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Structural issues lead to new inspection regulations

Structural issues lead to new inspection regulations

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – City staff members are planning to present a proposed ordinance setting building inspection regulations to help identify structural issues before they become a hazardous situation.

Director of Development Services Eran Wasserman spoke to commissioners about the process for developing the proposed building inspection regulations during an Aug. 10 work session. Wasserman said he’s working with Building Official Neal Schwartz to create an ordinance to present to commissioners in the next 30 days outlining which structures will need to be inspected, how those inspections will need to be conducted and by whom and how often inspections need to be scheduled to recertify a property as safe.

The documents being used to help draft those standards are the ones required by Miami-Dade County, though Wasserman said the plan is to have stricter reinspection standards in Holmes Beach, including less time between inspections.

Commissioner Jim Kihm said he’s spoken to Schwartz, who’s talking with building officials from Anna Maria, Bradenton Beach and Longboat Key while drafting proposed standards for Holmes Beach.

Another consideration when deciding what regulations commissioners will want to enact in the city, Kihm said, would be what fees will need to be charged for the building recertification, if the city will require a third-party inspection before certification can be granted and what the penalty for noncompliance will be.

While the primary focus of the regulations would be multi-family structures, in light of a recent balcony collapse on a single-family structure, commissioners said they’d like to consider requiring anyone with a raised balcony to have their property inspected for structural issues on a regular schedule.

Raised balconies have recently been an issue in Holmes Beach. In recent months, a balcony on the rear of one of the Fountain Head Condominiums buildings, the north building at 3400 Sixth Ave., was reported by a repairman to have cracks in the stucco. In addition, a balcony recently collapsed at a single-family home at 4106 Sixth Ave. No one was injured at either property and both problems have been assessed by independent structural engineers.

The Fountain Head’s sister building at 3402 Sixth Ave., the south building, hasn’t had any reported issues with the structure or balconies, though Schwartz said the condominium association is planning to have it inspected as well to avoid any safety problems. He added that the north building’s balconies will have to be removed and rebuilt for the structure to be deemed safe. The units were built in 1984, according to Manatee County Property Appraiser records. They were used primarily as vacation rentals and were voluntarily evacuated on July 15.

The home at 4106 Sixth Ave. also has been voluntarily evacuated, Schwartz said, and permits have been issued for repairs, which include the rebuilding and shoring up of all balconies on the structure. That home is a part of the Holmes Beach Land Condos/6th Avenue Condominium Association Inc., along with five other structures on Fifth and Sixth Avenues built in 2002 and 2003 by 6th Avenue Development Inc. That company lists Ian K. Perryman as president and was dissolved on March 28, 2007. Holmes Beach building department records show that the builder of the properties in the 6th Avenue Condominium Association was Don Meilner & Son Construction Inc., which was officially dissolved in February 2021.

Schwartz said a letter was being distributed to the owners of all of the properties in the group to inform them of the balcony issues at the one property. The structural engineer’s report on the balcony collapse showed that it was caused by a property maintenance issue and not due to substandard construction methods. Schwartz said the letter was being distributed to put property owners on the alert for any possible issues.

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Building evacuated due to structural issues

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – A four-unit building on Sixth Avenue was voluntarily evacuated on July 15 after a repairman noticed structural issues with the balconies.

Building Official Neal Schwartz said that the issues at the building at 3400 Sixth Ave. could lead to a collapse, but that they were discovered before any other damage occurred. The property owners voluntarily vacated the premises until the problem could be assessed by a structural engineer and repaired, he said.

Caution tape warns visitors to stay away from the pool deck after balconies on the building were discovered to have structural issues. – Kristin Swain | Sun

All of the balconies on the building are compromised and will have to be replaced, then the building will have to be inspected before it can be deemed safe for habitation, he said.

The building, part of the Fountain Head two-building complex, is mostly used as vacation rental units, Schwartz said. He added that while the exterior stucco is separating from the building on the south end of the property, the building at 3402 Sixth Ave. is not experiencing any issues, though he said condominium association officials plan to have it checked just to make sure.

A sign posted on the staircases to access the residential units at 3400 Sixth Ave. warn that the building is unsafe and that anyone who enters does so at their own risk. – Kristin Swain | Sun

The four-plex was constructed in 1984 according to Manatee County Property Appraiser records.

Code Compliance Officer Kim Charron said the issues with the balconies were reported to the department by a rental agent who was told by a repairman that there was something suspicious going on with the balcony at one of the units. The matter was then turned over to the city’s building department.

If Sixth Avenue sounds familiar, it’s because the north end of the street is where a balcony collapsed at a residential home in late June.

That home at 4106 Sixth Ave. is still awaiting repairs, though Schwartz said no issues have come up concerning the structure of other homes in the area with a similar build.

The Sun submitted a public records request to learn the name of the contractor who built the home and other similar structures in the area. As of press time for The Sun, the city had not released the requested records.

