Miami Condo Collapse: Could Pool Deck Work 2020 Cause It?

In this video your host Jeff Ostroff helps you narrow down a root cause for the condo collapse in surfside, Florida. Here we look at more evidence that has come to light in the last few days, like videos Mike videos touring through the parking garage where we are able to now see some of their pre-existing damage on the ceiling of the garage of this collapsed condo and possibly identify the exact member column support column that might have failed.
We also show other possible causes such as construction work that was done on the pool deck area back in 2020 less than a year ago. There we examine everything that was done and try to determine if that could have had something to do with accelerating the problematic areas that caused the pool deck to collapse by way of a punching shear failure leaving most of the columns standing, except for probably a couple that we think might have been the weakest.
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The Champlain Towers South condo complex collapse was located at 8777 Collins Ave. in Surfside, FL, which is just north of Miami beach.
📺 WATCH: Analysis Garage Video BEFORE Condo Collapse: Water Everywhere
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📺 WATCH: "More On Miami Condo Collapse Live From Street You Won't Believe Scene"
• More On Miami Condo Co...

[@FireCracker3240]

I'm not an engineer, but I am an apartment manager. This heartbreaking tragedy has been so relevant and fascinating to me that I've been following it every step of the way. This is by far the best information I've seen. Your skills in breaking this all done using video, photos, witness accounts, reports and blueprints is really very impressive. Thank you for covering this situation so thoroughly.

[@simonbone]

So basically, like most disasters, it took several factors coming together for this to happen: 1) A pool deck that was needlessly attached to the support columns of the building 2) A design flaw in the pool deck that allowed water to collect and seep into the structure instead of dissipate 3) Inadequate or incomplete work installing the waterproofing on the flawed deck, making it ineffective or worse, allowing water to collect at the edges 4) An engineering report that buried the terrifying news in a subparagraph on page 7, perhaps not making it clear to the owners just how bad things were 5) Reluctance or inability of the condo owners to take immediate remedial action, due to high cost and complicated decision-making process 6) Complacency among residents and staff, becoming used to signs of severe damage and cosmetic patches 7) A possibly overstressed and incorrectly installed beam connecting two columns at a critical point that may have ensured a domino effect - that if one column collapsed, it would bring down the other (26:33) 8) Inadequate structural strength - as with many condos - due to desire to fit more floors into the building under height restrictions, making it more susceptible to "punch-through" collapse 9) Inadequate redundancy, with the loss of one pillar enough to cause collapse 10) Inadequate pillar strength in section of building that collapsed, possibly due to use of substandard concrete among other factors 11) Possible overloading and stressing of pool deck and supporting pillars with things like heavy planters and trees 12) Once collapse was inevitable, failure of anyone to sound the alarm or evacuate building in the several minutes in which it would have been possible to do so 13) Officials failing to take reports seriously, and lack of enforcement of rules and regulations already in place (thanks, Panpsychism) 14) Core samples taken in critical area of pool deck, possibly further weakening structure (thanks, alexwestconsulting) 15) Building sinking and water table rising, adding to stress on structure (There are probably more)

[@superchuck3259]

It would seem that if some stop gap measures were taken, like additional pillars of steel, the weaknesses could have been shored up until repairs could begin. What a mess.

[@Suzanne1999]

How much blame (complacency) can you put on the residents? A lot of detailed reports and information were not shared with them. I don't think the residents would have been able to interpret the findings correctly, anyway. Would your parent? The Board should have made every resident aware in plain English what was happening to the building. And they failed completely.

[@kkraut]

Great summary! Thank you

[@simonbone]

@@Suzanne1999 Absolutely. And as I mentioned, that engineering report had a cheerful cover letter and the first item on the first page was the likely need to replace windows in the coming years - hardly the dire warning it needed to be. The complacency I referred to is the fact that people get used to seeing things like huge cracks getting repaired with epoxy, paint peeling off the ceiling, exposed rebar, and puddles of water everywhere. The human mind is good at rationalizing away danger signs, especially, as you point out, those that require explanation. I can only guess: C'mon, this thing is built to withstand hurricanes, and has done for 40 years. And you're telling me we now have to fork out 15 million dollars because the area by the pool is getting wet? Well, duh.

[@Suzanne1999]

@@simonbone Agree. There are so many variables in this equation, it's enough to give me headache. And now Miami's in a tailspin, and people are backing out of condo deals. And then I hear a Miami realtor say basically, "No problem, in a few weeks, people will be flocking back here to buy condos." It always comes down to money. That's all most people seem to care about anymore.

[@dwainwall198]

Jeff, your analysis thus far seems to be accurate, your peeling the onion one layer at a time.Keep up the great work.

[@aderilus]

Whoever complained about tourists staying up so late in Miami has clearly never been to Miami.

[@slyguythreeonetwonine3172]

Nobody *wants* to go to Miami. It's the next Detroit.

[@duckzncatz]

@@slyguythreeonetwonine3172 No, that would be STL.

[@sugarshannie623]

@@slyguythreeonetwonine3172 🤣🤣🤣the next Detroit?!?! Sure, bro.

[@rachmunshine9474]

Nor that there were literally tourists en masse just across the street. But yeah either way it’s a tourist area! And it was 1 am ish not 4.

[@SAHamel_]

I knew no one there but I can't stop watching, learning and understanding how this collapsed. I feel so sorry for all those people.

[@CorruptInfinityOfficial]

There will never be justice for those people, that’s the saddest part. No amount of money is gonna undo the negligence that has willingly taken place.

[@myownbiz5461]

Think we all feel this most strongly because of just how "improbable" we believed it was that such a thing could happen. We could comprehend such damage from an intentional attempt to destroy a building, like what happened to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City or the Trade Center on 9-11..but not due to just plain failure of a contemporary building, constructed under relatively current codes! Think what happened here has become very personal, very suddenly, because our comfort bubble has now been shattered in that regard. We now know that it may not be "just a fluke" and could well be a scenario in our town, our home, which is downright terrifying!

[@cdmcgillion]

Same here. When I see the video the tourist make. The balcony above the apartment had lights on. I can’t get this out of my head. There were people in there, maybe watching tv late at night and 7 minutes later, all is gone 😓😩🥺

[@Celticcross688]

@@CorruptInfinityOfficial Very true, we MUST learn from this.

[@robertbox5399]

We've seen Italian bridges and cable cars fail, thinking it couldn't happen here. The UK had Grenfell tower, now the US this. Negligence is everywhere. I find the investigations fascinating in a constructive way to learn how NOT to do things.

[@shel4252]

Out of all the ppl figuring this out on KZbin, your the easiest to understand and I like that you correct your mistakes, we are only human after all! I have watched you from the beginning. Thanks!

[@TSUNAMI-MAMI]

Watch Building Integrity. The man actually knows what he’s talking about and provides scientific evidence

[@AngelaJeanChat]

Yes I live five blocks from this building, you don’t even go out until midnight and everybody’s always on the streets. I can confirm that I can see this building from my rooftop.

[@jeffostroff]

Did you hear it collapse that night?

[@thecollapseofchamplaintowe7199]

@@jeffostroff are these the columns I can see here ?kzbin.info/www/bejne/qIqnmJV9gpmdfsk I’m not good with geography . I did notice watching live that when they ripped the deck up and some tiles to take some samples and slabs they looked soggy in some spots and then in other spots the concrete looked really crumbly dusty ? Should it look that way if there’s water proofing down ?

[@hellen70666666]

.......Ok, I thought the Lady on the TV News said they were IN the Pool, when they heard a Loud Boom Noise----But, either way their Pool Deck Chairs where Still close enough to the Pool, for them to Take the Pre-Collapse Video.....Sad....

[@shellyl.6501]

Exactly idk where those people we're from. that made that comment in S.Fl. we're I'm from people are out all hours swimming Walking jogging. Ect.ect. specially tourist.. This all is so sad , but like 9 x out of 10 it's always Human error or neglect if not that then hurricanes. In S.Fl. you have ANY building that close to the ocean you have to use all kinds of special materials and a ton of reinforcements !

[@HansBjorgman]

Is there only 1 video angle from the collapse?

[@nadyazawrocki]

To Jeff’s point: no one comes to Miami Beach, including South Beach, to go to sleep. In the 10+ years I have visited Miami Beach, I can’t think of one vacation where I didn’t hang in a restaurant, bar, club, or condo party until 3am or 4am. So YES, it’s completely plausible the guy walking a dog was doing it at 1:30am when he heard the 10 year old boy screaming for help in the collapse AS WELL AS the tourists in the opposing hotel pool at the same time. Welcome to MIA. If you haven’t been you should. RIP to all those lost in this tragedy.

[@robingar4973]

You are absolutely right NZ And you sound like a party animal. I wish i knew you

[@stephencrouse6032]

How does God both sparing and cutting off life factor in?

[@andreaberryman5354]

Key word tourist. They are usually there to screw off and have a blast at whatever hour they please. Some trolls are a special kind of non-intelligent!🤣👍

[@AkSonya1010]

@@robingar4973 I'm not a party animal nor a drinker. The two times I went to Miami for conferences we ended up until we hours in the am eating and talking & just having a great time with people we met up with. Miami is a beautiful city.

