws instead of proper nuts and bolts and washers. Add undersized joists and you get a good looking deck that will not support a crowd of folks jumping around.
Inspectors are not quality control, merely tax collectors.
Let’s see how many drunk kids we can squeeze onto a tiny balcony.
I saw no evidence of stick built construction of a 4 story building
The balcony was loaded with more than 10...
Other than the collapse, not a thing wrong with the balcony.
the collapse is related to the pounds per square foot load immediately prior to the failure.
To finish the story, when they replaced the cables, a wooden cable spool was left behind.
Some other people decided it would be a good idea to take the spool up on a hill and watch it roll to the bottom.
It hit the campus cop car on the way down. Good thing it wasn’t a real cop.
More likely improper design and construction. They did not punch through the floor, the platform separated and ended up in the street as per the article.
A second factor is weather. If this is a concrete slab exposed to the occasional rain and more common mists, the concrete and reinforcing steel will degrade over several decades. This is particularly likely if moisture pools where the balcony meets the building. Put a lot of people on the balcony, particularly by the rail for maximum leverage, and structural failure can happen, even in a properly built structure after a few decades.
Just too much weight. It looks like one of those metal balconies, maybe less than 4x8. Probably shouldn’t have had more than 4-6 people on there.
“13 drunk Irish students on a tiny balcony. “
Or less. It may have injured or killed people on the balcony below.
"We tell them green, buy green, but in Berkely, no--everything is red.
13 drunk Irish students on J1 visas.
This turns out to be the “Library Gardens” building. It’s not very old. As the name hints, it’s right next to the main branch of the Berkeley Public Library. (This balcony was across the street from the back side of the main post office, and another side of this building is across from Berkeley High School.) When I was in downtown Berkeley—more often than now—roughly ten years ago, I remember seeing this building under construction, and I’ve been on that very sidewalk.
(I’ve never been in the building and never really looked up at the balconies. I’m not simply dismissing any possibibility of problems in design or construction, but I do wonder just how large this one was.)
I don't see any evidence of that here, it looks more like this balcony was "bolted on" or attached. If there were cantilever beams then they all apparently failed at the edge of the building. That might suggest corrosion if this was steel and concrete as someone else mentioned. Or corrosion/failure of the attachment means.
Some random observations... The interesting thing is the 4th floor balcony apparently failed, rotated, and ended up upside-down on the third floor balcony below. How did it make the complete 180 so quickly - in so little space? Why is it so close to the building, shouldn't it have levered out away from the building some as it rotated? Bravo to the 3rd floor balcony for taking a sudden impact load and holding up. That's not that big of a balcony, how did they get 13+ people on it? Or perhaps some of the dead/injured were on the 3rd floor balcony or the street below?
“They were mostly from Ireland.”
Isn’t Clog Dancing an Irish thing”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clogging
“Besides that, Mrs. Lincoln, did you enjoy the play?”
Tragic. At least 13 people on that tiny balcony. Of course something was going to happen.
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