As building envelope professionals, we can’t emphasize enough how critical the waterproofing discipline works alongside a structural team during and beyond construction.
The Champlain Towers South building collapse is a disaster beyond belief. First responders continue to dig out the rubble upon publication of this article.
David Santiago/ Miami Herald via Associated Press
We acknowledge their dedication and professionalism as they work to find those loved ones who are unaccounted for.
It is so important to be able to identify adverse moisture and water-related conditions early. Such specific conditions may end up affecting the building assemblies that may result in degradation of structural capacity.
Depending on the building assembly type, the degradation could be slow (masonry assemblies) or rapid (wood assemblies). However, in both cases, unless the source of the degradation is repaired and the intrusion is mitigated, the degradation can and will lead to an eventual structural compromise that can result in a catastrophic failure.
It is very critical for building professionals to survey their buildings and mitigate/repair any attributes that may be the cause or contributing factors of building assembly degradation.
Allowing the building components to “live” in an environment that is non-standard and lends itself to degradation can place the entire building in unchartered territory that lends itself to an unknown reduction of the building’s expected lifecycles and renders the structural experimental rather than predictable.
Terra-Petra provides all consulting services for sub-slab vapor barriers consulting services for sub-slab vapor barriers, below-grade waterproofing and drainage, podium and balcony waterproofing, planter waterproofing, and drainage, exterior wall cladding and weather-resistive barriers, and roofing assemblies.
For more information or to discuss your next or current project visit: https://terra-petra.com/wp/building-envelope-consulting-los-angeles or contact Barry Taheri.
