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Building Collapse in Geneva

2K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  hdavis 
#1 ·
#6 ·
When you get a building sheeted with some significant openings, a wind gust can blow in through the openings, and if it has nowhere to go, it can lift the roof system. On a simple rectangular building, once the top plate becomes detached (gable ends have the greatest shear force on the plate), those walls blow out, and the building blows over.

It's a big risk on some designs once walls are mostly sheeted.

Maybe what happened here.
 
#7 ·
I bet this is what happened, the gc we're working for now, said he drove by there a few days ago, and it looked like they had everything sheeted, but one whole side was full of overhead door openings.

Needless to say, he's really preaching bracing to us this morning. Which is just fine with me, I hope I never have one go down like that...

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#9 · (Edited)
Tarp the openings, or leave some sheathing off for wind flow.... Hinged plywood Flaps for the over achievers.
Maybe some Tornado ties......

OSHA says over 28 mph winds get down out of man lifts without Pro opinion to the contrary.

35 mph for old school pipe scaffold.....tied off to regulations.

Some insurance company just took a loss.... and our rates rise some more...

Blown over by a 45 or 50 mph gust is just gross incompetence, and appears to be a little undermanned, 2 men for 10,000 square feet ?
 
#12 ·
Blown over by a 45 or 50 mph gust is just gross incompetence, and appears to be a little undermanned, 2 men for 10,000 square feet ?
There were 5 workers on site, just the 2 that were injured.
The owner of the company was one of the injured, apparently he's in guarded condition as of this morning.



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#16 · (Edited)
Engineering wise, one usually figures that the partial building during construction should survive the greatest average wind in a 6 month period.... usually in the 70-85 mph range here in the MidWest, Longer jobs get a 5 or 10 mph added to temporary design wind loads... high value and high priority jobs might get special attention....

A failure at ~45mph is not going to please any underwriters.

WAG: the roof formed an air foil and achieved "take off velocity..."

No one can build profitably and eliminate all weather risks... This one I guess is on the Engineers or lack there of.... The wind gusts were un-usual, but not freakish....

One small benefit of the Wind Mill silliness is there is much better REAL TIME wind data across the USA....

And the InterNet weather had wind gust warnings..... Up to 70 Mph?
 
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