[@wpb1395]

@@stephencrouse6032 God is imaginary. This is irrelevant.

[@irina383]

As someone who lived in Miami Beach for 8 years- there’s always tourists out and about. Even at 5 am people walking back to hotels from clubs.

[@lindap.p.1337]

That would not be unusual for me.

[@pathemeleski]

Was nobody at the pool of this bldg?

[@TheLifeOfKimo]

Someone who lived 3hrs away from Miami until I went to college in Tampa. I would frequent south beach with family or friends and we were out until the sun came up.

[@wizloon9052]

88th and Collins isn't really a tourist area. (I've lived there too). But, surely there were people out-and-about at that time of the morning.

[@EstorilEm]

This would jive with the lady who reported that “the deck collapsed” before the actual building came down. At the time many people thought that phone call made no sense.

[@Casmige]

On the phone with her husband from the 4th floor....if I remember correctly.

[@stefjames95]

Cassondra Stratton was her name I believe

[@lizardking3558]

@@stefjames95 that is correct. She told her husband that there was a sinkhole on the pool deck or something like that. Then the phone went dead.

[@myownbiz5461]

Bless her..her last words, to provide testimony as to what was going on, having seen the pool deck go down seconds before her part of the building went. Wish she'd just been able to grab her cats Oliver and Cyrus and run like crazy for the nearest exit, instead..hopefully able to talk about this in person. Surely none of the residents could have imagined what was to come, especially in the middle of the night, after being awakened from a sound sleep. Bless them all.

[@cameronc8847]

Yeah the "sinkhole"

[@stitches281]

Wow, John you took the words right outta my mouth. "Never thought I'd find a structural engineering video so gripping." I find myself searching for more of your videos.

[@AkSonya1010]

He has said he's not a structural engineer, I haven't heard him say what kind of engineer he is but I do agree, he is asking a lot of great question, thinking a lot, talking through it all, teaching us a ton, and making this a extremely fascinating for such a heavy subject. I also really appreciate that he is not afraid to correct himself. I just have a design degree and love to flip houses but I am learning so much.

[@mavisschoffelman921]

@@AkSonya1010 >ij

[@bcandyolsen8077]

It's interesting that this building was constructed within a few years of other spectacular engineering failures such as rhe Hyatt Regency walkway collapse, the Kemper Arena roof collapse and the Hartford Civic Center roof collapse.

[@NextWorldVR]

When I saw those thin wimpy BEAMS had punched cleanly through the pool deck m, I immediately thought of the Walkway collapse! We should have learned to recognize such pitential by now.. :(

[@charlestoast4051]

@@NextWorldVR The walkway collapse was a special case, however, where engineers missed the fact that the modified hanger arrangement increased the shear on the connections. To my mind, Champlain Towers was down to shoddy construction, with some design errors, and inexplicable complacency from the condo association and Miami building control.

[@ColeForAssembly]

That's just when engineers started practicing in the field using " new math".

[@Robert08010]

@@charlestoast4051 Well, its easy to say they were complacent, but until a building actually collapses, who would have believed this could possibly happen?

[@arielsuarez3142]

You’re doing the best content on this collapse

[@jeffostroff]

Thanks Ariel

[@laurelwood791]

🎯💯

[@ZECH1189]

Also check out Building Integrity. He's doing good work too.

[@geekfreak618]

@@ZECH1189 There are a few good channels out there. But at the end of the day it is all entertainment looking from afar and speculating. You can see the ego developing as these guys get more views.

[@dyscea]

He the only one I watch about the collapse.

[@jamielancaster01]

Sara Nir (unit 111) has already said that the pool deck collapsed first. Here’s some of exactly what she said: “So I came home at like 11 o’clock and there were like noises, I always hear construction noises, knocking sounds, I shouldn’t be worried, nothing’s gonna happen,” Chani said. “So I start to hear knocking sounds on the walls. I was sure that people were hanging pictures, and then it was more intense, and then about 1:10, the wall above me collapsed,” said Sara, describing the moment when her internal alarm bells started ringing. “And I said run, it’s an earthquake, run, run, run, fast!” Her daughter Chani had just gotten out of the shower and was in her bathrobe, but there was no time to get dressed. “We heard like another boom, while we’re still in the lobby then we ran outside and we see the whole pool area’s just gone,” Chani said. “And I said no time, we need to run because this ground is not safe anymore, we just exit the building, we cross Collins and suddenly a big boom, was a big cloud, I didn’t see anything, I couldn’t breathe, I said that’s it, this is the end of the world,” Sara said. “So we’re all just running across the street and the second we got across Collins, we hear like a huge boom and we just see white dust particles following us, there were like three parts of the collapse, I think that was like the last collapse and I was like, whoa,”.

[@jeffostroff]

yes we saw her story 3 weeks ago

[@williamsalvaggio4621]

Wow. Thank God you made it out

[@simonbone]

Shame she didn't pull the fire alarm on the way out.

[@CelineNoyce]

@@simonbone Wouldn't have made a difference. People don't get up that fast.

[@cynvision]

okay. Now I know it's "knocking" when she said "construction noises." Which I guess was hammering sounds for two hours.

[@Tugela60]

Living in a condo, I can say for sure that when necessary repairs come up there will allways be a significant number of owners who will fight tooth and nail to not pay for it. It is very frustrating, especially when that sort of thing results in events like this. People can be very short sighted.

[@joshuakuehn]

But what about saving money? /S

[@Tugela60]

@@joshuakuehn You lose money when stuff is allowed to degrade. It ends up costing more because superficial damage becomes structural damage if not repaired in a timely fashion, and then the cost goes up exponentially. Your $10k repair turns into a million dollar repair if you just let it sit there and rot.

[@nicholasreale6981]

Great video and your explanations are fantastic. You broke it down so that people with no construction background can understand what is going on. Keep up the good work. It was really helpful to have someone explain such an awful tragedy.

[@sharonschmeederjohnson4648]

People actually thought no one would be out at 1:30 in the morning? Traditionally in America bars are open till 2:00. It's a resort town. Not everyone has hot milk and goes to bed at 10:00.

[@DerScheisse]

Agreed. I normally pick up another 8ball around then.

[@jeffostroff]

Party animal

[@jeffostroff]

@@herb2968 good times!

[@eveninglakegems9410]

Lol. I generally don't even go to bed until at least 3am normally. If I was on vacation I would probably be up even later to enjoy things without the crowds of people. I'm a night owl, but I'm sure I'm not the only one. I thought that was odd too. Why do people think everyone goes to bed so early? Even people in the collapsed building were still awake. One girl even said she was in the shower, soooooo. Lol

[@RuthTaty_]

I was in Miami the week before the collapse and I can tell you that at 5am there were still people out and about. This City does not sleep

[@aday1637]

Quite frankly, having been in the structural concrete construction trades, the building was a no-go long before it collapsed. "Normalcy-bias" took hold of most of those who had the responsibility to oversee maintenance and repair. It's fairly normal, when one looks at a massive concrete building to assume it's just too rugged to ever collapse. Engineering studies were ignored for more than 2 years which supports the notion that those in charge were not adequately alarmed. Instead they procrastinated and put needed repairs on the 'slow-burner' with devastating results. Gaps in logic, which were exacerbated by the politics of the condo association, coupled with the shocking sum of money needed for repairs, put the lives of those who perished in serious jeopardy with catastrophic consequences. Even seasoned engineers tend to avoid sounding 'alarm bells' in situations such as this. Perhaps the engineering firm contracted to do the assessment should have made stronger recommendations regarding the safety of the building. Public officials should be involved, with their own personnel when multi-story buildings are assessed for safety. This incident should (and I'm sure it will) be a clarion bell for all concerned well into the future.

[@v.gorski3050]

Very well said! The dis-organization of the building’s condo officers ( one woman had recently quit due to fighting) contributed to this disaster too. Each year they delayed action, the costs of repairs increased. Same delays repeated with each new condo board. The people in charge lacked to guts to take action. Pitiful!!

[@Kimberly_Sparkles]

I think, though, that the city came through after the 2018 engineering report to tell people it wasn't as bad as it sounded.

[@laurelwood791]

You are so "on it." THIS comment should be highlighted for certain. WELL WRITTEN.

[@opheliadeclines]

I won't be slacking off on my HOA duties now I see how complacency works.

[@WoodysAR]

I rarely read the loooong comments, but spot on!

[@burnkarlburn]

RE: the bending beam vs lens artifacts (28:00) : If you take a straight edge ruler and place it CPU monitor on the sprinkler pipes, they are straight. This helps confirm that there arnt lens artifacts. When the ruler is put on the beam, it shows that middle is sagging. yikes

[@grnbrg]

To add to that.... Lens artifacts generally worsen as you get closer to the edges of the frame. And the sprinkler pipes, being much closer to the top of the frame, would therefore be more distorted, if it was an optical issue. If the beam wasn't cast with that curve, (which may be a possibility) then something was seriously wrong with it.

[@deedewald1707]

Well put & true !

[@jctgf]

Good job. The build was screaming "help me" for years. Nobody listened.

