One - All concrete - in ALL structures begins to degrade after 50 years !
Only - one - to my knowledge, has ever been built with a 100 year forward thought.
The Confederation bridge to PEI. All the sand was washed and tested for 'salt content' and all the rebar in the structure was coated with 'anti corrosion' rubber.
Look around you - everything made of concrete - will begin to die after 50 years.
The shocking truth of our modern 'cost cutting world'.
America is a lawless, shithole country, a small number of super-rich sitting on an island of luxury in a fetid swamp. I moved to London in 1985, and by 2000 it was clear I would be insane to move back. But sadly, the Tory Brexit party here are hell-bent on turning the UK into a shithole country as well.
I owned, lived in Florida beach condo for 8 years and was treasurer on the board for 3 years. The article is mostly true about Florida condo's, some have good boards, but most have penny pinchers. Just an example of the political influence. Current coastal constuion lines in Brevard county say no building can be built east of this line towards the ocean. all new condos are built east of the costal construction line because of state provided exemptions over riding county restrictions.
Great article, Diane! Unfortunately, much of the world seems to be following them over the cliff, including Canada. We have plenty of regulations, but almost zero enforcement. I’m not sure about other provinces, but the developers in Ontario seem have a firm hold on the provincial government. Where else would you have new home buyers having to pay mandatory fees for the Tarion home warranty, which is operated by the builders! This results in the majority of faulty building complaints being denied, leaving home buyers with expensive litigation as their only hope for repairs being done. Most of them are already financially strapped with home mortgages,not able to fight these unscrupulous developers in court. I wouldn’t be surprised to see that this shoddy building has spread to condos. Love to see an article on this.
It would serve the entire coastal economy right if the bottom would fall out from under it as a consequence of such laxity. It shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to know what damage just plain water will do(water cut the Grand Canyon, remember?)much less salt water + storms, flooding, wind, Nature. Unfortunately people keep thinking that such disasters can’t happen to them. Jeez!
The last three paragraphs (not counting "And we all know how that turns out.") brilliantly describe the spiral that laissez-faire capitalism is producing and will only intensify. The amazing thing is that so many believe the lies that the elites put forth; the lies that lead to their economic enslavement. It is equally amazing that these supposed elites fail to recognize that they sew the seeds of their own demise. Add the physical consequences of climate change and I understand that the source of my nightmares for my grandchildren's future is based in this reality.
"Until Americans reject the government-is-the-enemy mindset, calamities that could be avoided will recur. Regulations are not the enemy of the people..." Agreed. But you mess up your own argument by walking sideways into gun control, and a whole big bunch of people really do believe that those regulations ARE the enemy of the people, so you undercut your own argument. Stick to the point. Housing regulation (inc. landlords, and racial segregation in renting, and rent control, etc.) is a major issue. If you're looking for movement, go there. Ignore guns, which won't get you anywhere.
I do want to add on a Toronto note the individual who built Champlain Towers was originally a Toronto area Canadian real estate developer and lawyer who after being caught by Revenue Canada skimming from the coin operated laundries in his buildings to the tune of almost $200,000 CAD(in 1978 dollars) with tax evasion at least as a civil matter and decided to skip town and take his real estate business on the road.
In turn it appears the town fathers in Surfside, FL among other South Florida communities that he later graced his presence in welcomed him to start up his real estate development business again despite being a tax cheat and in particular a tax cheat in his real estate business. Later on the mid 1980s he was stripped of his law license by the Upper Canada Law Society and did apparently make some type of settlement with Revenue Canada by the late 1980s(at that point Canada and the US was starting to cooperate more in tax related offenses both in criminal and civil realms so he probably saw the writing on the wall for his efforts to remain on the lamb from the Canadian tax man)
Excellent commentary on 'The Great American Way'.
One - All concrete - in ALL structures begins to degrade after 50 years !
Only - one - to my knowledge, has ever been built with a 100 year forward thought.
The Confederation bridge to PEI. All the sand was washed and tested for 'salt content' and all the rebar in the structure was coated with 'anti corrosion' rubber.
Look around you - everything made of concrete - will begin to die after 50 years.
The shocking truth of our modern 'cost cutting world'.
Thanks Diane for the wake up call.
Jim
America is a lawless, shithole country, a small number of super-rich sitting on an island of luxury in a fetid swamp. I moved to London in 1985, and by 2000 it was clear I would be insane to move back. But sadly, the Tory Brexit party here are hell-bent on turning the UK into a shithole country as well.
Yupp, I call it American Exceptionalism!
I owned, lived in Florida beach condo for 8 years and was treasurer on the board for 3 years. The article is mostly true about Florida condo's, some have good boards, but most have penny pinchers. Just an example of the political influence. Current coastal constuion lines in Brevard county say no building can be built east of this line towards the ocean. all new condos are built east of the costal construction line because of state provided exemptions over riding county restrictions.
Great article, Diane! Unfortunately, much of the world seems to be following them over the cliff, including Canada. We have plenty of regulations, but almost zero enforcement. I’m not sure about other provinces, but the developers in Ontario seem have a firm hold on the provincial government. Where else would you have new home buyers having to pay mandatory fees for the Tarion home warranty, which is operated by the builders! This results in the majority of faulty building complaints being denied, leaving home buyers with expensive litigation as their only hope for repairs being done. Most of them are already financially strapped with home mortgages,not able to fight these unscrupulous developers in court. I wouldn’t be surprised to see that this shoddy building has spread to condos. Love to see an article on this.
It would serve the entire coastal economy right if the bottom would fall out from under it as a consequence of such laxity. It shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to know what damage just plain water will do(water cut the Grand Canyon, remember?)much less salt water + storms, flooding, wind, Nature. Unfortunately people keep thinking that such disasters can’t happen to them. Jeez!
The last three paragraphs (not counting "And we all know how that turns out.") brilliantly describe the spiral that laissez-faire capitalism is producing and will only intensify. The amazing thing is that so many believe the lies that the elites put forth; the lies that lead to their economic enslavement. It is equally amazing that these supposed elites fail to recognize that they sew the seeds of their own demise. Add the physical consequences of climate change and I understand that the source of my nightmares for my grandchildren's future is based in this reality.
"Until Americans reject the government-is-the-enemy mindset, calamities that could be avoided will recur. Regulations are not the enemy of the people..." Agreed. But you mess up your own argument by walking sideways into gun control, and a whole big bunch of people really do believe that those regulations ARE the enemy of the people, so you undercut your own argument. Stick to the point. Housing regulation (inc. landlords, and racial segregation in renting, and rent control, etc.) is a major issue. If you're looking for movement, go there. Ignore guns, which won't get you anywhere.
I do want to add on a Toronto note the individual who built Champlain Towers was originally a Toronto area Canadian real estate developer and lawyer who after being caught by Revenue Canada skimming from the coin operated laundries in his buildings to the tune of almost $200,000 CAD(in 1978 dollars) with tax evasion at least as a civil matter and decided to skip town and take his real estate business on the road.
In turn it appears the town fathers in Surfside, FL among other South Florida communities that he later graced his presence in welcomed him to start up his real estate development business again despite being a tax cheat and in particular a tax cheat in his real estate business. Later on the mid 1980s he was stripped of his law license by the Upper Canada Law Society and did apparently make some type of settlement with Revenue Canada by the late 1980s(at that point Canada and the US was starting to cooperate more in tax related offenses both in criminal and civil realms so he probably saw the writing on the wall for his efforts to remain on the lamb from the Canadian tax man)
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-miami-condo-collapse-draws-attention-to-canadian-developer/