Berkeley Balcony Collapse - CSLB Action Against Contractor License
Berkeley Balcony Collapse - CSLB Action Against Contractor License
(OP)
There are two closed threads that discussed the apartment balcony collapse in Berkeley where 6 people died. http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=389528 http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=389494
California's Contractors' State License Board (CSLB) has filed a complaint and may take action against the Contractor who built the apartments. The complaint includes information on how the contractor deviated from the plans. See https://www2.cslb.ca.gov/OnlineServices/Accusation...
California's Contractors' State License Board (CSLB) has filed a complaint and may take action against the Contractor who built the apartments. The complaint includes information on how the contractor deviated from the plans. See https://www2.cslb.ca.gov/OnlineServices/Accusation...





RE: Berkeley Balcony Collapse - CSLB Action Against Contractor License
Pretty tragic way for 6 people to die. I wonder if criminal action is to follow.
RE: Berkeley Balcony Collapse - CSLB Action Against Contractor License
error(inconsistency between the design model and reality) in the structural drawings/specifications. Granted, the contractor still would have had a duty to point this out to the EOR and get authorization for a substitute.There are several other issues in the accusation that would be easy for a good lawyer to pick on. For example, the contractor used 3 layers of OSB decking instead of plywood as called for in the construction drawings/specs, but plywood, if not protected any better than the OSB, would not perform significantly better with regard to decay resistance, not to mention the decking was not the primary framing member failure that resulted in the collapse, it was the cantilevered joists.
One more thing, the accusation doesn't establish an actual date when the waterproofing subcontractor performed work on the decks in question, but automatically assumes the deck framing was completely unprotected from the time the decking was installed until the last date that the waterproofing subcontractor performed work 10 months later, during which time 38 inches of rain fell.
Not trying to defend the contractor, just pointing out that the net could easily be cast quite a bit wider... and I'm sure it will be if it hasn't been already.
RE: Berkeley Balcony Collapse - CSLB Action Against Contractor License
Disagree. 3/4" pressure treated plywood is very moisture resistant. 3 sheets of OSB is nothing like it - OSB doesn't have water resistance similar to even regular plywood. Any time spent moist would turn it into a wood pulp paste.
RE: Berkeley Balcony Collapse - CSLB Action Against Contractor License
The accusation doesn't mention pressure treated plywood, it only mentions plywood, and I said "if not protected any better than the OSB" then plywood would not perform significantly better than the OSB with regard to decay resistance... meaning after 8-10 years of exposure like that in the case of this apartment deck, plywood would also have been a crumbling mess.
Apparently, in this case, there was supposed to be a waterproofing membrane (HML 5000) applied over the deck, and that waterproofing membrane was omitted. I'm just saying that that omission played a lot bigger role than substituting OSB for plywood. But of course the contractor would have had a duty to get authorization for the substitution, something it presumably did not do.
RE: Berkeley Balcony Collapse - CSLB Action Against Contractor License
RE: Berkeley Balcony Collapse - CSLB Action Against Contractor License
RE: Berkeley Balcony Collapse - CSLB Action Against Contractor License
RE: Berkeley Balcony Collapse - CSLB Action Against Contractor License
I mean, unless I'm missing something substantial or the standard practice is to glue the heck out of them and develop shear flow.
RE: Berkeley Balcony Collapse - CSLB Action Against Contractor License
RE: Berkeley Balcony Collapse - CSLB Action Against Contractor License
RE: Berkeley Balcony Collapse - CSLB Action Against Contractor License