NORTHRIDGE EARTHQUAKE

PHOTOGRAPHS

Summary: Poor construction practices, illegally built structures, substandard building materials, fake (pressed thread) anchor bolts instead of machine-threaded anchor bolts and fake fasteners, inadequate fastening and other materials not complying with building codes and national standards, lack of foundation/soil investigation, not enough attention to necessary shear walls and diagonal bracing, efforts to reduce costs, and lack of construction trade and building department education are some of the major contributors to the building failures you see.

1 - Apartment building from street with no apparent damage.

2 - No number 2 photo at this time.

3 - Collapsed building, split apart. Box nails used, common nails required. Substandard foundation anchor bolts and spaced too far apart.

4 - Building split.

5 - Undersized footings and columns, inadequate column to beam connections, lack of diagonal bracing.

6 - Building collapse. Inadequate columns, lateral bracing and shear walls.

7 - Insufficient fasteners and attachment devices, box nails used instead of code required common nails, no shear walls and lateral bracing, poor construction practices.

8 - Collapsed building piled up and burned.

9 - Inadequate foundation bolts, box nails used instead of (Code Required) common nails.

10 - Hospital - brick construction designed and built to State Earthquake Building Codes. Little damage.

11 - Porch railing failure, lack of horizontal reinforcement.

12 - Stucco (lath & plaster) failure. Lath not installed in accordance with Building Code. Poor workmanship. Code required furring nails not used.

13 - Stucco not adhered to wire reinforcement, furring nails not used. Code violation.

14 - Stucco fell off wall exposing improperly installed building paper, lath, and furring nails not used as required by Code.

15 - More stucco failures. Gap between plaster and wire reinforcement. Wire not furred away from paper as required by Code.

16 - More stucco failures, same conditions.

17 - Building failure. Building racked by earthquake.

18 - Building failure. Wrong size beams, not enough cross bracing.

19 - Building supported on columns, building racked, interior damage.

20 - Covered parking - supported on pipe columns. Building racked.

21 - Covered parking - pipe column and foundation moved about 5 inches.

22 - Art building broken into pieces.

23 - Brick wall failure at floor (diaphragm) line. Building out of plumb.

24 - Partial building collapse.

25 - Improperly installed cement plaster (stucco) wall system. No exterior wall sheathing, lath not furred away from building paper. (See also pictures 12 - 14) Two people killed.

26 - Close-up of (25).

27 - More lack of exterior sheathing, improper building paper and lathing.

28 - Failed 2x diagonal bracing.

29 - More failed stucco. Masonry wall not reinforced or grouted.

30 - Stucco fallen off wall. Building paper, lath and installation do not meet Building Code.

31 - close- up of failed paper, lath and stucco. Wire not imbedded in stucco as required by Code. Not enough and too small size nails.

32 - More failed stucco. Shows wire not imbedded 1/4 inch into stucco per Building Code Requirements.

33 - Building collapse.

34 - Building collapse.

35 - Building collapse. No reinforcing steel at column to floor slab connection. Slabs/walls not connected.

36 - Close-up.

37 - Building collapse. Concrete reinforcement bars installed too close to exterior of concrete member. Parapet wall (above roof) not anchored to building roof structure.

38 - Floor slab collapse. No column/slab reinforcement bars.

39 - Not enough concrete reinforcement. Slab collapse column failure.

40 - Collapsed floor and failed concrete column. Not enough concrete coverage of reinforcing steel.

41 - Collapsed walls, lack of adequate attachment to structure.

42 - Collapsed ceilings and walls.

43 - Collapsed walls, lack of attachment of framing to floors above and below. Concrete nails used instead of concrete drilled in anchors.

44 - Building separation from parking lot.

45 - Earth separation.

46 - Wall movement at 2nd floor line. Stained glass failure.

47 - Wall/slab connection failure.

48 - Brick wall failure at floor (slab) line.

49 - Corner failure inadequate reinforcement stirrups.

50 - Ceiling failure.

51 - Column failure and building collapse.

52 - Column failure and building collapse.

53 - Column failure (close-up).

54 - Insufficient reinforcing.

55 - Column/beam failure.

56 - Pre-cast double T collapse - inadequate attachment.

57 - Pre-cast double T collapse - inadequate attachment.

58 - Pre-cast double T collapse - inadequate attachment.

59 - Pre-cast double T collapse - inadequate attachment.

60 - Concrete failure, misplaced reinforcement.

61 - Pre-cast concrete collapse. Inadequate fastening.

62 - Aircraft hangar.

63 - Partially opened hangar folding door.

64 - hangar exterior wall, diagonal bracing rods.

65 - Diagonal bracing rods pulled through building columns.

66 - Broken brace rod “Hill Washers” (left), new “Hill Washer (right).

67 - New brace rod with “Hill Washer” installed.

68 - Additional column stiffener at diagonal bracing.

69 - Hangar wall moved off foundation. Inadequate foundation bolts.

70 - Partially opened hangar door.

71 - Wood framed offices built inside hangar. Metal (hangar) building moved differently from wood framed construction.

72 - Interior of office building.

73 - Attic insulation “jumped” from between ceiling joists.

74 - Earth movement.

75 - Metal framed building under construction.

76 - Collapsed parapet walls.

77 - Concrete roof tile “jumped” off roof. Inadequate nails and electro galvanized nails used (and failed) instead of hot dipped galvanized.

78 - Earth movement.

79 - Concrete block wall failure. Block not grouted (per Code Requirements).

80 - Concrete wall collapse. Wall not grouted per Code.

81 - Illegal unreinforced concrete masonry wall collapse.

82 - Masonry wall collapse. No reinforcement or grout.

83 - Masonry wall fell off overpass.

84 - Masonry wall fell off overpass (close-up).

85 - Building performed well.

86 - Chimney collapse.

87 - Every chimney in subdivision collapsed. Inadequate reinforcement and attachment to building structure.

88 - More collapsed chimneys.

89 - Chimney (close-up).

90 - Inadequate bracing of masonry to building structure.

91 - Inadequate steel reinforcement.

92 - Landslide.

93 - Small building was at top of hill. Inadequate foundation.

94 - Freeway collapse.

95 - Landslide.

96 - Freeway collapse.

97 - Freeway collapse.

98 - Freeway collapse.

99 - Concrete bench moved onto sidewalk by ground movement.

100 - Two members of Structural Engineers Association of Central California & Nevada. Earth Quake response team.

101 - Earthquake Response team members of American Construction Inspectors Association

102 - California Division of Prisons has set up field kitchens and fed volunteer engineers and inspectors.

103 - Structural inspectors (volunteers) members of SEAOCC/N and ACIA.