Expert: Ban balconies with wood support
AN Irish engineer has said that balconies that rely solely on wooden supports on one side should be banned.
A report into the tragedy has found that the wooden beams holding up the balcony were severely damaged by dry rot due to exposure to moisture.
Colm Campbell, who has a background in mechanical and electrical engineering, argued that wood should never be used to support a balcony in this manner.
‘You can’t cantilever wood, which is when a structure is only supported on one side. When you are loading wood it has to be supported on both ends,’ he said.
‘It was covered in some sort of rubber membrane to keep the water out. However, it has deteriorated and the water has gotten in but can’t get back out because of the waterproof coating.
‘That’s why the dry rot starts. Balconies should never be cantilevered in wood. It puts huge stress on the area where the wood meets the building. Wood deteriorates, as it has in this case, but steel doesn’t,’ he argued.
‘If you’re building a balcony, the horizontal supports should be steel – they are not going to rust or dry rot.
‘From looking at the pictures I imagine the balcony suddenly gave and fell at an angle, throwing the 13 people to the rails.
‘The rails aren’t made for that weight and they all fell. The whole thing is appalling.’
Californian inspectors are calling for more frequent inspections and a number of changes in local building codes to stop balconies from being exposed to moisture.
But Mr Campbell said that rather on relying on waterproofing methods, these types of balconies should simply be banned to avoid further accidents.
‘I think what they should do in the States is ban balconies made with wooden supporting beams, because it’s going to happen again.
‘It’s crazy – water gets it at, fungus forms and it deteriorates. A group of people standing on rotten beams is going to put huge stress on them. It’s appalling.
‘And these type of balconies are very prevalent in the States I understand,’ he said.