Danger of Tree Damage to Walls & Foundations – SANS 10400-H Annex-D Cracks and damage to walls and foundations are caused primarily by soils that contract and expand due to moisture content when the soil absorbs water and swells up and then shrinks when it dries out. This puts pressure on foundations, and if not designed…
By PENNY SWIFT Building Not According to Approved Plans The City of Cape Town recently ordered builders to halt the construction of a Gordon’s Bay house because the project did not comply with the National Building Regulations (NBR) and is a non-compliant site. In fact, work has been stopped several times, and only after repeated…
Councils Must be Ruthless with Restricting Occupation of Unsafe Buildings I think it must be terrifying to be woken at 04:00 in the morning by a thunderclap that makes the whole building shudder. Then, in a confused state, you realise your bed’s still shaking and, no, it wasn’t thunder, it was the building falling down….
The Photograph above: By Valenciano – Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29802079 Engineers Design Buildings for a Purpose Engineers around the world will design a structure based on the brief given to them by a developer. The basis for any good design is to have a structure that is “fit for purpose” for which it is…
Is Flood Damage an “Act of God”or a Result of Bad Planningand Shoddy Construction? Pic above: The flooded N2 just outside Somerset West was a veritable river on the evening of 15 November 2013. By Penny Swift, November 16, 2013 As much of the greater Cape Town area and other parts of the Western Cape…
