Posted on 12/20/2024 7:30:42 AM PST by george76
Condos and hotels in Sunny Isles Beach, Surfside, Miami Beach and Bal Harbour are at risk..
Miami’s barrier islands are home to many tall luxury buildings .. about three dozen are sinking.
Thirty-five luxury condos and hotels across Florida's Sunny Isles Beach, Surfside, Miami Beach and Bal Harbour have faced subsidence in the past handful of years..
...
The sinking of the high-rises amounted to 2-8 centimeters over a multiyear span running 2016 through 2023..
High-rises expect to see "up to several tens of centimeters" of settlement "during and immediately after construction," the University of Miami Rosenstiel School said ...
Builders constructed a "majority" of the affected condos and hotels after 2014,
...
We found that subsidence in most high-rises slows down over time, but in some cases, it continues at a steady rate. This suggests that subsidence could persist for an extended period,
...
The sinking "is primarily due to the gradual reconfiguration of the sand grains into a denser packing within sandy layers interbedded in the limestone" in the area, the study said.
The researchers hypothesized a link between construction-related vibrations or groundwater flow and the sinking, according to the study. Other things like daily tidal flow and stormwater injection could also have factored into the phenomenon.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxbusiness.com ...
Water flowing underneath can hollow out the land above. It’s a different kind of erosion.
I get the point of owning a house - basically NO ONE has the right to go into your house with your permission (unless it’s the police with a warrant or the case of real emergency, like a fire).
But with a condo, you have hand over your keys to the property manager, so they can enter ‘in an emergency. Pretty much the same for an apartment, except in an apartment, if the building is about to collapse or need major repairs (or if insurance, property taxes, or association fees skyrocket), you have the option to move out of an apartment without financial loss, rather than being stuck with a worthless condo that no one will buy, as now happening in Florida.
So what’s the big deal with condos? Low interest rates? LOL.
“up to several tens of centimeters” of settlement
BTTT
IIRC, the bedrock in Miami is primarily limestone (Miami Oolite), a porous rock formed from reefs and marine sediments. And the limestone under the barrier islands is more porous than that of the mainland, increasing possible problems from groundwater flow, saltwater intrusion, etc., making it less stable for high-rise foundations.
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
To be dramatic, they could express the settlement in millimeters.
“And if one insists on using the oh-so-superior metric system, why not say ‘several decimeters’ of settlement?”
Centimeters, the more common term, is used.
On June 24, 2021, at approximately 1:22 a.m. EDT,[a] Champlain Towers South, a 12-story beachfront condominium in the Miami suburb of Surfside, Florida, United States, partially collapsed, causing the deaths of 98 people.
I can only speak on my observation as I do live in the area. The majority of these condos are 2nd and 3rd homes. At certain times of the year, some structures will be nearly 90% shuttered. The restrictions that come with them become a positive when you only live there part time.
Ummmmm, we use inches in the United States - guess 'several tens of centimeters' sounds like a bigger number than 'a little under three inches'.
‘Cause writer is a pretentious TWOT and writing for the EU.
A house built on sand .....
Are we sure it’s not caused by climate change? </sarc>
You WANT your property manager to have a key - for too many reasons to list.
One being to save your property/belongings if you’re not around when something bad happens.
So why are they building skyscrapers on sand in Florida?
Couldn’t see that one coming, could we?
GMTA
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