Talk:Surfside condominium collapse

nearby construction

Should we have a sub-section giving additional (and maybe undue) weight to the theory (blame) of the nearby tower construction if no engineering report has ever suggested it as a cause? What if instead create another section called 'other theories' or 'other possible causes'? Just a suggestion. Thanks ! Jtbobwaysf (talk) 09:37, 13 December 2022 (UTC)

We don't create our own research. We only reports what the sources say. – The Grid (talk) 17:43, 13 December 2022 (UTC)

Adding to the potential impact of the nearby construction site on the structural integrity of the building:

I recently came across a resident's testimony that extensive maintenance work was being done on the roof prior to the collapse (odd that they started work on the roof when the 2018 inspection report recommended fixing the extensive damage to the pool deck), resulting in a month of "banging" (the vibrations of which may have further compromised the - already weakened - structure). 2003:E6:3714:5800:A987:ED45:AB0A:B8A0 (talk) 07:18, 16 April 2025 (UTC)

Possible causes

I've already referred to the extensive roof work on the house before the collapse in the topic "nearby construction" (which is mentioned in the Wikipedia article, but not the possible impact with regard to the collapse). I would also like to point out that the construction plans for the transition between the car park deck (at ground level below the western part of the building) and the pool deck were changed shortly before construction began, which meant that an originally planned "step" with additional cross beams between the supporting columns was omitted. The omission of these cross beams significantly increased the load on the columns in the area of the vehicles parked at ground level and the planter placed in the western area of the pool deck. 2003:E6:3714:5800:A987:ED45:AB0A:B8A0 (talk) 07:46, 16 April 2025 (UTC)

Need source on adding such a statement. – The Grid (talk) 18:26, 16 April 2025 (UTC)

It's discussed in detail in the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaZcyq7YsNA by Building Integrity, particularly at time stamp 25:45.

In general, his videos on the Surfside Condo Collapse are highly recommended, as he discusses numerous aspects (contributing factors) of the collapse with the background knowledge of an experienced engineer. 2003:E6:3714:5800:4409:2020:6C53:FBDE (talk) 22:01, 17 April 2025 (UTC)

Supplementary to this: The above thesis is supported by the massive damage to the planter shown / discussed in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0UtmbRAL9M - just a few days before the collapse.

If the engineer called in at the time had drawn the right conclusions (that there was a risk of the column/s punching through the slab), the catastrophe could possibly have been prevented. 2003:E6:3714:5800:D4B6:6825:32F3:EBFE (talk) 03:18, 18 April 2025 (UTC)

Porter (Building Integrity) at least seems to be a licensed professional engineer, versus Jeff "I still haven't taken down that fake Titan disaster transcript, because view money" Ostroff, who is very much not a licensed professional engineer.

On a related note, can I get somebody to poke around on the Harbour Cay page, and upload an image of the collapse from the NBS (public domain, I think) and add it to the thumbnail?

That way the Harbour Cay page, which is currently a stub, can have a little more flesh on the bone, and also look a bit more consistent with this article?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbor_Cay_condominium_collapse

The NBS report has been incorporated as an in-line reference now. The photos are in there, and this other page has color ones with a note that they are used with permission. https://www.engr.psu.edu/ae/thesis/failures/MKP/failures/failures.wikispaces.com/Harbour_Cay_Condominiums.html ~2026-16797-75 (talk) 00:22, 19 March 2026 (UTC)

NIST report on collapse causes

With the issuance of the final report by NIST on the probable causes of the collapse https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2026/06/nist-releases-technical-findings-what-caused-2021-partial-collapse it seems to me that the article should be updated to reflect its findings that synthesize some of the earlier possible causes such as saltwater corrosion and inadequate design. There are many parallels to the Sampoong Department Store collapse in the design (both used flat slab construction), contributing factors (inadequate safety margins) and the failure mode that triggered the ultimate collapse (slab punching shear, on the roof in Sampoong, in the pool deck at CTS). ~2026-37515-38 (talk) 17:17, 29 June 2026 (UTC)