[@dinaboop]

Whoever built that pool should have built the entire building, that pool is SOLID! Not one brick outta place.

[@jeffostroff]

That pool was built Ford Tough!

[@Funsho97]

Yeah and the pool was still full of water long after the building collapsed!!!

[@mikeorpattyrhoades4761]

@@jeffostroff LOL not to tuff!! LOL

[@sarablackwolfdancer9359]

One thought on this - a pool is required to be extremely waterproof everywhere, so they put that extra effort into waterproofing. They just forgot that it's a wet environment and the whole building should have been waterproofed and drained far better - especially considering hurricanes etc. Astoundingly poor thought about waterproofing for this entire project - except the pool. Was whoever engineered this building even from Florida?

[@mowtivatedmechanic1172]

@@jeffostroff double mat steel or 6” on 6” will do that. Great videos man.

[@jonathanfalkowsky672]

The building was a collapse waiting to happen. I just wish they had gotten everyone evacuated beforehand. RIP to all those who we lost.

[@eternalfizzer]

28:30 Just draw some straight lines along each of the pipes and you can see they're straight ... then do the same with the beam and you can see the lower edge sags at least an inch in the middle. 29:00 Same thing - it's even more obvious where it's closer to the camera. Pipes near and far are straight. There is no lens distortion.

[@merrywalsh2809]

Good catch

[@8D2BFREE]

yea, this is what i was thinking to.

[@HarBosSar]

Obviously an engineering issue...

[@Jewels1573]

How I happened on the first 2 videos, I don't know, but your insightful, well-explained, investigation is brilliant. I really appreciate that in this 3rd video you immediately bring out a mistake you made and correct it. Thank you for making this make sense. What gets me is how this parking deck was leaking water (obviously from above with stalactites) for so long!

[@firewalker1372]

The fact that people thought tourists could not have been out after 1 am in Miami is a bit hilarious, come on folks.

[@jwesley235]

"As a resident of Frogwort, North Dakota, I cannot understand what you mean..."

[@melissag3919]

IKR?!! LOL, if I'm in Miami I'm partying all night long and catching sleep whenever.

[@ProctorsGamble]

Gotta get your money’s worth

[@jpdemer5]

When you're an internet troll living in your mom's basement, there's a lot you don't know.

[@firewalker1372]

@@jpdemer5 have to agree with you on that….. I tell ya, being in the fire service I think I’d enjoy sitting down with this fella and talk building construction.

[@melvtudor]

These videos you’re making are extremely educational. If it wasn’t for this we would have no clue. Thanks for outlining.

[@FauxToez]

They really aren't and anytime he makes big breakthroughs, they tend to coincidentally come within hours or a day of another channels better videos lol. He missed so much in that walkthrough video last time and the whole mistaking which row of columns he was talking about kind of says a lot that you're ignoring.

[@melvtudor]

@@FauxToez well to be honest he’s the only one I see on KZbin bringing insight and I find his videos educational.

[@YesYesYoureRight]

Dear Melissa, Faux Toez (below) ought to have published (show proof) his (her) own correcting video of what he (she) found to be faulty on the above mentioned video. Seeing as he (she) did not, there is no proof that he (she) also did not see from what was shown in the above mentioned video, any of the "faults", the mistakes made by Jeff; so, he (she) is only "analyitic a posteriori" commenting on Jeff's video. Anyone can do that. Have A Nice Day. (R.I.P.)

[@Veronica.John10-10]

Building Integrity is good as well.

[@Nikkiet100]

Thank you for doing this work and posting these videos. Pay no attention to the naysayers who are not engineers nor seem to have ever stayed out late to party, not even in a vacation party hot spot. I do want to know what happened and you’re making very valid points. Please keep up the great work and sharing with us.

[@nk361]

You know what I just realized? I thought at first that the rebar in the picture at 4:14 had come out of the concrete because the concrete was so full of water that it couldn't hold. But... now that I looked at it closer it reminded me of when I did concrete work years ago. We were always told to pull rebar and wire mesh up into the middle of the concrete. That looks like the rebar was all resting at the bottom of the concrete. That severely reduces the strength of the concrete, makes it more likely to crack, and in some cases can make it as if there was no rebar in the concrete at all. I think that is why that rebar came out so cleanly and easily, it only had to break off some thin, small pieces to come free. Look at how thin the trenches are from the rebar coming out in that picture.

[@lonnymo]

Yep. I am a special inspector with over 25 years experience. I have seen what you are talking about many times. The rebar is not bonded well to the concrete. The sad thing is I have seen old Japanese defensive structures rusting in the Pacific where the rebar was doing the same thing as we see on this tower. Really sad. Good comment.

[@nk361]

@@lonnymo Personally, the more I learn about these buildings, bridges, etc. the more I see that we are headed towards many more collapses and tragedies. Many bridges that are supposed to be repaired or inspected (by recommendation of the engineers) are put on a priority list, which many are never gotten to because "we don't have the money". So even if the engineers say something needs done every 10, 20 ,30 ,40 years or that the lifespan of it is coming up, it may get no attention at all. Many of these old buildings have something similar going on, along with general incompetence like the botched, cheap, dumb "repairs" done on this building in many places. I think it'll be similar to South Korea's multiple engineering failures after a set amount of time from an architectural boom in an area. Glad you replied and I have a lenient discord group for sharing knowledge in case you may want to join. I appreciate your expertise and passion enough to learn outside of work.

[@JackDennisWatt]

I see a bow on the beam. I spent 14 years at sea in the Navy and was the safety officer on many ships. Whenever an accident occurred It was ALWAYS multiple smaller events coming together causing the big problem. I see how you are building a multi faceted scenario and seems to me plausible.

[@cassiemontgomery45]

Yes, you're absolutely correct. I've seen on a much smaller scale at home and at work. Many people don't see the virtue of "an ounce of prevention instead a pound for a cure. Or something like that!

[@berenscott8999]

Its possibly the lense.

[@ordinaryhand]

@@berenscott8999 it would be easy enough to screen capture and measure the distances between various sets of horizontal lines in that image. to the naked eye it looks bowed and comparing its shape to other beams and horizontal lines around it seems to confirm that.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

That's mostly because it's easier to avoid single points of failure. When multiple weaknesses combine, it gets increasingly tricky to predict. Especially back when computers were limited.

[@berenscott8999]

@@ordinaryhand Of course it looks bowed, nobody is disputing that. However, you miss a valid point, the camera is a wide lens. You know how real estates take pictures inside a house, and somehow get all of the space into the photo? They use a wide lens. Anyways, at the outer edge of the lens, everything appears to be curved like this. You cannot get straight lines with such a lens. Perhaps the beam is bowed? But, I'm just saying that this video footage is not evidence of that. And you can confirm this by trying to draw straight lines on everything else filmed that day. Go back to the footage recorded inside the building. Even a camera phone has this issue. No lens is perfect.

[@xovux]

A sad combination of bad design, 40 years of water penetration, bad repairs and probably home owners unwillingess to fork out the thousands to repair it right, in a timely manner. A disaster coctail.

[@continentalgin]

Imagine being a homeowner and they're saying you have to come up with $80,000 to $100,000 per unit for repairs. You can't sell without disclosing that, so if you don't have that extra money and maybe you can't afford a lawyer to sue over it, you're stuck.

[@tomfriedmann7164]

Just throwing out a couple of questions. Do you think condo HOAs have the knowledge and expertise to manage issues like this? Should there be more city/state control over requiring more frequent inspections, and requiring repairs or no occupancy permits?

[@Suzanne1999]

@@continentalgin That's something I thought about too. Idk, now I think those condos along the ocean are a money pit.

[@Kimberly_Sparkles]

@@continentalgin Welp, they saved their money and got an expensive public grave. I wonder which they'd prefer now if they could answer?

[@saltfoil6512]

@@continentalgin exactly and that’s why the repairs weren’t done, people felt stuck, because they weren’t proactive in getting the repairs done, and they probably balked at the price of the repairs so they fought the board that wanted to get it done. Now the heirs are suing the board.

[@georgiautube]

Great video. Regarding the T-beam that looked bowed detailed at the end of the video, someone should get a video of the same spot at the sister building and see if the same beam style is there too. To me it looks like that beam could be a replacement repair. I can see what looks like a parch or repair line where the beam seems to attach.

[@mmhthree]

Possibly adding a corrective column underneath the beam would help secure it in the still standing tower... but if it was me, I'd get the heck out of the sister building still standing.

[@coldsharkride]

It also occurred to me that the horizontal beam is not painted white like the column or the ceiling. Maybe it was an addition and attempted repair to a compromised structure? Someone should subpoena all contractor documentation for what was done in that garage. FANTASTIC WORK, JEFFOSTROFF!

[@klnnurv]

@@coldsharkride it looks like the beam was originally painted white, but the paint was lost due to moisture or efflorescence.

