Saturday's Storm Takes Down Condos under Construction In Brier Creek

[Newton_14]

This is unreal. I know they said the storms Saturday had gusts up to 80+ mph but, even at those speeds, this should not have happened. I would think a building that had reached that particular stage of the build, would be able to withstand one wind gust of 80mph. This thing went down like it was constructed of match sticks!

http://www.wral.com/news/video/13291429/#/vid13291429

[sue71, esq]

This is unreal. I know they said the storms Saturday had gusts up to 80+ mph but, even at those speeds, this should not have happened. I would think a building that had reached that particular stage of the build, would be able to withstand one wind gust of 80mph. This thing went down like it was constructed of match sticks!

http://www.wral.com/news/video/13291429/#/vid13291429

Wow, you're right. It looked like cardboard and matchsticks.

[BD80]

Wow, you're right. It looked like cardboard and matchsticks.

Strange, the insurance claim states that it was entirely oak beam and old cedar and mahogany plank construction, and that the builder's new golf clubs were in the closet.

[Indoor66]

Mother Nature always wins. She has a way of breaking what will not bend.

[Reisen]

That's pretty bad. When I first saw this thread, I expected to see only framing (as in the building on the right), and no sheathing. But the building on the left (the one that actually started it), looked fully sheathed. I wonder if there will be some kind of investigation. I have to believe the plans would have dictated a structure that would stand up to 80mph winds.

Lucky it happened before the building was occupied.

[Highlander]

I wonder if there will be some kind of investigation. I have to believe the plans would have dictated a structure that would stand up to 80mph winds.

Lucky it happened before the building was occupied.

I am not a GC, but I doubt there is much of an investigation. My understanding is that buildings have milestones to get to when they are inspected and approved. In between inspections, they are works in progress. They aren't expected to pass a structural inspection at any time. My guess is that the buildings in question were within code requirements for their level of construction, but that didn't include full structural integrity for 80 mph winds during framing.

While we were building our house, my uncle and brother-in-law (who are certified GC's or PE's) would walk through at various points and note things that weren't built to code. My GC always responded with "We know. Keep in mind we aren't done yet. It's not supposed to pass inspection today because our inspection is 2 months away."

I'm interested to see if insurance covers something like this. Otherwise it is a huge loss for the GC, as margins are generally pretty tight.

[Indoor66]

I am not a GC, but I doubt there is much of an investigation. My understanding is that buildings have milestones to get to when they are inspected and approved. In between inspections, they are works in progress. They aren't expected to pass a structural inspection at any time. My guess is that the buildings in question were within code requirements for their level of construction, but that didn't include full structural integrity for 80 mph winds during framing.

While we were building our house, my uncle and brother-in-law (who are certified GC's or PE's) would walk through at various points and note things that weren't built to code. My GC always responded with "We know. Keep in mind we aren't done yet. It's not supposed to pass inspection today because our inspection is 2 months away."

I'm interested to see if insurance covers something like this. Otherwise it is a huge loss for the GC, as margins are generally pretty tight.

I would guess that the Builder's Risk policy will cover the wind damage done by the storm. That is usually an insured risk.

[budwom]

Good news is that they collapsed before people moved in. As someone mentioned earlier, there is no way they should have blown over like that
at that stage of construction.

[-jk]

Good news is that they collapsed before people moved in. As someone mentioned earlier, there is no way they should have blown over like that
at that stage of construction.

When we were adding our second floor last year, the outside framing was up for a couple days with minimal internal braces before more substantial bracing was installed. Had we had that sort of high winds I'm sure it would have blown down.

Of course, the "roof" would have gone first; I slept a lot easier after the trusses were installed.

JK3_7949.JPG

-jk