Deadly Porch Collapse In Chicago, Ill

This is just terrible, but I believe it probably was caused by the Jews: just ask Violet Lake...

Violet Lake?

What do you mean?

Forgive me, New Haven, kindly begin with this page (then, you may review the thread from the beginning, if you wish, however, you'll find it went on for several pages w/o all of this) and then read until page 13 (so far, anway):

http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8862&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=90

I'll do that.

Thanks for the link.

What a very sad story :-(

most municipalities dont have safety standards for decks. and, because they are usually a post construction feature, BOCA doesnt even cover it
In our township weve just added an ordinance because there have been some similar collapses where these great spans of decks have just folded up with parties and family dinners.This porch looked like it spanned from a single board tie-in to the building. When you figure out the stresses, itll probably come down to the fact that much of the weight would be handled by 2 lag bolts drilled into a wall. most decks are nowhere near overdesigned. this is not an uncommon occurence, fortunately most collapses are just cosmetic and not catastrophic.

Many of the porches in Chicago are old, but well built. The one in question, in Lincoln Park area wasn't old, but it sure wasn't built to hold
50+ people, dancing around.

At last count, 12 were confirmed dead.

sweetcomplication:

I briefly read the comments on the Violet Lake thread. Needless to say, only Jews can truly appreciate the troubles associated with being Jewish. Most responders don't know history and certainly don't know the events surrounding the destructions of the first and second Temples.

Best to stay cool on such threads and when enough has been said, just walk away and perhaps even start your own thread.

Relative to Chicago, I wonder if Mayor Daley has had any comments on the matter.

I'm familiar with the Lincoln Park area of Chicago. It's a nice area, and one wouldn't think they would have sub-construction standards. I think the architect that designed that wooden deck failed in his responsibility. Seems there are more dangerous construction in this world than we realize. I remember that hotel balcony that gave way at a Jewish wedding reception. IMHO, that's deplorable and deficient construction design. c.i.

I can remember the old porches in Chicago and never, did I ever think they'd collapse. I was always worried about a fire burning them down!

the older porches had cross beams set into the masonary walls in pockets. These newer decks, made of treated wood are never well engineered, the weight of the floors is suspended by these batter boards that are just bolted to the building. These decks look more like scaffolding than a true porch. the front ends of the decks are held up by 2 by 6 sister beamed posts. With the heighth of this one, ill bet that there was a lot of flex until it failed .

As I understand it it was the floor boards not the beam that failed. The framing of the deck was still in place in the published picture of the accident which I saw. This would suggest that it was the weight of fifty or more people dancing on the deck that cause the collapse.

Wooden floor boards exposed to the elements must be inspected regularly. Otherwise, it's negligence. c.i.

Seeing the photo, and being a native of Chicago, I know those apartment back porches all too well. My heart goes out to all of those who lost their lives, who were injured, who were there. Witnessing that is not something you're likely to get over too soon.

eoe:

I spent many a summer growing up in Chicago, on the back porch.
We kids ran up and down till we drove everyone, nearly crazy. Our porches in our apartment buildings were never inspected, when I was living there. A really big deal in Chicago is and always has been fire detection and prevention. I suppose, now there'll be an inspection of porches in Chicago, by the Building Inspectors.

The gf had the tv news on this morning, and I walked into the living room, saw the picture, and said, "Chicago, right?" Every set of railroad flats has those things.

Now, this is going to sound very callous, and I agree that there appears to be no code whatsoever about these decks being built, but the last count I saw had over sixty people on that deck. Assuming an average weight of 150 lbs, that is 4.5 tons -- a large truck -- moving around on it. And I would guess that's a conservative estimate. Just how overbuilt should we expect these things to be?

Good point!

Gotta go with you on that one, patiodog. I was trying to imagine 60 people on a "typical" apt. back porch in Chi and, I can't. They just aren't that big. But didn't the story read that some of the people were on the 2 floor porch also? And you figure that many were sitting on the stairs between the two floors. It sounds horrible. Just horrible. One minute you're partying and the next...