[@Tamara-wt8xm]

Thank you for all the time youve taken to help us understand structural engineering. I live in a 50 year old condo, 24 stories, indoor pool etc and have learned so much. Ive checked underground garage and pool deck! Here in Toronto, inspections are done every 5years. We've had our balconies redone recently, the parking lot was jackhammered thru to underground parking for repairs too. We pay monthly maintenance fees which a percentage goes into an account for all repairs. We get yearly statements with balance etc. Fees are expensive but after seeing Surfside, I have no issues paying monthly fees. It also covers our utilities, pays security guards, gardeners, snow removal etc

[@jeffostroff]

Yes this is good that more poeple will be aware of the building conditions now.

[@sky173]

What makes anyone think there wouldn't be any people on the street at 1am?? I would easily be one of those people just hanging out

[@Caveat952]

Congratulations!! I guess you're a big boy now, huh?

[@sarahcarpenter7270]

Me too lol

[@pjhey947]

I’m almost always up at 1:30 am (at least 5 nights a week). I would have been inside but awake most nights.

[@laurelwood791]

🎯

[@alrightyru]

It's beach front in Florida .. You'd think people would be strolling ..

[@brandonjoy8639]

I'll give it too ya! You're basically two day's ahead of other KZbin's on reporting and you're the only one giving actual good evidence.

[@jeffostroff]

thanks Brandon

[@germansnowman]

Check out Building Integrity, they did a similar analysis earlier today. Edit: I do appreciate this channel’s original research, no question. Sorry for triggering such a storm of comments! Also, “today” refers to my timezone; there are people around the world interested in this topic.

[@Dejin1]

@@germansnowman Building integrity and Jeff are top 2 for sure they seem to have it down too bad they are not working together heheheh

[@sooweeq123]

Try Builders Integrity. They are legit commercial builders.

[@kellyname5733]

Jeffostroff got the garage video from the channel Building Integrity. Building Integrity got it directly from the lady who took the video. She gave Building Integrity permission to use it. I do like parts in the 2nd part of the vid. Those concrete planter box's weigh a crap load, then you put in plants, then...you water the plants. Now they weigh a ton, right? Lots of buildings have heavy items elevated..like a roof top pool. I never thought it was wise to have excessive weight placed higher up. I like this guys voice and the background music. Thanks jeffostroff.

[@claire6838]

Fantastic video, again. Thank you for your detailed and clear explanations and for compiling, analyzing and sharing all the information & your thoughts on this tragedy. Very, very appreciated and a brilliant example of the power of crowdsourcing + field-expertise. Well done, Jeff!

[@renzdealexandria1189]

If building is beautiful, “who is the architect?” If building collapsed, “ who is the engineer?”

[@smallstudiodesign]

Geez, I live in a three storey wood frame walk-up with concrete base, u/g parking …and our support columns are 5x beefier with tapered tops flowing into wide drop beams. Hmmmm … I can’t understand how this skinny “popsicle sticks” held up this multi story Miami condo tower for as long as they did.

[@jeffostroff]

Yes if they had the flared caps they might have survived all that punching shear

[@tiemoschafmeister8390]

agree, with four wires of rebar each direction...

[@smallstudiodesign]

@@jeffostroff I’m curious about the effects of saltwater infiltration and what neighbouring buildings will do to retrofit. These structures do seem excessively close to the seaside … most places I’m familiar with (in other jurisdictions) have typically much further ocean setbacks with higher landfill foundations and pilings (plus waterproof diapering to separate tidal forces - similar to that with encases swimming pools).

[@laurelwood791]

🎯

[@zane8789]

Tbh I thought the same thing. And then I heard that nasa has predicted tides to become 4 times more dangerous going into the 2030s due to the moon's 'wobble effect'... Anyone who lives near the coast or a coastal flood zone should cash out asap and move inland. *EDIT: The moon's wobble effect is a natural occurrence and has been documented and studied all the way back since the 1730's. However, I am new to this topic and with rising sea level I could see how catastrophic the next 20 years are going to be.

[@J63837]

as an architect, this whole issue could've been avoided. city wants everything too close together and developers want more money so they accommodate and this is the result. good video explanation. I can tell water damage played a huge roll in this.

[@jeffostroff]

One of the things that I might explore for another video would be what if they had made the pool deck isolated from the rest of the building buy a seam or shear wall that would allow it to collapse without tearing down anything else beyond just what collapsed.

[@kencarp57]

@jeffostroff I made essentially that same comment on another KZbinr’s video the other day. Why would a building be designed like this? I am not an engineer but it seems like a really bad idea to tie a pool deck into a building like that. I would think that the pool deck would have been a totally separate structure from the building - so a failure of the pool deck would not compromise the building’s integrity. It seems to me that this building was just badly designed - and likely badly constructed as well. Somewhere I saw that one of those pool deck columns only seemed to have 4 rebars coming out of the top. I would have expected to see rebar snaking out of them everywhere. It looks like the builders really skimped on the rebar.

[@jimgraham6722]

@@jeffostroff Yes, that is a big issue, structures like these should be designed fail safe, so even if one or two load bearing members fail, even if you have to write off the building, at least it doesn't immediately collapse, giving folks a chance to escape. It seems to me structurally unecessary to tie the deck to the building, I suspect this was done to reduce the number of supporting columns and save costs.

[@colinspenncer4097]

@@kencarp57 The pool deck was tied into the building for one simple reason: to save money. Having the pool deck independent from the rest of the building would have required an indpendent set of columns all along the edge of the deck where it meets the building. That means more formwork, more reinforcement, more concrete, flashing and an expansion joint on the entire perimeter where the deck meets the building. Also none of the columns have drop panels at the underside of the slab, which is the typical engineering solution to punch shear failure, again to save money. So one can see that it's a big expense. There may have been other issues not yet discovered, like the builder (who I would bet was the developer himself who subcontracted the entire job out and had some people from his business coordinate the construction) not installing the number of rebars that the drawings called for, no waterproofing on the deck, no flashing where the pavers meet the building. Having said all this, the building stood for 40 years, yet no one from the Condo Board of Directors either looked around, or hired an engineer to do a report. So having the building have stood for such a long time would go a long way to relieving the developer/builder of any responsibility for faulty construction. Seems to me the unit owners over the years bear some responsibility also for consistently voting down any proposed repairs until it was much too late.

[@larrybe2900]

@@colinspenncer4097 There is a sizable number of owners who were mere landlords and some others who may have been trusts perhaps landlords that had no incentive to be proactive on maintenance.

[@lisad6643]

Jeff you are doing an absolute phenomenal job! I had figured out that you were a little off when you did that video of the walkthrough in the garage but I knew you'd catch it... and I just watched for another video and sure enough you corrected it... I keep watching your videos because you are the most detailed you let us see every little detail and you explain everything understanding, that not all of us are architects or experts on the subject... I live in Saskatoon Saskatchewan Canada and though I'm so far away I have been watching this everyday with a very close eye because it's heartbreaking and I appreciate the time and dedication you have put into this... you don't know it but you are helping the loved ones to to know what exactly happened... keep up the great work Jeff!

[@tonymeehan7859]

I work in engineering, concrete and rebar to be exact, and yea, this is a total mess under there. How it didnt come down before this is amazing

[@garycosby8979]

In California earthquakes, some of the most damage was done too buildings with parking garages under the buildings. In the Northridge and SF earthquakes buildings were more heavily damaged (even pancaked - like this structure) due to their "soft" areas with "skinny" columns and garages under the buildings. Damage looked similar.

[@lindaglover7194]

Cutting cost where too much sand is used could eventually cause the concrete to just crumble. Water standing on the building and seeping through the concrete shud have been the big red flag that should have let the inspector to know this building was doomed. The water in the lowest part tells you the foundation is about to collapse. The inspector and the builders were at fault. I also think no repairs could have prevented this disaster. The building needed to be taken down and start over. The pool was built by a real pro if it did not leak water. I thinking most everything this builder built needs to come down to avoid more lose of life. If you live where water seems to leak from no where or damage is visible ...get out fast. I sure freezing and thawing causes damage too. Not worth the loss 💯💩☠️👹😷

[@LuvBorderCollies]

I noticed the "skinny" columns too. Weird but I watched an in-depth video on the Seoul, South Korea multi-story mall collapse about 2 days before this condo collapse. There is a lot about the Florida and the Korea collapse that are so similar its a bit unsettling. The Korea disaster is an excellent study in how not to do a lot of things, like ignore the engineers and the plans, and ignoring problems usually have a bad ending.

[@shellymarlenemartin2779]

There’s a new, tall building being constructed right next to where I live in CA. I can see the constant construction going on all day, each week day. They put in a parking garage first and then those skinny columns for what’s supposedly going to be a tall condominium building. I wonder why the columns are so skinny when this building is going to be so heavy and have many floors. I’m guessing these people really know what they’re doing but it does seem very odd to me to see such slim looking pillars to hold up a massive building.

[@shellymarlenemartin2779]

@@LuvBorderCollies I also watched that Korea mall video. Lots of corruption involved in taking many dangerous shortcuts that severely compromised the integrity of the structure, leading to its collapse. Scary!

[@LuvBorderCollies]

@@shellymarlenemartin2779 CA automatically makes me think earthquakes. I don't like tall buildings like Sears Tower in Chicago anyway much less if the ground might shake. It would seem if the ground went side to side it could kick out the lower pillars.

