Haiti does not seem to be the only place where bad construction is prevalent.

YES,  IT IS A 13 STORY BUILDING  LYING ON THE GROUND.  
 


(1)  An underground garage was being dug on the south  side, to a depth of 4.6 meters




(2) The  excavated dirt was being piled up on the north  side, to a height of 10 meters





(3) The  building experienced uneven lateral pressure  from south and north





(4) This resulted in a  lateral pressure of 3,000 tonnes, which was  greater than what the pilings could  tolerate.  
Thus the building toppled over in the southerly direction.





First,  the apartment building was constructed    

Then  the plan called for an underground garage to be  dug out.
The excavated soil was piled up on  the other side of the building.  

Heavy  rains resulted in water seeping into the  ground..

The  building began to shift and the concrete pilings  were snapped
due to the uneven lateral  pressures.

The building began to tilt.  

And  thus came the eighth wonder of the world.  

If  the buildings were closer together there would  also have been a domino  effect.  














They  built 13 stories on grade, with no basement, and  tied it all down to hollow pilings with no  rebar.

Brought to you by the  same folks that make your kids' toys and want to  build your next car!  :shock:  :shock:  :shock:

Wonder if Mike Holmes can fix that...

All things considered it did hold together pretty well even after tipping over  :shock:

Article didn't say if any of those apts. were inhabited at the time?  I assume not given what sounds like ample leaning before collapse.

Was it painted with Lead Paint?

johnreid wrote:Was it painted with Lead Paint?

:rofl:

WalMart buyers beware. Cheaper isn't always better! :shock: But it would seem that no one wants to hear that.

(So make sure you're kids learn to speak Cantonese or Mandarin.  Otherwise, they'll get left behind in a future third world America! 8) )

IndianaRog wrote:All things considered it did hold together pretty well even after tipping over :shock:

Yes I would say the apartments were built quite well, just the foundations left a bit to be desired.  :lol:

Don't need to clean the windows on the other side ... not much of a view!

No need for lifts and everyone has the same view. :D

Les wrote:No need for lifts and everyone has the same view. :D

:rofl: