There is a downside to steel reinforcing bars: they rust.
The second most remarkable thing about the sudden collapse of the Florida condo building was the rush to assure everyone that this was a one-off catastrophe: all the factors fingered as causes were unique to this building, the implication being all other high-rise reinforced concrete condos without the exact same mix of causal factors were not in danger.
Before we accept this conveniently feel-good conclusion, there are a few things we should consider about reinforced concrete high-rise condos.
1. This may seem too obvious to be important, but concrete is a heavy material. Fill a 5-gallon bucket with wet concrete, let it cure (harden) and then pick the bucket up–if you can.
2. Conventional concrete is not water-proof; it absorbs moisture. Construct a concrete wall against an excavated cliff of damp earth saturated with underground moisture and the concrete wall will be damp unless it is sealed essentially perfectly–no easy task.
3. Steel reinforcing bars add specific kinds of strength to concrete, which is rather brittle in its conventional unreinforced state: tilt a slab of unreinforced concrete on a large, sharp rock and hit the elevated half of the slab with a sledge hammer, and the slab will crack on the (fulcrum) rock.
4. Roman aqueducts, bridges and buildings are still standing 2,000 after completion because they do not contain reinforcing steel bars, a.k.a. rebar. Roman concrete developed its remarkable durability and strength from its unqiue mix of aggregates–the rocks and sand-like materials that are mixed with cement to form concrete.
Why are these 2,000 year old structures still standing despite lacking reinforcing steel bars?
It’s dead steel purchased from China. Trump talked in Length about it for 20 years. Thank Clinton for the steel and batteries come out of China
The Romans also understood the higher you go the lighter the aggregate you use sand and rock then gravel then even higher lighter volcanic sand. The Pantheon to this day is the worlds largest unreinforced concrete Dome with a 30 foot wide Oculus at its apex. It’s over 1,800 years old. The democratization and global spread of Christianity and it’s limited story telling historical time line and then the Dark Ages lost a lot of very sophisticated technology that was dismissed by the Church as Sorcery until the Renaissance and even then could get you in trouble if you didn’t believe the world was flat and there was no heaven above but unimaginable expanding Space. Yeah it’s no surprise the PH of modern concrete is basically acidic due to Calcium Hydroxide and the other surfaces react with Carbon Dioxide in the air and reacts through a process known as Carbonation. The cheap sub par Rebar that is used and its already rusting when it is installed. It should be wrapped now like they do old suspension bridge cables and like insulation on wiring. Yeah we will see more of this no doubt along with mold infested modern homes in developments and the toxic out gassing of composite flooring and LOL pretty Shiplap panels and stucco over Tyvek and Styrofoam. Welcome to the future. No one gets out alive. Keep praying.
Excellent article. I can find no obvious defects in the argument presented.
What the hell are you trying to say about the romans and the BS you’ve commented on ? The building collapsed because of building failures , period . Who cares about the BS you presented , The people who built this building used inferior everything from concrete to steel . We are not in Rome idiot , are you just bored?
Hmmm i suppose the logic and materials back then are better than today. Hmmmm i suppose the logic back then didnt care about todays capitalistic mindsets (faster cheaper payday…next project)
Buildings back in the day still standing. A building 40 years old…poof.
Take your meds cupcake.
Will OC be next? There is a lot of poor concrete in those condos.
When the FOUNTAIN HEAD was built there are at least 4 pilings between the CAROSEL and the FOUNTAIN HEAD that was struck 4 times or less that has never been found and they just moved a few feet and drove more pilings. I know I was there and the inspectors let it all go by.
I would never own / rent anything in OC.
GOOD LUCK on gambling with your life.