Weighed in the Balance

President Bush is looking for weapons of mass destruction.  He need not look too far.  Anyone who has visited a construction site in Barbados would have seen them - you just have to know what to look for.

Observe this fellow as he proudly demonstrates how he is ensuring that the multi-storey building will collapse like a ‘house of cards’ during the first major earthquake, probably killing everyone inside.

The minimum safe bending radius for British Standard steel is 3 times the diameter of the bar for bars upto 20 mm.  Therefore for the 12 mm diameter bar above, the bending radius should have been a minimum of 36 mm.

The problem is that the fellow is only using part of the bar bending equipment - the part that holds the bar in place.  The round former is missing.

Question: What bending radius is typically used in Barbados?  The answer: 3 mm.  No, I did not omit an integer.  The round former is rarely used.  3 mm is completely unsafe and will almost certainly fracture the bar, rendering the anchorage component utterly useless during an earthquake.

The next question is: how much more will it cost for the builder to bend the bar around a safe radius?  The answer: $0.00.  That is correct.  It will cost him absolutely nothing.

Bu..bu..but what about the extra time?

 OK.  How much extra time will be spent bending the bar around the safe radius?  The answer: not one additional second!  That is correct.  It will not cost any more money, nor will he spend any more time.  You did not ask, but, it will not take any greater effort either.  Actually, it will be easier for the fellow to bend the bar around the safe radius than the unsafe one.

 Why then are builders ensuring that our children will perish in school buildings, and parents will perish in office and public buildings during a major earthquake?  That answer is simple.  They simply do not know that they are building death traps.

 Aw, c’mon now.  It’s not that bad.  You’re just exaggerating and being sensational.

 Oh.  I am sorry.  Let me reconsider my response, refine my answer, and tone down my delivery.

Two Chinese men try to calm a man, center, as he cries over the death of his daughter near a school damaged following Monday’s powerful earthquake in Hanwang town in Sichuan province, China, Wednesday, May 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Parents cry over the body of their daughter killed in the rubbles of a junior high school building destroyed by Monday’s magnitude 7.9 earthquake in Dujiangyan, southwest China’s Sichuan Province Wednesday, May 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

A woman cries over the body of her daughter at the collapsed Xiang’e Middle School at the earthquake site in Dujiangyan of southwest China’s Sichuan province Tuesday , May 13, 2008.  (AP Photo/Color China Photo)

A Chinese man mourns as rescuer covers a dead student near a school damaged following Monday’s powerful 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Hanwang town in Sichuan province, China, Wednesday, May 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

A woman mourns over the body of a student at the collapsed Juyuan Middle School at the earthquake site in Dujiangyan of southwest China’s Sichuan province Tuesday, May 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Color China Photo)

A Chinese man mourns the death of a student near the site of a school that collapsed in Juyuan, southwestern China’s Sichuan province, Tuesday, May 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A mother collapses after identifying the body of her child discovered from the debris of a primary school in Hongbai town in Shifang in southwest China’s Sichuan province Thursday May 15, 2008. (AP Photo)

These photos are disturbing, but they are real, and I wept as I inserted each of them.  China’s violently enforced one-child policy must increase the parents’ feelings of hopeless despair to immeasurable levels.  May they know the comfort that only God can provide.

The fractured reinforcement will be useless in a major earthquake, and all multistorey buildings that rely on them are expected to collapse during a major earthquake.

Why is our Government allowing builders to build death traps in Barbados?  Why is our Government allowing builders to build without having to comply with any building standards?

The only reason that I can come up with is that they are not looking in the right place when they jet off to China, where approximately 6,900 schools collapsed on thousands of students and their teachers during the recent earthquake.  I cannot be persuaded that our Government can see these images and allow the out-of-control building industry to continue in Barbados for one more day.

Over A Decade of Sorry Excuses

The building code is being revised.

That does not stop you from asking builders to comply with the existing Barbados National Building Code which was published in 1992.

We need to have national consultations on the revised Building Code.

That does not stop you from asking builders to comply with the existing Barbados National Building Code which was published in 1992.

The Building Authority is not set up yet.

That does not stop you from asking builders to comply with the existing Barbados National Building Code which was published in 1992.