[@SuperAfranks]

I'm inclined to agree. Even a simple carpenter like myself knows how to build a header. Looks like a combination of an incorrect beam, no waterproofing, the weight of the planter, and a 3 foot cutout in the pool deck above an already weak slab. Good work. Unfortunate no one saw it beforehand. There was just too much weight to support.

[@RivalryofWarlords]

Unfortunate, but putting together all of these seemingly minor bits of information after the fact is totally different than both noticing this beforehand and getting the right people to believe it is a reasonable expense to deal with it. No one part of this seems enough to cause the collapse, but the sheer number of straws on the camel's back could have added up.

[@jerryanderson3852]

Excellent structural/technical causative analysis Jeff! I'm an Air Force-trained Aircraft Accident Investigator who combed through a lot of 911 video analyses and have been part of numerous aircraft accident investigation boards during my flying career and the analytical work, though differing in many respects, also involves some general similarities in investigative techniques and procedures analyzing evidence of aircraft mechanical structural stresses and failures due to metal fatigue, design flaws, etc., and analysis of wreckage at crash scenes which enables accurate conclusions of probable causative "chains of events" that always exist and usually can be pieced together in all "preventable" aircraft accidents. All my experience, training and study over all these years leads me to conclude you're absolutely "spot-on" in your structural failure analysis of the collapse. Job well-done sir! You not only accurately and exhaustively gathered all pertinent evidence on the collapse but put together a series of exquisitely comprehensive videos that allow the layman to follow your deductive analysis of the evidence and see the same "chain" form, over time, for himself. This tragedy was years in-the-making and the "chain of events" of gradual structural degradation from water corrosion of the rebar that resulted in this tragic building collapse MIGHT have been prevented from being forged if the proper set of "trained eyes" of a building inspector had been drawn to what was occurring and the potential long-term results that could and ultimately DID occur as a result. One is left to wonder what periodic residential building damage inspection/assessment procedures are provided in the Miami building and inspection codes, and whether they are adequate, to have caused human detection of the structural deterioration and intervention that would have corrected the situation and thus have prevented this horrible accident.

[@Skarfar90]

26:40 You can also see a clear line in the roof of the garage, right in the middle of where the tiles above cuts off. So it is clear that something was terribly wrong with the waterproofing beneath the tiles. One side of the line where the paint on the roof is fine, and the other side where the paint is blatantly flaking off. Also, the pipe that broke when the collapse started had to be the diagonal one going under the smaller red pipes

[@gatdemun]

I live in Miami Beach and I know for a fact there’s a lot of cheap condo associations. They don’t like paying what’s really worth. This was 100% negligence

[@Casmige]

Somehow it’s always the lowest cheapest bid which just blows me away that we even talk that way..... A great quote on getting it on the cheap: It is unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better. - John Ruskin

[@Suzanne1999]

Agree 💯

[@nobodyknows3180]

I wonder how many condo assocation members around town are packing their bags and leaving town? In 2019, 7 of the 9 members of the condo association for THIS building resigned after failing to reach a consensus on the repairs indicated by the 2018 Engineering Report.

[@daffodildeb]

I was on the board of a condo association a few decades ago. Much smaller setup, about 25 units spread over 7 buildings. It was like herding cats! Most people didn’t live there full time, just as in this building, so when there were persistent ceiling leaks, many owners didn’t want to put money towards a professional engineer to figure out the root case. (Turned out to be an entirely different problem unrelated to the roofs, and the PE figured it out.). You can’t blame the board members for not getting 150 unit owners, many absentee, to want to pay $100,000 per condo to fix an incredibly complex problem! They did the best job they could, and most resigned in frustration. Wonder how many other condo owners will now pay attention to their buildings when maintenance and repairs are recommended?

[@dollluv]

The fact that they have an exact copy of the building at the north, should really assist with diagnosing the cause. Your summary was excellent!

[@jeffostroff]

Sometimes things can look fine right up until they crack but also that beam appears to have been painted many times and I doubt that they used any primer either because the pink just keeps on peeling off of that beam

[@jenniparker1]

It's not an exact copy. The North building is smaller. If you look at the buildings on a satellite view, the South Tower had 4 "V's" on the North wall, the North Tower has 3. You can verify this by going on Google Street View and looking at the North sides of the buildings. The South Tower has a whole other section of windows and a balcony added to it.

[@ncc1701p]

My question is the sister building run by the same hoa? If not that's where things will differ. Different people wanting and not wanting to pay maintenance fees, etc. But time will tell.

[@jennatavares4695]

@@ncc1701p oh id CERTAINLY imagine theyd be owned by one HOA. I find it very unlikely an HOA would allow a competing HOA to own a building with the same name and look

[@jokerace8227]

@@ncc1701p It is a valid factor to explore. North Tower may actually be better maintained, or even just better quality concrete pours are giving it more resistance to the problems that had been plaguing the South tower.

[@brianldelaney58]

I am a regular joe who has no clue about this type or any other type of engineering. I am so intrigued and hooked on listening to your theories. Thank you for your insight and ability to explain in layman's terms.

[@Gaudi0r]

I'm hoping I never have to sell my house and look for a condo, BUT if I ever do, I'm going to be referencing these videos to look for signs of water damage or other issues before I buy. Hell, every time I walk through a parking garage I'll be analyzing all the things. I wonder if, in the lengthy court proceedings to come, the building owners are going to hire crooked lawyers to cover up all these issues. These videos are so important, Jeff. Thank you for your diligence and incredible attention to detail!

[@StagArmslower]

If it was lens distortion the pipe parallel to the beam would be curved too but is not

[@amcjap]

Would be interesting to see those same columns in the North tower.

[@jeffostroff]

Yup, I had to allow for both possibilities

[@halbouma6720]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. You'd see similar bending in the pipes which doesn't appear to be the case.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

@@jeffostroff It's the lenses. Notice how the columns in the left and right of the beam aren't straight. If you do a correction of the image to make the columns parallel, you should get a more accurate sense about the beam's curvature.

[@dezibeldani]

And/Or additional the bright light of the lamps left and right could 'bleed into'(?) the beam and the pipe. So they seem to be further away from each other (and the pipe itself looks narrower?). (Please excuse my swiss english).

[@edwardharrison9714]

I've done high-rise restoration on the Gulf Coast Four over 30 years, and at least 75 per-cent of these buildings are directly on the coast with saltwater intrusion twenty-four hours a day not including hurricanes and tropical storms pushing water into the substrate, slabs, balcony slabs and specially slab edges, Shear walls and columns, sometimes the corrosion runs deep and causes major cracks that can't be seen from the surface, and when these associations get the estimates it is very very expensive ,unit owner owners can only fix what they can afford, sometimes these unit owners are assessed at $50,000 more just for some of the repairs. so basically it comes down to failure in the waterproofing which brings about corrosion which then brings about Spaulding which then brings about deep cracks and concrete losing its PSI with rebar failure and expansion due to rust breaking concrete off the building

[@kellyanneree3252]

Well said!!! A failure to keep up with the waterproofing maintenance! Seems like I heard that the pool deck waterproofing membrane had never been replaced but should have?? Note to self.....never buy a condo!

[@coconutshells7018]

Right! Add to the fact that this one wasn't built properly to begin with 🙄 it was only a matter of time. Lucky it made it 40 years.

[@coconutshells7018]

And OMG I'm never staying in a high-rise built on Sand ever again.

[@tcsmith8523]

I once lived in a town that was built on salt flats. My house was built on a slab and after about 10 years, the slab foundation cracked about a foot in from the longest wall edge. A local engineering firm had seen this issue in other homes in the neighborhood and they determined that the salt had leached up into the concrete and caused premature corrosion of the rebar. Their fix was to dig a four foot trench next to the slab edge and then drill and insert epoxy coated rebar horizontally into the slab and pour concrete into the trench.

[@Garth2011]

Maybe with residential high rise condos the building codes need to be more durable and require extra tuff measures so that the initial build is good enough for 100 years without any major maintenance. I see a problem with a developer putting together their plans to make their profit once all of the units are sold and then the HOA takes over. Problem with that is, only the building code minimums typically get used vs. more than or better than code. As I see it, up goes the building, they sell them all and now the maintenance is on the owners. That has to change because residents don't know anything about high rise buildings and what they need plus, high rise condo buildings would be expensive to maintain if they were built with minimum code vs. long lasting and durable built. That might be an idea to consider...at least it gives them more time to gather up the tens of millions to keep it in shape. And yes they might be a bit more expensive and with any hope, the developer profits a little less.

[@samuelbrown1413]

Since I've started watching the videos, you've brought to light a Bunch of issues with this building that Should have been fixed. It's also got me hooked on What comes next in your videos. Just absolutely incredible to what you find in these videos.

[@mariososa6854]

The Orange Cone marks the spot.

[@maryschubert6116]

The cone looks to me to try prevent vehicles from backing into the beam. Maybe the beam had been struck before by a vehicle.

[@Torturephile]

@@maryschubert6116, just imagine if someone struck a car hard into a beam. I wonder if that would be enough to bring it down.

[@jonbaker3728]

One thing I've noticed in the large, pre-collapse photos, the roof of the collapsed building was black and dirty and unkempt. The sister building a block(s) away has a much cleaner/ well cared for roof. It's just one more straw saying the HOA was incompetent at maintaining that building.

