Minute by minute: A building in Miami partially collapses; the death toll increases

A structural field report completed nearly three years before the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo complex in Miami raised concerns about the structural damage to the concrete slab below the pool deck and “cracking and chipping” located in the parking lot.

The October 2018 report was included in a series of public records documents that were posted overnight on the website of the city ​​of Surfside, Florida. The New York Times was the first news outlet to publish a story on this study’s report.

On page seven of the report, which was intended to “understand and document the extent of structural problems requiring repair and / or remediation in the immediate and near future,” detailed signs of “danger / fatigue” in the parking lot:

“It was observedabundant cracking and spalling of varying degrees in concrete columns, beams and walls. Several significant landslides were observed both at the top of the entry access ramp and at the bottom of the pool / entry access / planter slabs, including cases with exposed and deteriorated rebar. Although some of this damage is minor, most of the deterioration of the concrete must be repaired in a timely manner.

Spalling is a term used to describe areas of concrete that have cracked or crumbled.

The 2018 report also noted that ‘many of the previous concrete garage repairs’ were ‘failing’.

The report also said that the waterproofing under the pool deck was failing and causing “significant structural damage.”

“… The waterproofing under the pool deck and inlet, as well as all the waterproofing in the planter is beyond its useful life and therefore needs to be removed and replaced completely. Failed waterproofing is causing significant structural damage to the concrete structural slab below these areas. If the waterproofing is not replaced in the near future, the extent of concrete deterioration will expand exponentially, ”the report reads.

In addition, he noted that “the replacement of the waterproofing of the existing platform will be extremely expensive … it will be detrimental and will create a significant disruption for the occupants of this condominium building.

The report, which gave no indication that the structure was at risk of collapse, was completed by Frank Morabito with Morabito Consultants. CNN reached out to Morabito Consultants on Friday, who did not offer comment.

A lawyer for the building’s condo association, Kenneth Direktor, cautioned against the early speculation. The building, he told CNN on Friday, had undergone a series of inspections “over the past few months” as part of its historic 40-year security certification process.

“Nothing like this was predictable,” Direktor said. “At least it wasn’t seen by the engineers who were reviewing the building from a structural perspective.”

CNN reached out to Kenneth Direktor on Saturday for comment.