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—~ ‘ABC Warehouse V ABC Warehouse V Earthquake Damage or a Latent Defect? \c of Just before dawn, at 4:31, on a crisp, bright Monday morning, an unforgettable cataclysmic disaster struck in the San Fernando Valley, to be forever after referred to as the Northridge Earthquake. Cale ve COHEEGE Came (uenu. yay ie cpicent ‘The new premises of ABC Warchouse Company were located worryingly close to the epicenter of the 6.7 Richter Scale magnitude temblor. Thus, when, Allen Brady arrived at work that morning, he ‘was extremely apprehensive about the fate of his precious hew warehouse and offices. ia Edemne Driving onto the property, he was relieved to see everything apparently intact, even the new _ (« retaining wall looking as solid as ever. All seemed normal as he entered the building, The office staff ~ (was animatedly exchanging tales of their own experiences that morning. Everyone was there and the (OX scene was safe and comfortable., He proceeded through the offices and into the warehouse. There he found Carl Daly supervising his dock crew busily restacking'a éSuple of dozen Erates and cittons that had toppled. Carl reported, “Everything's okay, Boss. We're putting these cartons back into neat stacks where they were. I haven't seen any other damage.” ye ° ‘Allen was thankful that ABC had come through the quake that easily. Back in his office, he turned, on the TV to catch the latest in news coverage. There was an éhgrossing interview with a prominent ging close inspection of the structural components of buildings. This of buildings, he said, but especially pertinent to multi-story structures “That would include our warehouse,” reflected Allen. structural engineer who was ui would be important in all type or those with long roof spans. ‘Allen immediately punched in Carl's intercom office right away?” number and said, “Carl, will you please come to my wondering what he had done wrong this time. Allen motioned him “Carl, want you to look over all the structural components of our everything is all right. See if there is any quake damage.” Minutes later Carl showed up, to a seat and issued instructions, warehouse building and let me know i Uh, what, exactly, is a structural component?” ger oe kee “Well, I'm not sure. I'd think it would be the walls, columns, roof beams, fe if there are any cracks or signs of movement. Use your own ayo “Okay. Pl get right on it. Allen thought it over. rafters, and that sort of thing. Se : judgment. Let me know if everything’ ll right.” ac eC Construction Nightmares “Okay, Bo! something. Carl went back to the warehouse, relieved that he wasn’t being icized fo, MYACon Oe, Cath back at his warehouse office, instructed Al Barker, one of his dock crew. “Al, when you get tome free time I want you to go around and look at all the structural components of the warehouse. Bie frat 18foot aluminum ladder so you can get a close look at all of the roof-framing members. , But, first, we gotta finish loading this track. Melo Ce F COL CC 7 “Okay, Carl, Pl do it first thing after lunch.” wee All that afternoon, Al Barl ly scrambled up and down the ladder examining rafters, beams, Ring, Ushting fistures, conduits, and anything ele in sight, Everything looked allright to: him, After his mid-afternoon coffee break, he resemed his “hn ing, inspecting, and ladder moving the Frntese 8 muscles were getting increasingly sore and he was becoming rapidly fed up with this fruitless, seemingly useless, boring assignment. ‘Late in the afternoon, he was about ready to {hrow in the towel when he noticed something strange about the side of ove of che large laminated “cod beams. There were horizontal splits in the side ofthe beam atthe end newt to the coocrens wall “column, It appeased that the individual planks of wood that Comprised the bea were coming apart along the glue lines. Al did not see the significance of this condition bes fel ther son probably aera renans immediately reported the situation to Carl Daly, “Say, Carl, there may be Problem in the middle of the back wall in Section 12-G, behind Star Industrie? merchande Do you want to see it?” ker diligent! Carl looked up from his paperwork, “Yeah, 1’ now I gotta get these damn shipping manifests c Il look at it first thing tomorrow morning. Right up so we can leave on time for a change.” hecked. You can start getting the warehouse locked nor et Hogue oe So Al lef the ladder where it was and began locking up the warehouse. Tomorrow's another day. come Oe Oe On Tuesday morning, after Carl got the crew started on their assignments, he checked to see what Al Barker was