Poor Quality Materials - Not Just a Modern Problem

[Cubist]

Came across this article this morning and thought it may be of interest to some members.

Portsmouth house collapse: Poor quality bricks 'likely cause'

The terraced house on Langford Road, Portsmouth caved in on 7 December.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[paulc]

The council said any residents whose home was affected by the collapse, or those worried about the safety of their building, should contact their building insurance company

Would the insurance company cover repair/rebuild costs ?

 

[Cubist]

Would the insurance company cover repair/rebuild costs ?

If they forgot to include the typical weasel words abdicating any responsibility or shifting it to the owner - but that's doubtful to my mind.

 

[malcolm]

I've got substandard bricks, damp and inadequate foundations too and they don't tend to cause structural problems to the extent of the house falling down. Maybe someone forgot to fire these bricks?

Looks like a party wall collapse between no.25 and no.23. You can find them both on Rightmove and no.23 has been modernised with a lovely open plan layout with the replacement supports well hidden.

 

[a twig]

“Well hidden” - far too polite

 

[a twig]

Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete is another bird coming home to roost, a few hospitals and schools now in danger of collapse because no-one thought about long term lifespan of the “cheap wonder material” 50 years ago - and all assumed there would be obvious signs before it failed (turns out can be less than 24 hours between hairline cracks appearing and complete failure)…

Think it was a school gymnasium that collapsed (fortunately no kids inside at the time)

https://www.cross-safety.org/sites/default/files/2019-05/failure-reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-planks.pdf

 

[Feltwell]

That stuff around substandard bricks in the Portsmouth house really is total b@ll@cks!

 

[Feltwell]

Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete is another bird coming home to roost, a few hospitals and schools now in danger of collapse because no-one thought about long term lifespan of the “cheap wonder material” 50 years ago - and all assumed there would be obvious signs before it failed (turns out can be less than 24 hours between hairline cracks appearing and complete failure)…

Think it was a school gymnasium that collapsed (fortunately no kids inside at the time)

https://www.cross-safety.org/sites/default/files/2019-05/failure-reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-planks.pdf

In the 60's they used to put chemicals - Chlorides of various types - into concrete mixes, to make them gain strength quicker, so they could strip the formwork quicker and move to the next construction stage on things like bridges (for anyone who's not aware - concrete doesn't have much strength when it first goes hard - after 7 days it's still pretty weak, 28 days is the usual period before design loadings can be applied and even then it's still gaining strength).

Only trouble is, those chlorides - together with salts from badly washed aggregates used back then - rot the reinforcing steelwork. It's why so many concrete structures have decayed, it's not just ingress of decing salts.

 

[stuart45]

I remember the high alumina concrete that was popular from the 50's to the 70's. The shuttering could be struck after 24 hours. There were a few buildings that failed in the 70's, so it stopped being used.
There are a lot of buildings still around in good condition, and engineers now seem to think that the problems were more down to poor workmanship.

 

[RBailey]

In the 60's they used to put chemicals - Chlorides of various types - into concrete mixes, to make them gain strength quicker, so they could strip the formwork quicker and move to the next construction stage on things like bridges (for anyone who's not aware - concrete doesn't have much strength when it first goes hard - after 7 days it's still pretty weak, 28 days is the usual period before design loadings can be applied and even then it's still gaining strength).

Only trouble is, those chlorides - together with salts from badly washed aggregates used back then - rot the reinforcing steelwork. It's why so many concrete structures have decayed, it's not just ingress of decing salts.

Large swathes of early Dubai (1970-1980's), including the creek quays and the dry dock were rumored to have been built with sea water instead of fresh water for the concrete.
They had stone in the mountains and plenty of sand but not much freshwater.
Consequently those areas still remaining are suffering badly now.

 

[88v8]

Would the insurance company cover repair/rebuild costs ?

Yes, unless it was caused by illegal structural alterations in which case maybe not. If the alterations were in an adjacent property they might sue the perps but only if there were a good chance of recovery.

Can't imagine 'bad bricks' being the cause even if they were soaking wet.

 

[steveb]

I have a sneaking suspicion that sand for the mortar used in our place was simply dragged from the adjacent beach.

Don't know why

 

[Feltwell]

I have a sneaking suspicion that sand for the mortar used in our place was simply dragged from the adjacent beach.

Don't know why

Such a suspicious mind!

So long as you've not a got a reinforced concrete house, you'll be fine. I can't imagine any of the coastal builders of times gone by not wanting to use an adjacent beach!

Mind you, one of my Dad's contacts used to sell sand to the Arabs! Special filtration sand for water treatment.

 

[stuart45]

Some of the old houses near Brighton seafront had Bungaroosh walls made with stones and other stuff taken off the beach. Oyster shells, believed to come from the workers meals, were also found in them.

 

[Cubist]

I have a sneaking suspicion that sand for the mortar used in our place was simply dragged from the adjacent beach.

Don't know why

View attachment 9983

I agree that for many consider their home to be their castle but... building the house with reclaimed sand castles seems a bit extreme to me.

 

[steveb]

It's not even sand to be honest - the immediately adjacent beach is made entirely of crushed shells. Whether any real sand was added , no idea but from the picture it looks like not!

 

[LadyArowana]

Mind you, one of my Dad's contacts used to sell sand to the Arabs! Special filtration sand for water treatment.

Australia exports camels to Saudi too, I’ve not been brave enough to ask Mr Google if they are special tasty camels or special speedy camels.

 

[Cubist]

Australia exports camels to Saudi too, I’ve not been brave enough to ask Mr Google if they are special tasty camels or special speedy camels.

I understand its for their looks rather than speed or flavour. Personally I see little attraction from any perspective.

 

[RBailey]

I understand its for their looks rather than speed or flavour. Personally I see little attraction from any perspective.

The Australian are more pure bred as they have been more genetically isolated since exported to Australia a pack animals rather than the semi-free ranging local Arabian camels.
If you want pretty ones there used to be a camel beauty pageant in Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) every year

 

[LadyArowana]

The Australian are more pure bred as they have been more genetically isolated since exported to Australia a pack animals rather than the semi-free ranging local Arabian camels.
If you want pretty ones there used to be a camel beauty pageant in Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) every year

As with all things it seems ’beauty is in the eye of the beholder’, a quick look at the pageant results makes me think they have suffered the same distortion as pedigree dogs. Irrelevant information of the day regarding Australian camels……., the train which runs between Darwin and Adelaide is called the Ghan, ( by repute related to the nickname Afghan Express ) and has a camel logo.