Partial Parking Garage Collapse in Wilmington

@ranwhenparked

to

Seems strange. Even assuming it was non-structural, I'd guess it was supposed to be strong enough to keep a car from driving through it at low speed? Though maybe not as it looks like there were steel cables further in from the wall:

In any event, these winds have been intense?

@ranwhenparked Being a side wall, it would make me wonder if some part of that wall wasn't hit by a vehicle from inside the garage at some point. Perhaps more than once.

@ranwhenparked Glad there were no injuries. Seem like just a facade and your assumption freeze/thaw and wind are probably correct.

And we can then have a bit of humor:

@HammerheadFistpunch I havent had any direct deposits in the time span of it's construction, so nope.

@ranwhenparked That is purely aesthetic. Looks like a fascia. Likely to hide the parking garage from looking like a parking garage. If I had to guess it was wind related.

@ranwhenparked I blame Mr Incredible ...

@ranwhenparked

Those doors threw me off for second. I’m assuming they were for access to the roof that’s no longer there. I’m guessing it was purely a facade and the cables between the columns are there to stop cars from doing what the wind did.

Edit to add: they might be impossible to see in this photo, but I can’t spot one tie strap sticking out between any of those blocks.

@JunkleMKVII said in Partial Parking Garage Collapse in Wilmington:

Edit to add: they might be impossible to see in this photo, but I can’t spot one tie strap sticking out between any of those blocks.

That was exactly what I was looking for. There are no signs of proper tie-in either on the blocks or on the building. It was essentially a free-standing brick wall.

@JunkleMKVII said in Partial Parking Garage Collapse in Wilmington:

Edit to add: they might be impossible to see in this photo, but I can’t spot one tie strap sticking out between any of those blocks.

@BicycleBuck

That's right where my mind went too. If that turns out to be the case, it was only a matter of time before this happened. The contractor and the building inspector should both be in big trouble.

Hollow cinder blocks, rather than filled with rebar and concrete (and tied to the existing wall), seems like a curious choice for even a facade on a substantial multi-story concrete structure. The lawyers are going to have a ball with this one.

@Shop-Teacher said in Partial Parking Garage Collapse in Wilmington:

@JunkleMKVII said in Partial Parking Garage Collapse in Wilmington:

Edit to add: they might be impossible to see in this photo, but I can’t spot one tie strap sticking out between any of those blocks.

@BicycleBuck

That's right where my mind went too. If that turns out to be the case, it was only a matter of time before this happened. The contractor and the building inspector should both be in big trouble.

Same, nothing tied the wall to the structure. Just being COLD could have been enough to set it loose

@theturbomrt said in Partial Parking Garage Collapse in Wilmington:

@Shop-Teacher said in Partial Parking Garage Collapse in Wilmington:

@JunkleMKVII said in Partial Parking Garage Collapse in Wilmington:

Edit to add: they might be impossible to see in this photo, but I can’t spot one tie strap sticking out between any of those blocks.

@BicycleBuck

That's right where my mind went too. If that turns out to be the case, it was only a matter of time before this happened. The contractor and the building inspector should both be in big trouble.

Same, nothing tied the wall to the structure. Just being COLD could have been enough to set it loose

Now the question is, all the other facades that haven't fallen ... I bet they're built just as badly and could fall at any moment. They need to shut that whole area down right fucking now yesterday.