[@Dutchess80]

Compared to the other two towers THIS one was filthy and neglected...

[@JWRogersPS]

They were in the process of re-roofing. The first step is removing all the gravel ballast to expose the tar and roofing paper underneath. They had done that, and that's why the roofs look different. If you look at the Google Maps satellite view, you'll see that the roof is much lighter in color.

[@Garth2011]

Likely but I recall the roof was under construction so it may be been dirty looking temporarily

[@ThinklikeTesla]

Jeff, the part of the building that stood for the extra 9 seconds before falling was wider than a single parking space, as shown in your diagram at 0:57. Cross-ref with where the back stairway is.

[@jaybartram640]

As a practicing structural engineer Jeff has much better youtube than many so called experts. I saw on another video the MC drawings of some of the repairs needed, one scary one showed 2 to 3 ties at the top of the column had corroded away as well as major vertical steel loss and damaged concrete approaching 25% of the area. MC was clearly very concerned with the area where the barricade was in the test pit. Loss of ties would allow a 45 degree crack to form that could easily topple the column over and the heavy planter to fall. The beam you were pointing out at col 28 would torque the building column with enough of an arm to snap the adjacent column under the building. Had there not been a beam it would have done a punching shear like where the garage dropped but that part of the building stayed up. Another item, I seem to recall seeing drop panels on the structurals, but I am not seeing those in the photos.

[@Jonathan-mt9up]

The best assessment I've seen so far..kudos to you, my good man. With the weight of the planter on top of that column, compounded by years of moisture, the bent beam and the concrete core sample further weakening the integrity of that spot, all points lead to catastrophic collapse of that column, and an ensuing domino punching sheer effect of the rest of the pool deck, then the rest of the building seven minutes later.

[@anthonyrobison4423]

Wow!! Good eye Jeff I hope you are showing this to the investigating officials. Keep up the hard work thank you so much keeping us up to date.

[@spurtikus1]

I have a hunch that they used thinner support columns to make room for more parking spaces. They seem way too thin compared to the scale of the buildings. Like toothpicks holding up a brick.

[@AskMiko]

I saw pics that support this… saw wide beams then in other photos after the collapse (near pool), the beams are thinner…

[@tkx7]

I think they used the thinner columns for the pool deck knowing it didn't need nearly as much support as the rest of the 12 story building, but then forgot/had an oversight on using the thicker columns to support the 12 story building. The part of the building that remained had the thicker columns.

[@laurelwood791]

Nice🎯

[@stanleydsouza1747]

Yes ..very true.. The building required bigger columns

[@sbrunner1234]

@@tkx7 The part with the thicker columns, the part still standing, had a second park deck.

[@robleenaguit2032]

A sipping irrigation valve was constantly leaking inside planter boxes. That explains why there is so much constant water leaking down into the garage. Maintenance personnel never notice this and with many years of constant water leak caused deterioration of pool deck where it finally collapsed.

[@scottp7554]

Iv been following this series for over a week and I think piece by piece your getting this . That column is looking like the culprit and all these anomalies around it set the alarm bells ringing . Good work and I will stay tuned till the conclusion because I have a feeling your barking up the right tree here.

[@kenlieberman4215]

One thing you missed was the drains on the deck removed when the installed the pavers. You can see remnants of the drain pipe in the garage video. I'm guessing the pavers were added to cover/fix problems with cracking and infiltration in the deck. They would have had to jackhammer off 2.5" of concrete to repair the waterproofing. The pavers would have been much cheaper.

[@dstew8540]

EXACTLY, and the Building Inspector determined the pool area and deck was supposed to be built on a slight slant for water runoff away from the underground garage where the footings and columns were, but the original owner, a Canadian lawyer, and his two partners who turned investor after being disbarred in Canada, did not do that and the Building Inspector didn't make them redo it. They ALL knew from the get-go there was going to be a water problem in the area around the pool and beneath it since 1982. See my detailed postings above. TY.

[@petermac7361]

@@dstew8540 The approved plans called for a flat grade across the deck. I can't imagine how the engineer thought that would be a good idea or why the city would approve it.

[@illogicerr3769]

@@petermac7361 Never rely on a municipality to figure anything out.

[@shellymarlenemartin2779]

Definitely compromising the integrity of the pool deck. Plus the fact they can’t see proof of water proofing is a major red flag.

[@whoever6458]

I agree that it looks like that beam is bending, especially when you can see it at two slightly different angles. On the second freeze frame, it looks to me like there's a crack forming near the mid-section of that beam on the bottom cracking toward the top. It also looks like there's a gap on the top part where it kind of looks like the beam might be pulling away from the slab above it. At the very least, the paint is definitely coming off more significantly there. I also have to wonder whether they added this beam after the building was built, perhaps because the planters added a more significant load to the structure than they realized when they put them in. Sometimes people don't realize how much a big planter full of soil and water can weigh. It's a dumb mistake but it's one a lot of people might make. If it is the case that they added that cross beam to stabilize that area, then I can see why it would be hooked into the sides of the columns, even though it's obviously still a dumb way to connect it.

[@continentalgin]

I think the rebar in the beam and columns was probably totally rusted out, even though it wasn't exposed. I've seen rebar that was rusted so badly, it broke with a kick of a boot. It was chalky.

[@jacobrudy7218]

Good point.

[@Dutchess80]

Wouldn't there be a record of this?

[@alexdegaston422]

I would hate to be the person who recommended putting those big heavy planter boxes on top of the deck. Oh dear :( Important lesson for all that the most important factor to consider on all construction, repair, remodeling, etc is the law of gravity and ensuring you have strong support to keep the building up.

[@brianwest2775]

27:39 Definitely that beam is very wet. Grey because the paint won't stick. 20:28 the bottom edge of those planter also show that they spend a lot of time wet. Reports are that the deck was flat despite the original design having drainage slope to drains. Reports also that the waterproofing failed. The water damage is so obvious that it's bizarre that they would have not torn up that deck, sloped and waterproofed it. They appear to have renovate it at some point, raising it with new tile. If you look at the floor of the garage, there are obvious repairs too but it seems unlikely that foundation issues are a cause.

[@jeanmanns4467]

Still can’t wrap my mind around how a whole complex just pancaked like this..thankful for you keep explaining and showing us how it happened..

[@andygreen3575]

Because gravity, the weight of the building pushes down vertically to the floor if the ground falls away beneath it then lowest level falls downwards then the one above it in a concertina. To fall sideways there would need to be something adding an uneven force or impeding the vertical force from above so the downward force is uneven across the building. A bit like the right most section collapsing to the left. Because the main portion of the building applied force to the left side as it fell pulling the building over to the left hence that part of the building collapsed to the left. And if it falls from the top it still concertinas as the weight of the top collapses the one underneath then those two the next one, etc. So basically because the force of gravity acts vertically so unless their is a sideways force or impediment to vertical force things fall straight downwards.

[@dominicdicecco6569]

At 27:30 where he is questioning the beam..."is it bending slightly?", compare the bottom of the beam to the sprinkler pipe behind it and it certainly appears the beam is bowed.

[@tiffsaver]

I'm no building expert, but if collapses are anything like airplane crashes, there is rarely ever ONE cause of the disaster. It usually starts as a small, unseen problem, then many other small issues begin to pile up until... BOOM.

[@barrylawrence4075]

True, as a commercial pilot and flight instructor I can tell you most all aviation accidents have 5 things that occur (or warnings if you will) before the final accident.

[@Garth2011]

Agreed, usually a sequence of many events that lead up to the final.

[@ProctorsGamble]

Yep.

[@sidneyfalcon7937]

@@barrylawrence4075 oh absolutely! My theory? All while this water damage was going on in and around the garage and pool deck, you had heavy marble floors in the condos along with a lot of other gaudy, heavy features that maximized the weight on too of those flimsy columns. Those people never stood a chance. Smh

[@mattcat231]

Yep, the whole swiss cheese model

[@silverwolf9979]

One of the engineers I saw interviewed by a local news station pointed out that the original plans called for four runs of rebar between each column in the pool deck slab, but the pictures after the collapse showed two exposed runs. I have yet to hear anyone else comment on this though.

[@lexi-conby]

interesting but the more i think about it, the more i think less rebar is better than more rebar because if rust and spalling is the future then more rebar would just acceletate the concrete exploding and cracking due to rust. of course now u can use non corrosive composite bar like mst bar

[@annamichelle_]

I really like your thorough videos and expertise - I agree that Miami never sleeps, can't believe someone thought that it was surprising that people in Miami stay up really late (early). Anyhoo, I really enjoy your videos, I don't know much when it comes to building structures but I learn a great deal when I watch your sessions. Hope people cut you some slack because in all honesty YOU HAVE THE BEST FOOTAGE OUT HERE ON KZbin. The public deserves to know in detail what actually took place. Thanks again for taking the time to put this all together, I can only imagine how much hard work and effort it took to do this. Thanks! : )

[@DrDougMusic1]

Could they have added the beam when the ceiling starting dropping for years? Sure the original beam is on top of the new beam. What a bad patch job.