With structural issues at residential properties making some homeowners nervous, Schwartz said he recommends that anyone who has concerns or who spots a potential issue in their home, business or rental property contact the city’s building department for an inspection. He said it’s better to catch potential issues before they become a safety hazard.

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Island building owners warned to investigate structural issues

Island building owners warned to investigate structural issues

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Could a tragedy such as last month’s collapse of the high-rise condominium in Surfside happen here?

Some say it could – particularly after a balcony fell off a residence in Holmes Beach last week at 4106 Sixth Ave. (see related story).

In response to the June 24 collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Longboat Key officials sent an open letter to property managers and condominium board members last week advising them to consider inspecting their foundations and structures.

And the property manager for the only high-rises on Anna Maria Island – the two seven-story Martinique condo buildings in Holmes Beach – has advised its board members to do an engineering study.

Longboat Key does not have AMI’s three-story height restriction – enacted after Martinique was built in the 70s – and subsequently has high-rise buildings lining the Gulf side of the key, but buildings of any height and location constructed in a salt-laden beach environment may be affected by corroding rebar and cracking concrete, two of the problems in the Champlain Towers.

“It’s not just mid- and high-rise,” Longboat Key’s Planning, Zoning and Building Department Director Allen Parsons said. “Any building that’s counting on rebar and structural cement to hold it up it needs to be maintained.”

It’s also not just an issue for Gulf of Mexico-facing properties, he said, but for any property in the beach environment of Longboat Key, Anna Maria Island or any Florida barrier island.

Regular maintenance – and continual funding of scheduled maintenance – is key to preventing a tragedy, he said.

Florida’s statewide building code does not require maintenance inspections after a building meets the initial code requirements upon construction, nor do Manatee County ordinances or ordinances in Longboat Key, Anna Maria, Bradenton Beach or Holmes Beach.

Miami-Dade and Broward counties have such a requirement for buildings more than 40 years old, said Chris Brown, president of Bradenton-based C&S Community Management, which manages properties in Manatee and Sarasota counties, including Martinique North and South.

A Florida law that required that condos over three stories do an engineering study every five years was rescinded due to complaints about high costs, he said.

“With what happened in Miami, that looks like it was a very good law,” he said, adding that several legislators are revisiting it. “I personally expect there will be a new law after what happened.”

Brown recommended to Martinique board members on Friday that they do an engineering study of the two seven-story buildings, he said, adding that inspections of foundations can reveal many issues, including hidden water line leaks or irrigation leaks under a building.

Forty to 50 years ago, condos were a new concept, but now that some are half a century old, owners must be vigilant, he said.

“If you don’t stay on it, anything near saltwater can have rebar expansion; it chemically reacts with salt and cracks the foundation,” Brown said. “A lot of communities put it off. It costs money. People don’t want special assessments. That’s the hardest thing, people don’t want to pay the money.”

Even a single-story building can have rebar issues, he said.

“If you happen to be in the wrong place at that moment, it could even happen in a single story. A ceiling collapse could kill you.”

If residents see a crack, they should report it immediately.

“Follow up on it; find out what the reason is,” he said. “Address it, even if it’s going to cost money. People always need to be conscious of their environment and if you have a gut feeling, check it out.”

Condo boards and building managers should address any structural issues with structural engineers, he said.

The Surfside accident has so far resulted in the death of 24 people; 121 more remained missing as of Monday.

Open letter from the Town of Longboat Key to owners of high-rise condominiums and older (pre-1980) multi-family structures

It is critically important to have structural engineering inspections, and to act on any structural deficiencies, or damage in a time-sensitive manner. Town staff can assist with identifying resources, and engineering professionals, to conduct those inspections, or advise on follow-up measures needed to ensure the safety of our residents.

Along with the rest of the country, the Town staff are sending well-wishes to those in Surfside, FL affected by the recent building collapse. And while there aren’t answers yet as to the causes of the building’s collapse, the terrible circumstances can serve to provide a constructive prompting to encourage the assessment of the structural integrity of older, multi-story buildings here in the Town to ensure the safety of residents and visitors.

The Town would like to encourage owners and property managers to consult with structural engineers to have a proper inspection completed, especially if the building is older and has not been recently evaluated. This kind of consultation is not currently a requirement, like it is in Dade and Broward counties and their jurisdictions, but it is recommended and does have a lot of merit for coastal environments.

Buildings on or near the ocean are especially vulnerable because they are constantly exposed to the increased effects of saltwater oxidation and corrosion, as well as minor concrete and masonry cracks. Stucco left exposed to the elements can cause rebar to expand up to seven times its original size, exerting a force of 10,000 pounds per square-inch (PSI). This condition—commonly referred to as spalling—can necessitate extremely expensive concrete restoration. Hundreds of thousands of dollars can be saved in building repair costs alone by following a regular maintenance schedule, applying early detection methods, and practicing aggressive prevention techniques.

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