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28 ‘Nightmares’ And ‘Miracles’ Discovered During Structural Inspections
Article created by: Mantas Kačerauskas
For nearly 30 years, Alpha Structural, Inc. has developed a powerful reputation as the number one foundation engineering and repair, landslide repair, earthquake, and structural rehabilitation contractor in the Los Angeles area. The company has over 400 years of combined technical experience and all of it is hard-core and down-in-the-trenches, not managed from behind a computer.
Alpha Structural, Inc. also shares photos from its engineers' day-to-day work, including all the funniest, most bizarre, and downright dangerous things they discover. We've already covered their finds here, here, and here, but recently they've unearthed more surprising treasures, so we put together a new piece on them.
More info: AlphaStructural.com | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
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#2
Here we have a brick retaining wall experiencing surcharge from the neighboring hill. Structures that are settling can cause this surcharge in the soil. This creates a high-pressure situation which then pushes out the remaining soil and results in this type of damage to retaining walls.
#3
Being that my company in LA does this sort of repair/prevention work, this was some scary news to see this morning. Torrential rain and debris caused a large chunk of Highway 1 on the West Coast of California to wash away.
You're going to need yourself a Yoshi if you're wanting to cross here. Back in 2017, a massive landslide covered up over a half mile of the road. It took months to clean up and there was no access around it. If it continues to rain, I wouldn't be surprised if more of this happened in and around Southern California.
#5
I guess the original builder of this property chose the ancient Roman vibe for this foundation.
#6
We think this takes the cake. This is not rebar. These are old Helical Piers from the 70s. It has never been a method that we have used as a company and this is why. They are very practical in many situations, but for steep hillside and seismic zones, they are not. We've seen this all too many times in LA.
#8
This concrete patio is sitting on a retaining wall that has been pushed outward due to what is known as a surcharge, or hydrostatic pressure build-up. Hollow areas formed under the patio, causing the cracking and further sinking of the patio from the roof load above
#9
The side of this property is sinking, causing this column to lean backward, bringing the connecting beam forward in the other direction. It could slip in the future if it goes unhandled.
#10
Notice the compression of the posts into the girder. They go into the girder about an inch. This property has some crazy settlement and moisture problems
#12
This doesn't happen with just a gust of wind... though that might be all it would take to bring it down
#13
This deck system uses an angled beam that attaches to the concrete patio below for support. The very edge of the deck is beginning to dip down, causing a lot of tension where the beam meets the patio. If you look closely, you can see the concrete lifting with the beam. No partying on this deck for a while!
#16
We’re earthquake retrofitting this building and discovered a few columns that were completely corroded at the bottom. Scary...
#22
A car hit the side of this house and caused some pretty significant structural damage.
Not much can be seen from the inside surprisingly, except water damage and some cracking.
#23
Out with the old, in with the... new?
This is a very early 1900s home with a brick foundation that we inspected.
In addition to the foundation needing a replacement/sister foundation, much of the framing needs to be replaced as well.
It's hard to consider this as a foundation since the concrete is as stable as the dirt underneath it.
#24
This masonry wall supported the back half of the home, as well as a deck in the back. Tons of moisture and hillside erosion caused the wall to lose its grip on the hillside and rest of the structure. This type of failure tends to happen in the rainy season in Los Angeles.
#27
A nice pile of dust supporting a home.
This is a very bad spalling concrete foundation. I assume most of you know what that is by now, but if you don't feel free to ask.
Here's some more spall damage on a different property!
#28
Who wants to guess what happened to this poor girder? Luckily it was sistered a while back, but it's a shocking scene with that old one still there
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