Page 15 - Waterproofing News Today

>> the worst thing that could have happened was to have a storm come in and blow that building down on top of the pile. >> reporter: rescue teams halted their work temporarily but resumed just over an hour after the demolition began. today workers hoping to access voids in the rubble that they couldnt before the remaining tower was brought down. >> it will help us move forward unim unimpeded. >> reporter: this as new condo documents obtained by cnn shows a presentation was prepared for residents...

>> reporter: but while engineers ten to speculate from afar, in reality the answer lies like the vehicle tells trapped under rubble. the 40-year-old structure was due for massive repairs. an alarming 2018 inspection report warned of abundant cracking and several instances of deteriorating rebar especially on the pool deck and parking structure garage under the building. according to the report, failed waterproofing was causing major structural damage to the concrete structural slabs below the po...

Information in the "new york times" and "miami herald" looking at the video of the collapse, it may have started at the bottom. thats where the engineering report says that people had found, what. cracks in the concrete, issues with the rebar. what else? >> cracks in the concrete. exposed and deteriorating rebar. the waterproofing was beyond its useful life. the way it describes it, john, it says that the waterproofing should have been in a slanted angle because you need the water to drain. if i...

Responsible for this. because my mom and my grandmother are now gone forever. ainsley: the two of them would come over to his house on saturday and pick up his son. you see his son there in the picture with his grandmother and great-grandmother this saturday ran into dads room daddy, when are they coming? he said i dont have the heart to tell him yet. steve: we heard him recounting things and talking a little bit about the pool deck. i have got a feeling we are going to hear about this pool deck...

Letter, and how severe these warning signs might have been? >> reporter: you know, jim, its very telling that in the 2018 report that weve been talking about, it warns about this happening. so really what stands out to me about this is that we should listen to engineers and follow the science. let me recap it for you because in 2018 the engineers warned that there was major structural damage, that there were exposed and deteriorating rebar, that the waterproofing was beyond its useful life, and ...

Hurricanes, being in coastal florida. its -- its hard to imagine at the moment given what we know just what may have contributed to this collapse. i know there have been a lot of reports out there and news coverage. but we really just dont have the evidence. and because there hasnt been an investigation yet. >> yeah. >> so thats -- we need to wait and make sure thats tended to carefully. >> thats critical. and under way. we have learned about this 2018 report where an engineer warned of major st...

>> look, this building is not old. this building is young. i was in high school when this building was being built. whats interesting here is when we design buildings we design everything slope to drains. so the water runs out. especially here. the aware has salt in it, salinity. we try to get the water away and drained away from the structure, from the steel as fast as possible. but like the engineer said. if this really was a waterproofing issue where the water continuously was able to percola...

About that. because as you said, this focus on the pool area, the base. and if you read that report, it makes it very clear that thats one of the biggest issues. it says that the waterproofing around that pool is beyond its useful life. and so when you read that there is major structural damage, that there are patched repairs de deteriorating exposed rebar it raises questions about who knew about it and when and we were trying to ask those questions through the weekend, john. to try to get answe...

>> reporter: also buried underneath the rubble, clues as to what may have caused the collapse. what investigators may focus on is whether the structural supports beneath the complex gave way. an engineers report from an engineers report from 2018 showed the champlain tower south condo building had abundant cracking in columns beams and walls in the parking garage and major structural damage to a concrete slab caused by failed waterproofing that if not repaired in a timely fashion would cause the...

Pool area, in the garage. and some major structural damage, especially when youre talking about the waterproofing. one of the main issues was that the waterproofing was beyond its u useful life. and i want to read you this report. its going to give you an idea of what were talking about here. quote, the waterproofing below the deck, entrance drive, as well as all of the waterproofing is beyond its useful life and therefore must be completely removed and replaced. the failed waterproofing is caus...