going on about. He scaled the ladder and peered at the side of the beam, He didn't chick it was too important as it didn’t look dangerous and nothing appeared to have shifidd. Bur he felt would be a good idea to report it to the boss. He told Al to continue examining the beams to see if any of the others had the same splits He then returned to the loading dock to keep the shipping operation moving. Canrtice t After lunch the beam again crossed his mind so he went into the office to see Mrs Brady. He described the situation to Allen who accompanied Carl out to the warehouse to have a look himself. Al moved the ladder back into position and held it while Allen clamberéd'chimsily to the top. Allen (scrutinized the beam splits and wondered what it meant, He returned to his office to think about it, © Who should he call? If he called his architects or engineers they would probably tell him nothing is wrong, these are normal’ occurrences, and send him'a fat bill.” So, he decided to call Hyde Construction Company. George Hyde would know what it is and was not ikely to send a bill if 76 ‘ABC Warehouse V there was no work to do. described the sivation, Seon ne Hyde Construction and asked for George Hyde. After Allen Allen asked, “Does it sound Spo barked, “I'll be there, Allen, in less than 20 minutes!” George replied, “I'll tell you when I see it!” He ‘hung up and made a dash for his car. Allen concluded that George must be hungry for work. George arrived promptly and continued on tothe warehouse where Carl was wating’with the ladder i PIE. “George hoisted his ample frame up the ladder, took a good look, and came down. “Carl this should be shored up right away. No point in taking unnecessary chances, Then we can figure out what to do next.” > f gar cote Carl had been accused recently by Allen of throwing money around recklessly, so he asked, “How much'll this cost, Mr. Hyde?” "i “I think it could be done by two carpenters in less than a day. The labor and materials would be about 1200 more or less. We should start this afternoon.” Carl said, “Now, wait a minute. I'll have to get authorization for that kind of money. I'll phone you tomorrow.” He felt George was too eager to get his foot in the door and start running up an outlandish bill Ch EPH e CUE HOAGE HEYE HOY HOOK EMS As George was leaving, he said, “Well, don’t wait too long. This could be dangerous!” Carl went into Allen’s office. Allen agreed with Carl that $1200 was a lot of money for less than a day’s work. He suggested that Carl could buy some wood and nails and have a couple of the dockhands build the shoring in their spare time. No trouble at all. “We have to pay their wages anyway and the wood’ll be cheap.” As Carl was leaving to go back to the loading dock, he assured Allen, “I'll get the materials organized tomorrow morning and we can start building.” Allen thought, that Carl Daly isn’t so stupid afterall. ‘ ¢ The following morning Carl sent Al Barker to the local lumberyard with a purchase order to buy materials necessary for shoring up the bear, Al went into the sales office and took a number. Most — ot ay lied of the standees, also. waiting, Were macho construction types. ‘When his number was eventually called, he hitched up his trousers, strode up to the counter, lowered his voice half octave, and requested, father authoritatively, “I need some shoring materials.” ()» ¢(( ¢ Ce he ot GURIeTON es, (CeMUCS at HME A, HOTT KE COE aed CLOSES cS ‘The lumber clerk, pencil and order pad at the ready, replied, “Okay, Ace, tell me what you want.” “I need some shoring lumber.” oper pedies “What size and length?” eq° UG 77 EQEIGUOE. COME AL ER CO 4 abe 4 Construction Nightmares OOo CS “The usual size. “There is no usual size.” iy] *Oh? What do most people buy?” “Well, what do you want to do with it? “Shore up a beam.” “What kis . Cons ee ee How high is the beam off the floor? How much load must be carried? And ow do you plan to spread the load > Wha need any nails?” This overwhelmed AC woo What do you want to use for bracing? Do you SE eve fou pe Mf mS! dea After considerable discussion, Al and the himber salesman agree i " d ; lumber salesman agreed on a lumber list and a quantity of nails. By late morning he was back ro the warehouse witha load of lumber and mails. He handed the il to, Carl, "$659.80. Carl asked, “Why'd you buy so much wood? And all those nails! Well, unload the truck. You and Mike can start building the shoring tomorrow morning.” Unfortunately, the warehouse was extremely busy all day Thursday and Carl wasn't able Al and a helper to work on the shoring. oe eR OTE CTC ar? On Friday morning Carl came in