[@celere1]

I don't think it could have been added as a repair. It would not have been possible to tie it in to the columns at either end. In any case, that beam could not have supported much load the way it was tied into the sides of the vertical columns. That is not how you do concrete design. Bending concrete beams (with compression at the top and tension at the bottom) will eventually fail, especially if the rebar loses cross section from corrosion and/or fails at its connections to the vertical beam.

[@TimeSurfer206]

"It could be a combination of things." It's never just one thing. And I'm wondering if a mini-avalanche of rubble from the Pool Deck might have spread sideways and struck the other columns. Which were designed to defy gravity, not side loads.

[@jeannetteashlin1725]

I was thinking the same thing. When that one column collapsed did it take out another support column which could have had a ripple effect. Hmm

[@lorij6445]

Very good point.

[@laurelwood791]

Nice. Absolutely Brilliant. Thank you

[@dalemason9886]

As a PE and BSME this is a complex problem with thousands of variables and combinations to evaluate and consider-in the end it is highly unlikely it will be pin pointed 100% to a singular element or event, all the investigations will likely conclude it was a series of events/problems that created the failures, it is important to understand what ultimately triggered it. Even buildings that collapse in earthquakes are studied in finite to understand exactly how it failed, we know the trigger event but why some of similar construction failed while others did not-this is already being investigated as buildings in the area similar age and construction. Detailed analysis of everything from soil, to steel, cement, corrosion, etc all of it.

[@Definitelynotyou90]

@@jeffostroff I find it funny how the core sample by the planter box is right next to the column you believe (I agree) collapsed first also how it wasn’t patched for a long time. I think the water proofing was compromised and was never patched properly leading to water leaking and potentially causing the collapse

[@Kimbyrleigha]

Your voice is so soothing. I’m used to hearing viewers say that about my voice but … here I am saying it to you

[@estherkweightlossjourney9257]

I like his voice too 👍

[@edwardr5778]

Ewwww

[@MegaSunshineyday]

His voice is 🔥

[@RR-ty6zz]

Its not soothing at all lol 😂 💀

[@scottmattern482]

I'm used to random people telling me how I am such a beautiful person but ... here I am saying it to you. #cringe

[@CelineNoyce]

I think it is amazing that amateur you tubers probably will have this thing solved by the end of summer. This was an amazing video and helped me see more clearly the garage damage that happened right before the collapse.

[@cameronc8847]

26:33 You can see a clear line between peeling paint and non peeling paint.. Right where the pool deck ends and the building begins. Halfway between the beam. Seems like the waterproofing wasn't very effective. Identical North tower I'd like to go check out in person especially the garage. Your insight and thoughts are therapeutic dude keep up the good work Jeff and company! I think more smart people are watching than idiots.. The pool room video gives us more insight and you clearly put a disclaimer that wasn't the cause. Also requesting the 911 calls was brilliant

[@bari2883]

I’m not sure if this is relevant but look at the planter boxes. They have no feet for drainage and you can see the water damage on the bottom of each and the one closest to camera has a square patch in the middle of the container.

[@kc0eks]

I'd imagine several of those cars had dash cams.. and I bet they recorded this event. SD cards are damn near indestructible

[@TSUNAMI-MAMI]

They aren’t on when the cars are off lol

[@ranchhand1188]

@@TSUNAMI-MAMI Yes, there is a dashcam system that can record surveillance video around your car or truck when the engine is completely off and parked. Regular dash cams are fine for driving but most of our customers want cameras that automatically record in Park Mode.

[@simonbone]

It's likely several people who died were recording what was going on, from their balconies or elsewhere, not realizing that a disaster was about to happen. One hopes the authorities will examine all recording media found in the rubble. This has been a big help in piecing together what happened in other instances, such as the Erebus disaster in 1979, where people were taking pictures and making home movies aboard a plane as it crashed.

[@envisionelectronics]

@@TSUNAMI-MAMI Tesla camera record in Sentry Mode from 4 cameras. While the car is “off”. Mine does, any many more do.

[@Pissrust69]

Ya but not very many people have dash cams

[@dragonheart1984]

My theory on the cone being by the column that in theory collapsed, is that maybe maintenance had re painted the column to cover up signs of wear.

[@michelleblas3170]

I agree with you but I also thought maybe that is where water from the planter above drained?

[@jamdwan]

This is bloody fantastic analysis!!!! i work repairing buildings and waterproofing in New Zealand and some of this insight is going to help for sure. I'm hooked on the series your covering in Miami. will be on the lookout for these types of issues for sure now. Love the videos and keep them coming.

[@natsfan100]

The town of surfside approved the parking planning before the construction just days or weeks before the collapse. Residents needed to be shuttled from remote parking and contractors would use their spots. This was the thing holding up the construction for months. From the garage tour video, she was in the lobby earlier and visitor parking was on the top parking deck, you can see some sort of commercial van. The roof contractors started days before the collapse. My theory is they parked in visitor parking on the already weakened upper parking deck (same deck as the pool) with their heavy truck and it was near collapse after. Later someone parked there and it collapsed at 1am. The parking deck is the only upper deck to show real damage, everything else on the parking and pool deck is puncture shear.

[@eugeniaskelley5194]

The video was taken a year ago.

[@mercyrules1617]

I placed a straight edge accros the photo of the park car shown at the end of your video. The beam appears to be bent in a downward curve, whereas all other horizontal pipes and walls appear to be dead straight.

[@pinebee634]

Just read your comment after mine as I did the same thing, only also take a straight edge to the right column - it ITSELF seems to be bent toward the left column!

[@pfeilspitze]

That could easily be caused by the lens that produced the image, though. Lines away from the center or middle naturally end up curved because of optics. So I wouldn't put much weight on lines from ordinary consumer photos or videos.

[@sachan9081]

@@pfeilspitze however, if other close, parallel lines are dead straight, it might allow for a comparison

[@rinaassouline676]

There are NO NO NO NO BEAMS. Listen to the extraordinary interesting and truthful explanation of Argentinian Architect Sergio Manes. CONDO HAD NO.NO NO SUPPORT. I MEAN NO BEAMS.....HELLO!!!

[@simplysusan.4880]

I noticed the sagging in a different video yesterday

[@lyftuberninjaworkaholic7524]

I'll say it again, a drunk tenant from a late nightout may have driven into one of the columns, hence those folks thought they heard an accident.

[@linuxtuxvolds5917]

That would've been in the report then

[@dianecloud8592]

I have watched your videos and you are really making sense to me. I am not an engineer but your are explaining things in a way that I can understand. In my first apartment, the soap dish fell off the wall in the shower. Management fixed it with duct tape over the hole. Eight months later, my husband was going to the bathroom and then whole floor collapsed under him! He was left straddling the drain pipe that was under the toilet. Luckily this was over a crawl space. He only had a scrape on his calf so we were lucky. Just goes to show you that when you see a problem, fix it! Don't wait for something to happen!

[@dianecloud8592]

What I forgot to add was that the water from the shower ran along the hole in the wall, under the shower and saturated the floor under the tiles. The 3/4' plywood was like wet cardboard. You could pull it off in chunks with no effort at all.

[@musicalgamer354]

Hey Jeff! There was a beam that was physically under stress. The beam ran north to south, and was connected from column 27 to the beam further North. Water from the planters likely created a super moist environment in the ground below the planter, causing the beam to become extra damp. Bob’s barricade looks to be in the area above the beam! If they didn’t seal it, water got into the ground and failed the beam. Since the beam was a sideways supported beam, and not on top of the columns, the beam failed. That is my theory. Column 27 failed, and it brought down the beam, the beam brought down the column north of it, and a chain reaction followed.

[@Mj-CWO4]

I agree, the column under the planter was probably weakened by spalling inside from water leaking in thru cracks under the planter.

[@jeffostroff]

Great minds think alike!

[@robertmorley3609]

@@jeffostroff but there was no sign of distressed concrete on the columns in the walk through video.

[@continentalgin]

And obviously, goes without saying, they are going to be watering that plant in the planter on a regular basis, which adds weight, and if the planter leaked and there was insufficient waterproofing, well... 'not good.'

[@jacobg1488]

@@robertmorley3609 we don’t know if that column was recently repaired.

[@DickStahl]

I am suspicious about the spacing and placement of the planters. I couldn't tell if they are directly above the columns. If they are, it's possible they were installed to hide the domes caused as the deck sagged around the columns.

[@carolwaring6753]

Enjoy listening to Jeff. He is very knowledgeable and easy to understanding for the non-trades/construction person. Would be great on a sleep app!!!!

[@carlalissa7693]

I think you have a great and interesting hypothesis here; however, I just want to point out that in Miami (Surfside, etc) rains a lot and sometimes pools of water form. It is very common to see them in underground garages all over S.FL. Brickell area has the same problem on heavy rainy season.

[@amenen01]

The water was not only coming from the pool deck above but seeping from the ground up through the limestone. The maintenance guy explained that the pumps could no keep up. Sunny day flooding is called.

[@Brooke52528]

You're great! England salutes you Sir🇬🇧 It's One in the morning here, just closing my eyes in bed when I got notified you'd uploaded!

