Quick Search

Keyword(s)

Classification
- None Selected - Structures - Bridges Structures - Buildings, general Structures - Car parks Structures - Cinemas Structures - Cranes Structures - Dams Structures - Domestic buildings Structures - Earthworks Structures - Factories Structures - Freestanding walls Structures - Highways Structures - Marine Structures - Masts & towers Structures - Multi purpose structures Structures - Multi storey buildings Structures - Power stations Structures - Railways Structures - Retaining walls Structures - Scaffolding Structures - Schools Structures - Sewers Structures - Shopping areas Structures - Stadia Structures - Swimming pools Structures - Temporary structures Structures - Theatres and other entertainment Structures - Towers Structures - Tunnels Structures - Underpasses Structures - Underwater Structures - Walkways Structures - Other Materials - Aluminium Materials - Brickwork and blockwork Materials - Composites Materials - Concrete Materials - Glass Materials - Masonry (unclassified) Materials - Shotcrete Materials - Steel Materials - Stone Materials - Timber Materials - Other Building elements - Balconies Building elements - Barriers & handrails Building elements - Basements Building elements - Beams Building elements - Ceilings Building elements - Chimneys Building elements - Cladding Building elements - Columns Building elements - Connections Building elements - Equipment Building elements - Facades Building elements - Fixings Building elements - Floors Building elements - Foundations Building elements - Frames Building elements - Ground anchors Building elements - Joists Building elements - Piles Building elements - Roofs Building elements - Slabs Building elements - Stairs Building elements - Trusses Building elements - Walls Building elements - Other Concern - Appointment Concern - Building control Concern - Building regulations Concern - Checking Concern - Climate change Concern - Codes and standards Concern - Communication Concern - Compliance Concern - Contracts Concern - Corrosion Concern - Deformation Concern - Design Concern - Deterioration Concern - Disproportionate collapse Concern - Documentation Concern - Drainage Concern - Dynamics Concern - Education and training Concern - Equipment Concern - Explosions Concern - Extreme weather Concern - Fees Concern - Fire Concern - Gas Concern - Groundwater Concern - Impact Concern - Loadings (vertical) Concern - Materials Concern - Near hits & near misses Concern - Products Concern - Quality Concern - Reinforcement Concern - Responsibility Concern - Risk Concern - Robustness Concern - Safety reporting Concern - Seismic Concern - Software Concern - Soils Concern - Stability Concern - Supervision Concern - Techniques Concern - Temperature Concern - Welding Concern - Wind loading Concern - Workmanship Concern - Other Process - Change of use Process - Construction Process - Demolition Process - Design Process - Erection Process - Excavations Process - Falsework Process - Formwork Process - In use Process - Inspection Process - Maintenance Process - Refurbishment/Alterations Process - Repair Process - Scaffolding Process - Temporary works Process - Underpinning Process - Workmanship Process - Other Failure - Collapse Failure - Component failure Failure - Falling items Failure - Other

Dangerous arches

Report ID: cross153

Published: Newsletter No 17 - January 2010

Source: CROSS

Report Content

Several arches of an undercroft style structure in a conservation area were demolished, apparently without consent, leaving one standing which was used as a garage below and giving vehicular access to a multi-occupancy house above. The arches carried a road and, according to the reporter, the situation was very dangerous. He says that the Highways section of the Local Authority secured the retaining wall at the back of the arches to stabilise the elevated road but without any concern for the building next door. Local authority building control was then informed, but the house is divided into several flats with a number of different owners and this presented difficulties in communications. The LA advised that the driveway above the arch, which is used for parking, should not be used until analysis and safety remedial works were completed. The LA had difficulty in serving a dangerous structures notice as they were unsure who owned the arch. The situation demonstrated how unauthorised demolition of apparently redundant old masonry structures impinged on the safety of both a public highway and a multi-occupancy dwelling. Fortunately a collapse was averted.

Comments

The key learning point from this report is that stability cannot be considered in isolation. The demolition contractor should have taken account of the ‘whole’ and ascertained the role of adjacent structures, and the consequence should they be demolished or altered in some way. CROSS has received a number of reports about dangerous demolition which is an activity that can require as much engineering competence as does building work. Dangerous retaining walls and the like do not fall comfortably into the remit of Building Control and dangerous structures whose ownership is unclear can be problematic. However there are provisions under the Building Act section 78 for action to be taken by the Local Authority.

Back