Travels through Property Law by Tom Brodersen, Esq.
Many Americans grew up like I did, marveling at the amazing history of concrete, which goes back to about 1400 BC for the Greeks. The Roman architectural revolution was based on concrete, and to this day the Pantheon is the world’s largest unreinforced dome, relying totally on concrete for its strength and longevity. We learned that concrete “sets” even under water, and gets harder and harder, year after year, century after century. Western civilization itself, at least as regards to architecture, is a creature of the history of concrete.
So, losing so many people in the Surfside, Florida, collapse of the 12-story Champlain Tower as a result of concrete failure came as a great shock to many.
I’ve lived in a number of condominiums over the years, from the 100-story John Hancock building in Chicago, to five stories over parking at Silver Sands condominium in St. Pete Beach, and several in between. I’ve served on the boards of condos, and various committees, so I learned all about concrete damage and restoration, as have many Floridians, primarily in the context of balcony issues.
There are several basic differences between the Pantheon and the modern American residential condominium. While the exact contents of the cement itself is quite different, that’s not really the issue. What absolutely IS the major issue is the use of rebar, a steel product that is universally placed in concrete walls, floors and other structural elements to provide tensile strength the concrete would otherwise lack. If the Pantheon had rebar, it would probably be in ruins today, like so many other Roman wonders – not taken by the hands of men, but by time itself.
The reason rebar is so problematical is that concrete (unless carefully sealed) is porous. Water penetrates the surface, and travels through concrete over time. If a building is on the ocean (or Gulf of Mexico), there is a substantial amount of salt in the air, and that ends up in the rainwater. Together with steel rebar, they create rust. The problem is, rust expands as it forms, and the stress it creates inside a concrete slab causes cracking and fractures. And that brings down buildings.
Engineers know all about this stuff, and have for a long, long time. Surfside condo officers and directors received engineering reports all about it, but they were delayed by the millions of dollars in cost to address the issues facing them. And when issues aren’t faced, disaster results.
ANDERSON & BRODERSEN, P.A.,
350 Corey Avenue, St. Pete Beach, FL 33706
(727) 363-6100 • www.PropertyLawGroup.com