When buildings fail: An engineer explains how to prevent America’s aging buildings from collapse
Four recent catastrophic building collapses and a near miss are raising concerns about the state of America’s aging buildings and questions about who, if anyone, is checking their safety.
Many cities have buildings showing signs of aging and in need of repair. In New York City, where a seven-story apartment building partially collapsed in December 2023, the median building age is about 90 years, and many neighborhoods were built before 1900.
As a civil engineer, I study building failures, and I have seen how crucial structural inspections and careful maintenance are—and how often the signs of trouble are ignored in the U.S. until a problem becomes a crisis. Too often, it is up to residents to call attention to the risks.
Many disasters had clear warning signs
There were two common threads prior to many of the recent building collapses: visible signs of defects that eventually led to the building’s demise, and a history of documents submitted to city building departments clearly showing deteriorating conditions.
For example:
In a near miss in November 2023, a large hole opened in the base of another New York City parking garage, offering a view to the Amtrak rail line below. It forced the closure of the line while the building was repaired.
What cities and states can do
Many buildings today are designed to last from as little as 50 years to more than 100 years, depending on the materials used and assuming periodic maintenance and repairs.
Just as human beings need to see their physicians on a more regular basis as they age, older buildings also require more care and attention. That is even more important when they are exposed to adverse environmental conditions, such as corrosive deicing salts in the Northeast and saltwater and salt air moisture in coastal regions.
Yet inspections of buildings primarily happen only as they are being built, resold, or remodeled. Policies vary by state, but there are currently few widespread mandated rules for structural inspections of entire existing buildings. Some exceptions are in Florida, where structural inspections are required for condominium and co-op buildings statewide at age 25 to 30 years, and every 10 years thereafter, and Jersey City, New Jersey, where periodic structural inspections are required every 10 years for all buildings. Several Florida cities and counties have extended the state-mandated periodic inspections to commercial buildings.
Some cities have enacted ordinances governing periodic inspections of specific structural elements, such as balconies and facades. And a few require periodic inspections or condition assessments for parking garages. After the Surfside condo tower collapse, the International Code Council initiated efforts to develop condition-assessment guidelines for existing buildings that local governments could choose to adopt.
Cities need to prioritize inspections
In each of the recent collapses, there were signs of the problems that, had they been addressed, might have prevented the tragedy.
In the New York City apartment building, a visible, vertical crack in the corner column, which should have been a glaring red flag, was ignored. The NYC Buildings Department commissioner recently said, “The Department of Buildings does not have enough of its own staff to inspect every building in New York City.”
This problem is not unique to New York. Building departments across the country are understaffed and have oversight challenges.
If increasing budgets for municipal inspection departments is not an option, another route is to contract with structural engineering firms to review submitted documents. While this comes at a cost, so do legal settlements after building disasters.
If cities and states enact periodic structural condition assessment rules for existing buildings within their jurisdiction, problems could also be spotted by expert inspectors before they develop into failures.
Insurance companies could also be a partner in this effort by requiring periodic inspection and maintenance by licensed design professionals as a condition of continuing coverage.
If you see something, say something
Residents also must adopt a more vigilant and proactive approach to identify and prevent structural problems.
Anyone can learn to identify the telltale signs of building deterioration and defects, though there may be some hidden structural deterioration behind architectural finishes that may not be visible. If these problems are spotted and addressed in a timely manner, that could help reduce the likelihood of structural failures and more costly repairs in the future.
If you see any of the following problems, report them to your landlord or the city building department—they could be signs of structural trouble:
Everyone needs to understand the warning signs and be willing to speak up so that officials and building owners take the necessary steps to stem this scary tide and protect residents.
Our buildings are talking to us, and in some cases crying out for help. It’s time everyone listened.
Abieyuwa Aghayere is a professor of structural engineering at Drexel University.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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