06/19/2023
So...maintenance personnel repaired a damaged walkway ceiling; I was asked to examine it. I questioned why the ceiling had an odd slope and also observed that the stucco on the fascia was detached. They responded "we just installed ceiling" when I requested that the ceiling be removed.
They reluctantly removed the ceiling and I noticed the ends of the perimeter beams that rested on the column were completely rotted. The corner above this area also supports a column that supports the roof. The stucco was detached as a result of the column load crushing it from above. At the handrail, a TJI joist was wrongly cut around the year 2008 for installation of the handrail post.
This is a common situation in which the effect is corrected without addressing the cause. This was a collapse waiting to happen of a pedestrian walkway.
A retention of a professional engineer will frequently prevent these types of failures; good that this property manager requested a review.