a little early to get all the work assignments and his paperwork straightened out. But first, he went over to have another look at the beam where the shoring would have to be built. When he got there and looked up there was an unexpected bright gash of blue sky showing through at the edge of the roof next to the wall. ‘The laminated beam had broken into splinters about two feet from the end and had dropped about a foot. It would have dropped more but the mangled beam end was wedged into the top corner of the concrete column, “The bolts had pulled out of the beam. It looked precarious and he was shocked at the chaotic appearance. Carl dashed into the office just as Allen was arriving. He quickly filled Allen in on the details and, now breathless, said, “We gotta call Hyde and get him out here right away. The whole damn roof could collapse!” He was furiously punching in numbers on the phone. fe ont eet : When George arrived he had his superintendent, Ezra Fields, in tow. Ezra looked at the damaged _ beam and the pile of shoring materials. “We'll have to send this stuff all back to the lumber yard and get some proper’ materials, T'll phone them and have them deliver what we need right away. He directed Carl to move all the stored merchandise out of the area as it would be in the way of the rt ace COC shoring and scaffolding operation. ‘After a short while on the phone Ezra had the job organized and they were in production within an hour. Carpenters had to be cominandeered from another job. They built a sturdy scaffold thae could withstand the load of a housemover’s jack to safely raise the beam up to its former position. They 78 foporten le CONG OH GOIO ce ‘ (ere & hourery YUVEL POG EIENOL COW FAVE GC i ywtteror ‘ : \ ABC Warehouse V eee across the floor with Some lage timber beams. They independently shoved the| paling thet carried the rafters and roo, enabling later removal and replacement of the beam. ‘They | Thi would ee a damaged roofing membrane and spread polyethylene sheeting on the roof.) ~ \¢ buildin F Peranen Protect the building and ie contents over the weckend. They'd have to come up with Pa and his carpenters were ready to call it quits for the day. George and Allen were standing on the warehouse floor studying the sturdy maze of temporary construction. George asked Ezra what could possibly have caused all this trouble. Ezra said, “I don’t know for sure. Probably the earthquake. Who knows how these things happen?” 3 watt George told Allen, “We'll have to get our electrician and plumber out here to check for damage to their work and see what'll have to be done. I'll also call my roofing contractor to see what can be done about the roof membrane.” . sect LENS. Allen was geting nervous. “This looks like alot of money, George. How much have you spent so ar George said, “I don’t know. I can have a bill for you on Monday.” Allen added, “How much will it cost to repair the beam and finish up the whole job?” “T'll have an estimate for you Monday.” < TOUEdn GE EGE Back at his desk, Allen called his insurance broker and said, “Brian, we have some earthquake damage and I'll be wanting to make a claim.” Luv (CO o Brian Cullen replied, “But, Allen, you don’t have any quake coverage!” Coven ube Ce Mae CHES “Whatta you mean? “Don’t you remember our discussing this? The premium was so expensive that you decided against it “Yeah. I remember now.” ‘On Monday morning when Allen arrived, none of the Hyde people were working in the disaster area, About nine o'clock George Hyde showed up. Allen asked accusingly, “Where are your men? We've got ro put the building back together!” G2 COE bee br He verti (EH OKAE) wo George, unperturbed, answered, “We don’t have a deal yet.” He threw a sheet of paper on Allen's desk. It was a detailed compilation of costs incurred on Friday for the shoring ‘dpération." “Labor, materials, tool, rental, supervision, overhead, and profit, $2732.89. This is our bill for work to date. It’s now due and payable" Ga “luc Construction Nightmares ——————-_—SKeannnnnrnr SN Allen almost exploded, “I thought you said it woul i fen erica hought you said it would be around $1200, Are you trying to capitalize Cagwove to ott ges “Things are different now that the beam has failed. Thad led. T had to use four carpenters and it took more shoring lumber and bracing. We had to rent a housemover’s jack to. vase the beam oD into its proper position, eae a ro make Sempporary roofing repairs. That is what it cost. Now, here are my costs for finishing up the repair.” He th itemized breakdows Allen's desk. The bottom line showed $16,500,” “Other itemized breskdown sheet a “ L hoje