The Versailles Wedding Hall Disaster
🕑 Added 2022-07-12 10:15:01 +0000 UTCAt the end of this video, I touch on how long it has taken to identify and repair buildings that were built using the Pal Kal method. It's quite a complicated task. This article (despite being a few years old now) covers some of the issues surrounding it nicely.
Here's one interesting example: it's natural to think that people who live in Pal Kal buildings would be very keen for them to be identified as such and repaired as soon as possible. But sometimes they actively try to delay or obstruct this process.
After all, having their building identified as Pal Kal will decimate the value of their property, and might prevent them from selling... effectively locking them into living in an unsafe building until repairs are made. And repairs could take years, and cost homeowners huge amounts of money.
For all sorts of reasons like this, inspections are often delayed, repairs contested, and potentially unsafe buildings allowed to stand unrepaired.
Comments
Fascinating Horror
That's so much extra weight! Incredible. Thanks for sharing the video - I've added it to my notes for this disaster.
Sandra OShields
Here’s the video - https://youtu.be/k7NT3zaaB7I I’m not a fan of that guy’s particular channel or reporting of the collapse, but he was the only one that talked about it. A quick search came up with a kitchen countertop can weight anywhere from 700-1200 pounds. Thats like ten extra men constantly standing in the kitchen.
Fascinating Horror
Thanks for these recommendations - I've been following the investigation as it progresses, and these creators really help sum up and explain what's been found so far. Interesting about the tiled floors and other decor - it surprises me sometimes just how heavy these things can be!
Sandra OShields
I've been following the collapse of the Surfside condo in Florida. Building Integrity has done a great job on the engineering explanations as they come to light. If anyone wants to see an in depth overview. I'd also suggest Practical Engineering channel to understand some individual components. Any case... a video came up that talked about recent units that were listed for sale. Being that these were expensive beachfront properties, owners put in expensive upgrades, including massive stone tiles in the bathroom(12"x24") and solid granite slab countertops in the kitchen. Things that were never used in home decor back in the 70's/80's when the building was designed and built. Who knows how many more tons of weight was added to the building to increase the instability.