‘Major error’ flagged in ‘18 inspection of collapsed building near Miami Beach

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article252385083.html

by echoradio • 5 years ago

13 10 5 years ago

miamiherald.com

echoradio• 5 years ago

http://archive.today/4IN1k

(In case the content is behind the Miami Herald’s paywall.)

HarryHirsch3• 5 years ago

Good Good, the photos of the parking deck are scary. You see spalling from the rebar and uneven slabs. Whoever bought there, they had warning that they were living in a deathtrap, the signs were obvious.

toomuchtodo2• 5 years ago

Real estate buyers are typically not building science subject matter experts.

My question is: how did any sale of units get approved between home inspectors, lenders, appraiser, insurers, or other third parties having this information who would participate in a transaction? The condo association knew about this report since 2018, and would’ve been required by Florida law (Section 503(2) of Florida’s Condominium Act) to disclose to any buyers.

http://www.wgmorrislaw.com/Marco-Island-Law-Blog/2020/August...

fred_is_fred• 5 years ago

People are really bad at risk - especially once you get to the point of home inspection and reviewing condo disclosures. By then you're already substantially invested emotionally at that point and figure that in a modern functioning society a building collapse just cannot happen.

HarryHirsch3• 5 years ago

Imagine if a bank refused a loan because they insist on an inspection and it comes back with alarming results. All this beachfront real estate in Miami Beach would become less and less attractive the more the word spreads - aging buildings, shoddy construction, rising sea levels... best to to keep silent and hope the house of cards holds up another decade.

perl4ever3• 5 years ago

Real estate buyers are typically not building science subject matter experts

I know nothing about it, but I used to park in a garage for work, where they would periodically remove some concrete, exposing rebar, involving a huge amount of noise and dust, and I wondered why.

I assumed they were checking structural integrity, but it always seemed hard for me to conceptualize how you could take concrete out and then patch it up without somehow damaging the relationship with the rebar going through it.

toomuchtodo2• 5 years ago

Update: https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-miami-area-condo-c...

Just one month after an engineering report warned of "major structural damage" that required immediate repair, a Surfside, Fla. official assured residents of Chaplain Towers South that their building was sound.
The engineering report was dated Oct. 8, 2018. At a Nov. 15 board meeting of the Champlain Tower South Condominium Association, a building official from the town of Surfside, Ross Prieto, appeared to discuss that report. "Structural engineer report was reviewed by Mr. Prieto," the meeting minutes say. "It appears the building is in very good shape."
The inspector's comments directly conflicted with an engineering report from five weeks earlier, which warned that failed waterproofing in a concrete structural slab needed to be replaced "in the near future."

‘Major error’ flagged in ‘18 inspection of collapsed building near Miami Beach

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