Constructing and maintaining multi-story structures in the Pittsburgh region present some different challenges than conditions in the Miami area, where answers are still being sought for the condominium collapse that has killed at least 18 people.
But the importance of inspections is common to both, say people in the industry.
Jack Benoff has built multiple residential condos in Pittsburgh as the founder and CEO of Solara Ventures, giving him significant experience with the construction, inspection and permit process. Mr. Benoff knew people who lived near the collapsed condo in Miami, and said while the approval process can be arduous at times, it’s necessary to keep people safe.
“It's very, very important that there are professionals that do their jobs, and we just have to make sure they're professionals watching those professionals to make sure they do their job,” Mr. Benoff said about the importance of inspections. “No one enjoys getting approved or taking a test. But there are things in place to make sure things are done correctly.”
Kent Harries, a civil and environmental engineering professor at the University of Pittsburgh who specializes in codes and standards development, said one of the most obvious differences with Miami is that the buildings in Pittsburgh are generally older.
“Interestingly, that's probably to our benefit, because these buildings were built a lot better in many many cases than some of them built through the [1980s and 90s],” he said. “And particularly these types of condominium structures that tend to be built for least upfront cost.”
Both cities have seen a sharp uptick in the condo real-estate business recently. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pittsburgh’s number of recorded new home and condominium sales rose by 25%.
But Mr. Harries noted that there are similarities between the two cities, namely in salt loadings. While Miami’s salt comes from the sea and Pittsburgh’s from road salt, he said both cause susceptibility to corrosion in steel. But he added that the corrosion in Pittsburgh is more limited to places where the road salt can reach, such as bridges or parking decks.
In Miami-Dade County, most non-single-family structures — like the Champlain Towers South condo — are mandated to go through electrical and structural inspections after 40 years to ensure they are still safe. In Pittsburgh, these inspections can be more frequent.
According to Sarah Kinter, director of Pittsburgh’s Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections, PLI inspects for fire and life safety requirements of high occupancy structures every year, and can receive referrals for “obvious property maintenance issues” at any time.
For structural work, she said high rises are also required to provide the city with a facade report every five years, which deals with exterior elements of buildings. These inspections are conducted by a licensed engineer or registered architect.
When a person or company purchases a building, they also usually get an inspection by a third-party professional, such as National Property Inspections Northwest Pittsburgh. Darren Ferguson, the owner of the business and a certified master inspector, primarily conducts home inspections but does a few on large buildings every year.
He said when he inspects a building he starts on the outside and looks for cracking or water issues. He then examines the electrical systems and the roof before moving inside. In the interior, he starts at the basement again looking at electrical, water and plumbing systems.
If he sees any structural defects, he recommends that a structural engineer examine the situation. He said these defects can include cracking, foundation issues as bowing walls or ceilings. Mr. Ferguson said he doesn’t know exactly how often he recommends a structural engineer, but it does happen.
“In Pennsylvania the grounds move a lot here, like settlement,” Mr. Ferguson said. “That’s why you’ll see a lot of settlement cracks in your foundation walls or even basement floor concrete.”
Mr. Benoff said Pittsburgh can be slightly “challenging” to build on because it’s a “diverse” area. He has recently focused on building in the Strip District, with his newest project set to open this winter.
“In the Strip District it’s riverbed, and there’s other projects that are being built as apartments that are within 50 feet of the river,” he said. “So you always have the concerns of what is the foundation you're putting in to make sure that you're supporting whatever you're building, whether it's an office building, apartments, condo, shopping center, wherever you are in Pittsburgh.”
Eric Booth, president of Desmone Architects, agreed that Pittsburgh’s diverse terrain can be challenging to build on. Architects — alongside engineers, developers and inspectors — are another entity in the construction process. He said Pittsburgh in particular has a lot of challenges with foundations and mine subsidence from old coal mines.
“There could be utilities underneath, like we're working on a project right now, where there's a 12-inch diameter sewer main that runs near the property,” he said. “The city frankly does not have a lot of solid information about what's in the ground, or where it’s located exactly. So sometimes we don't we don't realize those things until we actually start building the project and digging.”
For Mr. Booth, the tragedy in Miami underscores the importance of regular inspections, particularly on old buildings in Pittsburgh. He noted that structural failures are extremely rare however.
“Any building designed to modern building codes will not have that issue, but over time things that would have been done many years ago or things that could have deteriorated, those things should have more regular inspections,” he said.
On the other hand, Mr. Harries cautioned against taking any substantive takeaways from the collapse until a cause is definitely determined.
“I’m not really certain that we’re going to learn something that we can necessarily apply [in Pittsburgh],” he said. “Apart from potentially some big picture issues that may come out, these things do occasionally happen regrettably.”
Rebecca Johnson: rjohnson@post-gazette.com and Twitter @rebeccapaigejo
First Published: July 2, 2021, 10:36 p.m.