The builders know what to do.

The inexperienced builders do not know that they do not know.  However, you know, but do not seem to care.  Why is that?

You Engineers are just being self serving and want more work for yourselves.

Generally, all of the technical advice normally offered by Architects, Planners, and Civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical Engineers are contained within the Barbados National Building Code.  Therefore, homeowners do not need to hire an Engineer for this advice.

We need to draft some more legislation.

No you do not!  Why are you so afraid of asking builders to build properly?  Good grief!

Regards,

Grenville

I told myself that I would refrain from discussing building construction in Barbados.  However, the recent earthquake China, especially the deaths of thousands of students and their teachers in the 6,900 school buildings that were destroyed is heartbreaking.  Listen to Lin Qiang, Lin Qiang, the Deputy Inspector of the Sichuan Education Department:

“I have witnessed an appalling tragedy this time. It has had an enormous impact on my soul. From that moment on, I can not bear any buck-passing on the protection of life. With so many young lives taken away, so many families broken, we wouldn’t be qualified to be human beings, not to mention educators, if we didn’t value life over politics and bureacracy, if we officials still tried to avoid responsibility and protect ourselves.”

Lin Qiang first arrived at Beichuan Middle School a day after it collapsed in the earthquake. He saw a parent crying over the body of her child buried under the rubble.

“There was no relief personnel. The mother had watched her child’s life going away bit by bit, but could do nothing about it. The child died four hours before I arrived there. The parent had been crying, mumbling that her child was very good at school.”

Lin wanted to give her all the money he brought with him, but she refused, saying that it was useless.

“I felt guilty. Although I held no direct responsibility for the tragedy, I felt guilty from the bottom of my heart towards that child, and towards the parent, ” Lin said.

He refused to regard the earthquake as just a natural disaster.

“It is a natural disaster. But natural disasters wouldn’t necessarily cause human tragedies. It’s morally lazy to blame nature for human tragedies. The child could have survived. The school building could have stood upright. Not a single student died at another school just a half mile away, because its building didn’t collapse.”

The reason is simple - that school was donated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and had the donor supervise its construction quality. Such a supervision mechanism was missing in most schools that collapsed during the earthquake.  He urged his colleagues to think hard about the tragedies.

“If we education administrators had fulfilled our duties and guarded against corruption, our school buildings would have stood firm and the teachers and children wouldn’t have died for no good reason. So much tragedy could have been avoided. It’s a shame that we were not able to protect our vulnerable kids from danger. We should think about it. We should not shrink from our responsibilities and glorify ourselves with a few teachers’ heroic deeds in the earthquake.”

“We have not yet studied systematically the reasons behind the collapse of school buildings till this day. We have not yet actively looked for evidence and conducted an investigation into the tragedies. We have not yet apologized to the family members of the dead. It shows that it doesn’t weigh much upon our minds to value life and to take active measures to ensure its safety.”

“The parents who have lost their children in the earthquake are staying in the ruins of collapsed schools with tears in their eyes day and night, looking for construction materials which could serve as evidence of malpractice. They want their children to rest in peace in heaven, but also want to prevent similar tragedies from happening to tens of thousands of children in the future.”

“As teachers and civil servants, we should be grateful for their effort. We should respect them and support their work. However, very few people in the education departments are willing to think this way and make such efforts. I understand that people are now very busy with various reconstruction work… However, justice needs to be done for the spirits of the deceased children, to their parents and to the whole community. If we don’t have any contemplation over such a tremendous tragedy, if we put our own honour and career success above children’s lives, how could it be possible for us to elevate our souls and reconstruct our institutions? How could we make sure similar tragedies never take place again?”

Lin Qiang has requested to hand over his opportunity to be a torchbearer for the Beijing Olympic Games as part of his redemption effort. He also suggested that the ceremonies of the Games should be adjusted against the backdrop of the earthquake.

Sources:

Article: http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2008/05/lin-qiang-i-felt-guilty-over-deaths-of-school-children-in-earthquake/

Photos: http://www.cryptome.cn/cn-quake2/cn-quake2.htm

Next Article: The structural condition of Barbados’ schools.

