FHS Auditorium Roof Collapse

[AlexDonkle]

Happened a little over a year ago but may be of interest here: Roof collapses at Farrington High as storms pummel Oahu - Hawaii News - Honolulu Star-Advertiser

No injuries luckily, happened a few hours before an event was scheduled in the auditorium. Old building from the 50's and had a lot of un-permited modifications done over the years by renters (new lighting trusses over the audience near the collapsed beam for one), but eventually it was blamed on insufficient structural design (engineer has long since passed away)

 

[JD]

Often, a clogged roof drain can be the cause. A few inches of standing water can add tens of thousands of pounds to a roof. And yes, the structural design is suppose to take that possibility into account. Many years ago, my wife worked at a Kmart where that happened. heavy rain, roof collapsed. It was a drainage problem. In that case, the roof was to code! Yet, it collapsed! No one was injured. Never underestimate nature!

 

[Jay Ashworth]

Or tha advantages of not-exactly-flat roof construction.

 

[StradivariusBone]

Often, a clogged roof drain can be the cause. A few inches of standing water can add tens of thousands of pounds to a roof. And yes, the structural design is suppose to take that possibility into account. Many years ago, my wife worked at a Kmart where that happened. heavy rain, roof collapsed. It was a drainage problem. In that case, the roof was to code! Yet, it collapsed! No one was injured. Never underestimate nature!

That's a scary thought. Water is heavy, I had to do the math for our space and it's just about a million pounds (assuming the roof was filled to the edges).

 

[zmb]

That's a scary thought. Water is heavy, I had to do the math for our space and it's just about a million pounds (assuming the roof was filled to the edges).

Don't even think about the mass involved with wet snow.

 

[Jay Ashworth]

Water is actually still heavier than even wet snow, is it not?

[ ETA: Yup; about 50% the weight of water is as heavy as you can get snow, regardless of what you do to it; remember, ice has a lower density than water, which is why it floats.

Snow - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ]

 

[soundlight]

Yeah, but snow can build up faaaar beyond the lip of the roof. Snow can be feet deep where as water will be inches deep, just to the lip of the roof.

 

[Jay Ashworth]

Yeah, but snow can build up faaaar beyond the lip of the roof. Snow can be feet deep where as water will be inches deep, just to the lip of the roof.

Ah; fair point. I've lived in FL for 34 years now; shoveling out of the Blizzard of 78 is mostly lost to me...