[@jeffostroff]

Wow, thanks

[@johnstaif846]

I noticed as well that that beam appeared to be sagging. If this is not an optical illusion or camera related, it would have looked like this at the time the concrete was poured. Concrete doesn’t sag once it’s cured, you would instead see a big crack in the middle.

[@jeffostroff]

Sometimes things can look fine right up until they crack but also that beam appears to have been painted many times and I doubt that they used any primer either because the pink just keeps on peeling off of that beam

[@gerardheintz8802]

@@jeffostroff or it was completely saturated and couldn't hold the paint?

[@dirkjeanis7901]

Concrete can sag, if it cracks it went past its limits and has failed. I watched an earthquake make roads look like ocean waves. I saw concrete bend as well, not like asphalt and dirt but it can move some.

[@jedjorr7]

Saturated concrete can sag, you have to remember concrete is just a aggregate added to cement made up of lime and other things mixed with water. If its wet enough it can start to break down to its base materials, it's why concrete recycling is an industry.

[@kids123123123]

"see a big crack in the middle"... it has internal rebar which holds it together, so it could've/probably started as a small crack... then painted over.... and more cracking... more paint...more sag... more cracks... more paint

[@redneon06]

No support under the fitness center! Just imagine a car hitting any concrete posts under there. Could have happened.

[@judithshorey2137]

The high school that I work at built a meeting room directly under the weight room. A wide open meeting room. Plus there has been a significant leak from above the meeting room a few years back. Interesting.

[@tony--james]

Absolutely phenomenal video! Superb, watched it twice!!!

[@jonclement]

They had giant palm trees on the deck but removed them a couple years ago

[@jeffostroff]

Will look into that, it could add a lot of weight

[@cyclonemama3907]

I'll bet the landscaping guys watered those giant planters almost every day and so where did that drainage run off to? Would salty mist/air settle on the plants and then get watered down with the run off? Would this cause the rebar within the column degrade over time?

[@johnbrowneyes7534]

Probably were heavy!

[@pgtmr2713]

@@jeffostroff and the roots.

[@jonclement]

you can see them in the Google Earth Desktop -- historical images. Also some water stains over time...but as I said above...best to buy some historical sat images.

[@ST-cx9bt]

Belonging to couple of HOA’s, you’d be surprised about how much time is spent fussing & fighting about landscaping issues. I can just hear the proposal, “why don’t we add some color to the pool deck and put some planters in.” What people don’t understand is how much damage water & vegetation causes to structures, with trees being particularly damaging. Best to keep your properties scorched earth if you want them to last. If you want to live in a jungle, a tent would be your safest option.

[@ruthhepting3339]

I may not be an engineer, but everything you are explaining makes sense. If I went to go check out a condo and saw that parking garage, I would have gotten back in my car and left. That garage itself scared me. I've never seen one look so bad.

[@brianroth9639]

I see that 5 of the cement poolside planters were over garage pillers. But 1 was between pillers over the entrance. In the night time video showing the garage debris I believe that you can see the cement planter in the garage. Also there is a broken leaking ceiling pipe in the video which would have been almost directly below that planter. It would have been taken out by that falling planter. Anyone else see that? (6:38 in the video). I also remember reading about a telephone call from a resident moments before the collapse in which she described what she thought was a sink hole in the pool deck. That would be the planter collapsing through the pool deck into the garage, Unfortunately she perished.

[@khalilaredbird5650]

I concur with your observation about the planter in the garage. And your speculation about the reported sink hole being the plantar falling through seems quite plausible.

[@johnfry9010]

That one beam looks almost like it was an after thought and added at a different time than the rest ?

[@jeffostroff]

I had a hard time finding it on any framing schedule but yet it is there so I don't know

[@continentalgin]

I can't even figure out how they tied that beam to the two columns. It is like just floating in between the columns. Did they bolt it somehow? Tie rebar from the columns to the beam rebar? I don't get it!

[@ssoffshore5111]

Not only that, how is the slab above it tied into that beam? There's possibly even a slab elevation change across the beam... Part of the slab looks good, the other (possibly lower when water would migrate) not so much.

[@nuclearusa16120]

@@continentalgin I was wondering that myself. There don't appear to be any visible protruding gusset plates (or similar fastening devices) It looks as if its a rebar tie-in, at least to me. Regardless of how it's attached, the pool deck collapse would place significant tension on the horizontal beam; I would think more than enough to pull the likely-compromised column 27 right over. Adding to that, the observable bowing of the beam had to have been applying a significant shear forces in-line with the attachment face for a very long time. Would easily be a stress concentration that could lead to more cracks in the column.

[@kevyNova123]

My guess is its a brace, structures need braces on columns at intervals to complete the lateral stability.

[@Dobviews]

You have dug into this like a dung bettle in a fresh pile! Excellent work and the attention to detail is top notch.

[@susanpurcell7085]

You may not know it Jeff, but your approach is very scientific! I appreciate how you are clear what we can know from the evidence, vs what is speculation or we don't know yet. You also don't place any blame or speculate about motives. Reminds me of listening to my grandfather (decades ago), an architectural engineer, talk about various construction mishaps. Thank you!

[@parallelsandtangents938]

Maybe that was a planter box down there. And I think that it may have slid down the section of collapsed slab and hit the missing column(the compromised from water leaking out of the planters column) and knocked it out. If there was a vehicle under the slab there in that parking spot it would have kicked the slab piece into a sloping plane. It's possible that the planter structure was built later in the life of the building and is of better material and construction therefore making it resilient to breaking when it hit the lower level.

[@coopdawgcooper3262]

Wondering how and when the planters were installed, by forklift, crane, etc., and if they were dropped, if there was a shock, or just additional weight was problematic. Maybe they were temporarily placed too far away from columns during installation? Maybe drain holes were drilled through the slab or reinforcements?

[@dashcan8479]

@vvlmm Getting warmer. I have seen numerous structural analysis pointing to those planters as a big problem

[@coopdawgcooper3262]

I wasn't aware of the palm trees that allegedly existed. Those could weigh up to over a thousand pounds each depending on their size. And what if all the planters were stored in one (weak) spot temporarily? And then a crew of burly men to put them in place. I dunno, this could get nebulous with materials and vehicles and water and exercise equip and maybe lots more. New granite countertops and tile floors throughout the building that was heavier than the original decor? And how many cars must have hit a column or two over 40 years? The constant vibration of cars, doors shutting, elevators, thunder, ocean waves, nearby construction? What about salty air and chlorine and degraded, discount waterproofing not installed perfectly? Maybe a whole countless lotta little things add up after decades. I wouldn't live in such a building.

[@dashcan8479]

@@coopdawgcooper3262 Been in a ton ton ton of parking decks that shook like crap.

[@cordesruss]

Planters would likely require irrigation. Could over watering / over spray be an issue ?

[@YellowWhiteRose]

@@coopdawgcooper3262 i went to google maps street view to the street looking in at pool from 2014 and 2015 views and can see a palm tree in each planter box and they are big ones!

[@b4peace1]

Your videos are easy to follow. Structural engineering is SO foreign to me but, your explanations and drawings make everything crystal clear. Thanks for all of your work!

[@amenen01]

The water was not only coming from the pool deck above but seeping from the ground up through the limestone. The maintenance guy explained that the pumps could no keep up. Sunny day flooding is called.

[@jeffostroff]

Yes seen all those interviews, but why did it stop? I am skeptical they they really knew where it was coming from, because a that same time, they were doing repairs to cracks in the pool deck.

[@amenen01]

@@jeffostroff The flooding never stopped it happens in many parts of Miami Beach. If you look at the street it seems that Champlain Tower South sits lower than Champlain Tower North. Like the street makes a curve and then drops down. Maybe is an optical illusion but Champlain Towers North never experienced water coming up from underground. Here is a new video of the investigation with the columns labeled kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJvcmHl7YsyDiJI I agree with your hypothesis that the pool deck dropped and pulled the columns from under the building causing the collapse. I think those heavy planters full of moist earth are what caused the original columns under them to crack. They were not part of the original building plans and the association even added palm trees to them when they should have been removed.

[@Kimbyrleigha]

Why is there a cone right next to the column in the garage that you suspect fell? Right behind the SUV??

[@ItzMiszKelliBabyy]

I was wondering the same.

[@TC-yk2hg]

This is just a guess but It could be a special reserve parking for guests that have to register or something in that manner. So possibly from time to time they have to put the cone up so people do not park in that space, just a guess though.

[@simonbone]

It's also been suggested that people put these cones out to help them back into their parking spots - you hit the cone and you know to stop, rather than bump into the concrete wall.

[@willr88]

Another thing Jeff says is seen- abnormalities I think he said- around the suspected failure zone. Could just be SUV owner wanted no one to take the spot when SUV left. Maybe maintenance put it there for water slip risk. My Mom lived in an 11 story condo in Baltimore. I have seen similar issues there w/ water, maintenance fixing ceiling to divert water away from cars, etc. I notice these things too as I am from multiple technical fields and structure of buildings when walking in an underground garage is always in the back of your mind.

[@ProctorsGamble]

Maybe left by same company that left barrier horse above on the pool deck