You can get away with a sloppy handshake but with a carelessly built house? Not so much. Eventually, its qualities will deteriorate to the point when the only thing holding it together is pure luck. And you better call in the construction engineers before that runs out, too.
Alpha Structural, Inc. presents itself as the only company in Los Angeles County licensed to engineer and build any type of foundation or hillside repair. For its 25th birthday, the organization has decided to share some of the craziest structural construction fails they've found over the years, making many internet users question the sanity of some contractors. "Besides having a stellar reputation, we're called out to inspect and propose solutions to many structural issues," a spokesperson of Alpha Structural, In. told Bored Panda. "Specializing in advanced hillside foundation repair methods we mainly are called to inspect when there are issues such as sloping floors, failed retaining walls, etc."
"A very common engineering fail we see is mid-century hillside homes that are sinking. They were often built with shallow footings that are prone to sink over time. Additionally, there is a lot of expansive soil in Los Angeles which, due to its high clay content, expands and contracts. This leads to corners or sides of a home that sink."
Since the company has already inspected tens of thousands of properties, it's hard to catch its engineers off guard. "I would say we're more likely to be surprised by what's under the home than the structure itself! Although, while we are not alarmist in any way, every once in a while we will come across a structure that we are surprised is still standing."
According to Alpha Structural, Inc., everyone living in the area can take measures to make their building a safe place. "We always recommend earthquake retrofitting your home," they added. "It's no surprise seismic activity is prevalent in Los Angeles, so taking the time to retrofit your home is key. Also, most foundation problems are caused because of no drainage, or poor drainage around the home. The most cost-effective solution to preserve your foundation is to make sure your yard slopes away from the structure and that your gutters and downspouts are cleaned and route the water away.
However, it's easy to get carried away. "People tend to overreact when it comes to their home. Things such as hairline cracks and minor sticking of doors can cause quite a panic in most homeowners. Plenty of information about our services can be found on our website!"
Continue scrolling to check out what epic fails these guys find daily and upvote your favorite entries!
More info: alphastructural.com | Facebook
#141
In addition to the knee-high rubble piles, DIY post like this one never suffice for earthquake protection.
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7points
#142
Though the I-beam on the left seems stable, all that is holding up that right side is that little car jack. It seems to be holding up fine but..for how long?
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7points
#143
Here, you can see how badly decayed this wood member is. The bolts are rusting and pretty close to ripping away from the wood.
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7points
#144
Those two bolts in the middle-left of the screen are the only thing securing the walkway/stairs to the bottom structure.
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7points
#145
Luckily the concrete at the top of the stair set is doweled together, but that doesn't make the situation any safer.
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7points
#146
Same property as the above photo, except this one was in the garage.
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7points
#148
This is a retaining wall that has a very odd crack going straight through the center of the masonry blocks. it seems nature has won this battle against man.
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7points
#149
Large horizontal crack in the foundation. It goes all the way through to the crawlspace area...
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7points
#150
At first glance it just looks like some cracking stucco, but further evaluation shows the entire porch is basically cracked in half and sloping a few inches to the exterior...
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7points
#152
There's almost too much to explain...
The stairs are crumbling to bits, the wall to the right is, well, not doing so well and it's sinking.
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7points
#153
The wall is being pushed out from the weight of the home. This is commonly referred to as surcharge. Surcharge is basically when the vertical pressure or load of the property over the ground surface causes the earth to be pushed outwards. This has caused the flat-work around the home to bubble and come up. The tree roots don't help.
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7points
#154
This was a home in the hills of Hollywood that was unfortunately at the top of a landslide. The foundation of the home couldn't take the tension that was being created while the hillside went down. This caused the framing/sub-flooring to almost completely collapse.
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7points
#155
Here's another picture of the landslide home in the Hollywood hills. This one gives you a good perspective on the effect the landslide had on the home. Almost all of the post/piers weren't braced and this caused the leaning that you're seeing.
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7points
#156
Chicken wire, tin siding, rocks, bricks and burnt wood... I guess the devil needs a home too.
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7points
#160
A lot of buildings in the 1994 Northridge earthquake simply collapsed, crushing cars and whatever else was unfortunate enough to be caught underneath.
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6points