#1
Spalling can cause serious injuries as it can damage the whole structure to a point of failure.
#3
Someone replaced the post with a game of jenga.
Alpha Structural is a company in California that has been servicing, repairing, and upgrading structures and foundations for close to 30 years. They’re primarily based in Los Angeles and Southern California. Meanwhile, their employees have over 400 years of combined professional experience in their engineering department.
Quality, professionalism, and an eye for drawing in viewers on social media are the name of the game. And they’re very good at it.
#4
This looks rushed. Maybe the big bad wolf was closer than they thought.
#5
#6
During a couple of previous interviews with some of the staff members working at Alpha Structural, Bored Panda learned more about inspections, how they work, and how employees stay safe.
"The most nightmarish inspection we’ve done [in 2020] has to be the property in Portuguese Bend down on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. First off, because of soil conditions and high landslide risks, not much structural work can be performed there,” Derek Marier told us about one of the worst properties seen during an assessment.
#7
#8
"The home had a very interesting foundation system made up of screw jacks, steel beams, and cribbing (commonly used for temporarily lifting a structure while work is being done underneath). The front portion of the deck and home were sinking and unfortunately, the homeowner can’t really do much about it,” he said.
“It could have toppled over at any given moment and that’s why the 'nightmarish' description fits well.”
#11
This is going to be a “no” from me.
#12
Steel nails that are used in deck construction are coated with a layer of zinc that protects the steel from airborne ocean water salts. Over time the zinc layer is worn down by the corrosion process. Once the zinc layer is gone, bare steel is exposed to sea salts that rapidly destroy the structural strength of the nail connections, making deck components dangerous for occupant use.
Alpha Structural employees use a lot of protective gear while on the job. They take safety very seriously, even if the actual risks are very minimal. “Crawl suits, masks, gloves, steel-toed boots, and many other forms of safety precautions are taken. The chance that a building is actually going to fall over when we do our work is slim to none,” Marier explained to us.
“Any actual danger is sniffed out pretty quick and avoided. If our guys think it’s unsafe to inspect or work on a location, they’ll make a call based on their best judgment and sometimes they choose to not do it. That’s just our safety policy!" he said.
#13
#14
#15
Yes, it has been braced. No, it doesn't make it less scary.
Structural faults, cracks, and wobbly timber beams holding up the entire building aren’t the only things that inspectors come across. Sometimes, they stumble upon incredibly bizarre finds like skulls of creepy dolls.
“You’re expecting to locate a structural defect but end up finding something you can almost label as satanic or ancient,” Marier said.
#16
#17
It shouldn’t need to be said, but no part of your home’s foundation should move with a push.
#18
“I’ve heard horror stories of people getting trapped under houses by attempting to squirm through those gaps. That’s a nightmare in itself. Thank the lord there was no scary doll or human skull staring me in the face while I was attempting to crawl through!” he opened up about one particular inspection where he had to go into a tunnel that someone dug under the foundation.
#19