The recent controversy surrounding Mr Matthew Farley’s published comments on Senator Griffith’s choice of hairstyle in Parliament, and the subsequent responses, are instructive for persons offering public comment.

Mr Farley had an opinion on the matter which he submitted for publication.  Those who agreed with Mr Farley and those who disagreed also submitted their opinions for publication.  However, what is instructive is the nature of many of the responses that were unsupportive of Mr Farley’s opinion.

On national radio, terms such as: foolish, ignorant, backward thinking and the like were used to describe Mr Farley.  A sample of responses published in the national press follows.

 ”This article was not only shocking to read but indicated a mind preoccupied with superficialities and not with personal worth.” 2 March 2008

“It was a most frightening thing coming from a man who is an educator.” 15 Feb 2008

“Federal High School old boy Farley’s views on the hairstyle of new Senator Damien Griffith are frighteningly unenlightened for a shaper of young minds and I hope he does not pass on his style of argument to his students.” 16 Feb 2008

“He then tells us he understands neo-colonialism “in all its dimensions”. … Then, in the rest of the article, he proceeds to show us clearly that he indeed does not understand these things.” 16 Feb 2008

“The only leap here is Farley’s leap back into the unenlightened past. And now he gets downright ridiculous,” 16 Feb 2008

“It is a pity that in the 21st century a black man, and an educator at that, bears these thoughts about his own culture.” 16 Feb 2002

“However, sometimes in his zeal to ventilate his objections to social developments and cultural changes, the estimable principal breaches the canons of scientific and erudite argument, making us ordinary mortals wish he would check the relevant sources and legal authorities before unburdening himself of anachronistic and uninformed judgments.” 27 Feb 2008

What we have is a scathing criticism of the man rather than a critical review of his ideas.  Even when someone actually attempted to criticize the idea, it seems that they still felt obligated to prefix or append the unnecessary insult.

Why do we respond this way? Why do we feel the need to insult and denigrate each other?  I have determined three principal reasons by observing human behaviour.

The first reason is that it is a way to elevate ourselves.  We can elevate ourselves through two ways.  One is through personal and professional development.  The other is not actual elevation, but relative elevation, and it can be achieved through pushing others down.  The motive appears to be fame.

The second reason is that it gives others the opportunity to experience our misery; as the proverb goes - misery loves company.  The motive appears to be selfishness.

The third reason is to discourage others from trying to accomplish their goals.  The motive appears to be hate.

There are significant emotional, psychological, and spiritual consequences for practicing this behaviour, and the practitioner appears to inevitably realize a state of inconsolable bitterness.  Once this state is reached, the only known remedy is for the person to be born again.

It is therefore important that persons desist from practicing this form of communication, and concentrate on educating their audience through encouraging a debate on the proffered opinion.  Trying to embarrass another person into silence educates no one.

“If you built to the minimum standards of the Code, then you would only have achieved the worst building that the law will allow.” Tony Gibbs

The minimum building standards in the Barbados National Building Code (BNBC) are for persons who simply cannot afford to do any better.  To consciously build below these minimum standards is lunacy.  You not only guarantee a homeless condition for your family after a major earthquake or hurricane, but your house is likely to attract expensive maintenance requirements within 5 years of occupancy.

Homeowners and building contractors familiar with the BNBC may be tempted to adopt only the minimum standards, in the mistaken belief that complying with higher standards is prohibitively expensive.  I will therefore provide some guidance for home owners to achieve higher building standards at no or very little additional cost.  This should translate into a more structurally stable house that attracts lower maintenance costs.

The Design Stage

It is easier and far less expensive to make changes to a drawing than to a built structure.  Therefore, after you have received your drawings, critically review them.  Ask yourself:

• Is it what we really want?
• Are we happy with the layout of the bathrooms and kitchen?
• Are we happy with the location of lighting fixtures and windows?
• Are we maximizing natural lighting and ventilation?
• Are we happy with the ceiling heights, and size and layout of the closets?
• Does the house have the necessary shear walls at each elevation?

Now, more importantly, does your spouse understand the drawings?  If not, then use masking tape and layout the bathrooms, closets, kitchen and any other spaces as necessary.  Resist the temptation to be pressured into prematurely approving the drawings because you are getting frustrated with the progress.  Take your time to ensure that your spouse understands and approves the design locations and spaces.