cle clergiore Ce tolioc Allen's face turned white, “Dammit, this is ridiculous. Where do you ge these numbers, George?” George patiently explained, “These are our best estimates f ites.” i 1, re estimates for each item. We're assuming that the beam must be removed, Beams this large are not instock so we mst wat ual thas ben eastern fal Hee We'll try todo all the work from under the roof so we won't have to remove and replace roofing and sheathing, We'll also have some plumbing and electrical work to do. Roofing, sheet metal, and painting are also involved. We'll need new steel connections and éolumn tops! ‘The fire sprinkler piping must be checked, It’s difficult to estimate this kind of work. We try to anticipate everything that has to be done and realistically estimate what it will cost. This is our best estimate.” ‘ “Can you guarantee that the work won't exceed $16,500” . tafe vst bry ‘No, Allen. We'll only work on a cost plus fee basis with no guaranteed maximum.” “T'll think about it.” Allen felt engulfed in the circumstances. George left the bill and the estimate on Allen’s desk and departed, saying, “Well, don’t wait too long, Allen. We've got to get the beam ordered, The situation is precarious. There could be another earthquake or a serious aftershock.” weet ie loud Allen hurriedly lef for a Rotary Club meeting. He contrived to sit next to Ivor Judge, ABCs, architect, during the luncheon. He told Ivor about the beam problems and George’s unconscionable~ ©" bill and ridiculous estimate. He then told him about Ezra’s comment about the beam problem being caused by the earthquake. Allen complained, “I’m going to have to foot the whole bill for this. We have no earthquake insurance.” | pt Woy avert r Vga’ Ivor told him about some of the terrible quake damage he'd seen the last few days. “Most people I've talked to don’t have any insurance. Many of those who do have insurance won’t collect anything because their loss won't exceed the ten percent deductible.” ( prvi n Svrecteucs el [O/ deriva pie ‘Allen said he was going to go ahead with Hyde Construction even though the estimate seemed high. Ivor agreed that Hyde always did a good job even if it might seem expensive at first. In the end, his bills were always fair... 5 eee When Ivor arrived back at the offices of Judge & King, ALA, Architects, he told his partner Leo King about Allen's earthquake problem with the beam. Leo thought about it, looked puzzled, and inquired, ‘How could an earthquake cause a beam to delaminate? Something else must have caused ‘ABC Warehouse V je. | Maybe you ought to call ic |My ight to call Allen and run out to take a look before everything is torn out and “You're right. I'll call Allen now.” He got Alle: ved hi He got Allen on te line and reciped his dieuion with Leo. He told Allen he would be there in Pal an bowels said there was no use in coming out to look at it, that George Flyde had the mater well wader control. Allen was concerned about unnecessarily running up es. He finally acquiesced when Ivor seemed so insistent/and concerned. o> (uy (60 consultation HCCC immediately went out to the warehouse. Allen greeted Ivor in the office reception area and they Carl Daly put the ladder in While walking, Allen handed Ivor a copy of Hyde's repair cost estimate, place so Ivor could climb up and examine the damaged beam. Ivor was equipped with a heavy-duty flashlight, flash camera, and notepad. At the Yop of the ladder, see ae ere ben was delargnated from the end and at several levels. The beam had broken roughly along the line of the end ‘of the delaminating, about two feet from the end. The beam, when it failed, had pulled our from its restraining bolts, the steel column plate was grotesquel} distorted. fryer nee opeid Wee (Che J eared water staining on the beam, "Hee took a few pertinent: to the wuld see considerable evidence of rep pee tomn top and sides, and on the conerete tlt up wall panel photographs. He then descended to the shayeliouseflode and asked Carl to move the ladder foot acoessscutle., acy cir cicero OK (ech ‘Aided by his flashlight, Ivor cot p the ladder single file an st vor, Carl, and Allen went uj d out the hatch onto the roof. Ivor led the group over to the parapet wal above the {[ulkd beam. He carefully scrutinized the galvanized iron parapet cap and the mineral surfaced cap sheet ‘yall covering. He noticed that the sheet metal coping pare point was not sloping coward the roof as is eukominy and as shown on the construction drawings. The metal cap was not only close + level, but was cupped thereby creating a generous

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