Miami Condo Collapse: How A Pool Deck Brings Down Buildings

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As an engineer, and someone who just got done binge watching all your videos for the past few hours on the Miami collapse, I think you're correct in saying that the lateral beam between the two columns connecting the building to the pool deck is the main contributor to the building itself collapsing. The main cause to me, aside from the columns being very skinny, is the beam not being on top of the column. You essentially then have a zero moment on the beam between those two columns. However, as we saw from the tourist video, that 12×16 column had collapsed to the side due to the pool deck for its own reasons. This would then create essentially a cantilever scenario where the fulcrum is now outside the remaining column holding up the beam. Think about holding a bat by the end as opposed to choking up on it. Which way is heavier? From there, the beam would be pulling the column towards the now collapsed pool deck, creating a torquing moment on column that it wasn't designed to withstand. Thus creating a domino effect and the subsequent manner in which the building collapsed inward, towards the pool deck. Added load on top the column, along with possible years of internal water corrosion to the rear can also be contributing, but the initial catalyst which triggered the building collapse (separate to the pool deck collapse) was that beam losing its lateral support when that 12×16 column collapsed to the side

I don't know why this condo collapse reminds me so much of a 100 yr old giant( cypress) tree that VERY slowly fell across my front yard. In 2006, here in Hawaii, it literally rained 40 days & nights. In the mountains, where I lived, it rained 8 feet during that period. I recall how the 🌳 made the weirdest noises, as the wood cracked/ broke, as the ground around it gave way over a series of weeks.That being said, I wonder if the condo inhabitants heard sounds, or groaning in the weeks or months preceeding the collapse? Or, if within individual units, there were odd noises of the building settling?

I used to live in a building with a very similar structure and also deck issues. From the early 80s as well. But there was a key difference: the deck structure was independent from the building. Instead of having two columns 20 feet apart like Champlain South, each structure ended with its own columns just 2 or 3 inches from the other and some flexible synthetic compound to fill the gap. Had the deck collapsed (and maybe someday it will) it would not pull the building with it

Comment on sloping of pool deck: he talks about this from engineers letter at 27:00. I Have seen this error done before. The original architect designed the deck with a slope to drains. On a job I saw years ago, a pool decker had a contract to install paver stones. He didn’t like the slope because his paver stones could not sit nicely on the slope so he put in a skim coat to “level” the deck before he installed the paver stones. His job looked nice afterwards but the owners complained to me that now the rain water no longer drained off his pool deck. He would have to take push brooms to push the water off his pool deck.

As a resident of a (second attempt at) a high-rise that collapsed during construction, thanks to your videos I pay much closer attention to the concrete in the parking garage than I used to. The garage looks pristine but I do throw a little side-eye at the pool these days. I hold on to the hope that the towers survive if the pool deck fails.

I want to personally thank you my friend , for being so very thorough ! Your analysis of this building and it's construction and defects in construction , is right on target ! I have viewed and listened to other engineers and their perspective of this building and possible failures that might bring a building down . I have to say , most of them leave me with more questions than when they began . I'm in construction and I have been for 50 years , both commercial and restoration. And for the past 25 years , concentrating more in building restoration and historic restorations. I have to say , I would definitely , without a doubt hire you to engineer any building I have worked on are will work on in the future . It is very refreshing to see someone with your skill level and knowledge of construction . Again , thanks so much for your excellent analysis on this building . Sincerely , Joe Guest

A disaster rarely if ever, has a single cause. Usually there’s a series of coincidental issues that combine to lead to the ultimate failure. The Swiss cheese analogy is often used where all the holes have to line up for disaster. I will wager that some holes are incorporated in the construction phase and others were added along the way. Only the totality was sufficient for disaster. Exponentially is not a word added lightly in a contractual document a bit like “time is of the essence”. 😳

For the non-engineers here, you do an excellent job of presenting the details and graphics about engineering variables that could be factors.

Absolutely fascinating. It seems like Jeff Ostroff's analysis is just nailing it with the information he has available. About the palm trees that were removed...it brings to mind the scenario when characters in movies are impaled with something -- a sword, for instance -- and someone just yanks it out and the person is pretty much ok. In real life, you're not supposed to remove the object if a person's impaled because of the damage it'll cause. So what if removing the palm trees did more damage than the trees themselves could ever have caused?

This is what journalists once were all about!! Thank you!!👏👏

As an epileptic, THANK YOU SO much for this! I can now watch the part regarding the palm trees. I'm glad you realized the problem and corrected it. 💚 Says a lot about you as a person and content creator!

Thanks for posting these. I know nothing about what goes into creating buildings, but I am consumed with wonder/sadness in regards to what happened in this tragedy and am learning so much due to your insight.

Ironically, I just got to the palm tree section on the first video and had to turn it off then I saw this one posted with the correction. Thank you sir! Good job on all your videos. I don’t get into all of this building stuff but this has been very intriguing and you keep me coming back!

I don’t disagree with any of the theories you are exploring and explaining. But I just want to mention as a videographer that the weird bendy artifacts you are unsure of in screen grabs from the garage cellphone video could also just be banding from the fluorescent lights or some rolling shutter from low frame-rate video from walking Cellphone in a not so well lit area…Im not saying what you are stating is wrong..just dont want you to overlook how inaccurate YT compressed cellphone video screengrabs can be with weird artifacts. Keep up the great work and thank you for the great uploads providing great insight.

Very informative videos on the sad disaster. I’m a geologist and worked during my whole career for a big, international engineering company. I’m always very interested in listening to what engineers have to say, and your discussions are very good, thank you. I appreciate you taking the time out of what must be a very busy engineering practice. The more we all can be educated about engineering and construction, the better. It’s a complicated built environment we live in today!

Vanished from the media cycle now. You work has been wonderful to follow.

I agree, most accidents are not caused by just one thing. It's usually a combination.

Ooh. And those palms will really do some damage to the concrete under them (if there's already cracks in it)... my mother in law had some in her yard and they were also in planters. The roots broke through the planters at the drainage holes, grew under the concrete pool deck, cracked it more, and she ended up having to redo her whole pool deck as well as do new plaster on her pool because of the damage. Just thought I'd mention that. Not saying that is what happened here at all.

Because of your videos I now refer to road barricades as Bob's Barricade. People look at me like I'm crazy.