The Construction Stage

Once you have approved the draughtsman’s or architect’s design, and the planning department has approved your development application, then your builder will set out or position your building on the lot so that he can excavate to find a stable foundation.

You should ensure that your house is accurately set out.  Your site plan should show dimensions from at least two corners of the building to the nearest boundary markers.  If it does not, then ask your designer to include them.  Once the builder has set out the building, check that the corner-to-boundary marker distances are in accordance with those on the site plan.

A stable foundation can be achieved by eliminating the risk of the building settling.  This means that you should excavate to a hard bearing layer.  If you have reached limestone, then allow the excavator operator to cut into the rock at least 75 mm (3″) in order to remove the weathered top section.  This can be done at no additional cost.

The Code specifies a 400 mm wide strip footing; however, builders normally use 600 mm, which is better.  The vertical wall reinforcement is 10 mm diameter reinforcing bars at 800 mm centres.  However, additional reinforcement needs to be placed at window and door openings and corners.  Take your time and check the spacing and location of the wall reinforcement.  Remember, it is your house.  The additional cost to perform this check = $0.00.  For clarification, there is insufficient reinforcement at the T-junction shown in the photograph above.

This is what happens when you do not measure carefully.

This is also what happens.  I travelled around Barbados searching in vain for an example of how it should be done.  The relevant autuorities need to arise from their slumber and acknowledge their responsibility to regulate industries that are out of control.  The residential construction industry is clearly out of control.

Concrete must be compacted, and a vibrator is normally used to remove the air voids to facilitate this compaction.  If concrete is not compacted properly, a condition called honeycombing results.  This condition can allow air, water and chlorides to reach the reinforcement and facilitate the corrosion process.  Compacting concrete should be done at no additional cost.

Concrete must also be cured to allow the chemical reactions that facilitate the hardening of the concrete and allow it to reach its design strength.  Concrete can be cured by keeping it wet continuously for 3 days, or by spraying the surface with a curing agent.  Ask your builder how he plans to cure the concrete.  If he does not know what you are talking about, then you are in trouble.  A house with a floor area of 280 square metres (3,000 sq ft) will require approximately 8 gallons of spray on curing agent, which costs under $300.

In beams and columns, bend the link ends into the beam and column in order to reduce the vulnerability to earthquakes and hurricanes.  Insist on this task which can be done at no additional cost.

Since I could find no examples of how this should be done, I bent the link end inward …

 and fitted it around the column’s main reinforcement so that the fabricator will know what to do.

This is where I found it last weekend.  Why do I bother?  Because I care.

Use the correct type of reinforcement.  The British BS 4449 is stronger, less brittle, and can bend around smaller radiuses without fracturing.  Since the American ASTM A615 is cheaper and weaker, you will need to use more of it to get the equivalent strength.  Therefore the cost difference should be negligible.

Reduce the rafter spacing from 600 mm to 500 mm to increase the wind resistance of your roof.  Your builder may not charge you any additional money for this; however, if he does, then for a 10 m (30′) long house, you will need approximately 6 additional rafters at approximately $80 each (2×6 Purpleheart).

Please do not rely on toe nails like this to keep your rafters in place during a hurricane.  If you do not install BRC rater connectors or their equivalent, then prepare to be homeless.  The cost of the rafter connectors will probably be under $100.

You should use hardwood or timber treated for insects.  The additional cost of using termite treated Pine for a 10 m (30′) long house is approximately $220.  The cost of replacing all of your roof timber structure could be approximately 100 times that amount.

Increase the frequency of roof fixings to 150 mm (6″) spacing at the hip ridges, eaves, and any gable ends.  The additional material cost should be under $200.  In the photo above, more fixings (like at the eaves) is required at the ridge, gable end, and another row at the eaves.

If you intend to use metal sheeting as a roof covering as in the photo above, then use 0.5 mm (24 guage) thick sheets.  The 0.4 mm thick (26 guage) currently costs $2.01 per square foot of roof area, compared to the 0.5 mm at $2.46.  Assuming a 1,800 sq-ft roof area, the additional material cost is $810. (The labour cost should remain unchanged).  This is significantly less than your annual insurance premiums are likely to be.

This is what can happen if the roof sheeting is too thin and/or there are no spacer blocks under the profile ridge connections.  Photo taken by author after hurricane Ivan in Grenada.

Regards,

Grenville

Related Articles:

500 More Sub-standard Houses

The Construction Horror Show

Advice for Homeowners

Can We Achieve Affordable Housing in Barbados

The Worst House that the Code Will Allow

 Like his predecessors, the Hon Christopher Sinckler is encouraging Barbadian service providers to export more.  We would like to, but we need his help.  Since Government is the largest service provider in Barbados, he needs to encourage his colleagues to improve the efficiency of those government departments with which we must interact.  One example should suffice.

The sticker that enveloped my road tax certificate was coming off of my windscreen.  I therefore moved it from the left side of the windscreen to my right so that I could periodically push it back on.  Later that day, before I could get to my insurance company to get a replacement sticker envelope, I was stopped by the police.  They informed me that it was an offence to drive with the road tax not displayed on the right side of the vehicle.  I acknowledged that I was not aware of the offence and offered to pay the fine.  I was told that I would have to appear before a magistrate.

I subsequently received a letter instructing me to appear before the magistrate on a specified date.  On the stated day, I attended the magistrate’s court as instructed, and took out my laptop computer to do some work while I waited.  I was told to put it away.  I therefore took out a note pad to write some correspondence, but was told to put that away also.  I therefore took out a typed report in order to edit it, but was told that I could do no work whatsoever while in the court room.  I therefore had to sit and listen to the cases before mine.

After most of the day had been spent, my name was called, and I stood in the dock.  I pleaded guilty and was fined $300 forthwith.  I went to the accounts section as ordered and offered my credit card to pay the fine, which they bemusedly refused.  I therefore took out my check book and inquired to whom I should write the check.  They told me that I had to pay cash.  I explained that I did not have that amount of cash on me.  They told me to either call someone or transportation would be provided to me, free of cost, to the remand section of the prison, because the magistrate stated that the fine was to be paid forthwith.

Not wanting to place my life in anyone’s hands, I asked whether I could go to the bank and withdraw some funds.  They stated that if I was not back within the hour, then a warrant would be issued for my arrest.  I therefore ran as fast as I could to Broad Street, found a bank, and waited in the ATM line for what seemed like a very long time.  After withdrawing the funds, I raced back to the magistrate’s court, slowing down while passing the Central Police Station lest I be delayed unnecessarily.  I made it back with 20 minutes to spare.

What is restraining me from spending my time exporting as the Hon Sinckler would like?  The time wasted waiting to receive frustratingly inefficient government services.  I am including government’s statutory corporations as agencies that provide government’s services.  How can this be improved?  There are so many ways.  Why not start with the following 5 initiatives?

1. Allow payments for government services to be paid by credit card and on-line.
2. Do not allow the majority of cashiers to take lunch between 12:00 noon and 1:30 pm when persons are trying to fit in paying their bills within their lunch hour.
3. Extend the hours that government departments can receive payments.
4. Allow drop off facilities for those who simply cannot visit the government department during the department’s normal working hours.
5. Allow the police to fine persons on the spot for minor traffic offences.  Those who wish to challenge the fines can spend their time in the court room.

Regards,

Grenville

Dear Readers:

I am addressing this article to students who are in their final year of secondary school and who may be feeling a little anxious about their futures at this time.  People thinking about choosing another career can also benefit.

Choosing a career can be a daunting task.  You may be in the career that you choose for the next 40 years of your life, so you should not choose carelessly.  Allow me to suggest the following selection method.

1.  Identify your Aptitudes First, I would suggest that you identify your aptitudes. They may be several things.  Identifying your aptitudes can be challenging since you must give each subject a fair chance.  Please do not judge your aptitude by the grades that you have received at school; they can be poor aptitude indicators.  A few examples may suffice here.1. You may not think that you like music if you were only taught music theory, but you may excel if you learnt to play an instrument “by ear’.

2. Similarly, you may not think that you like foreign languages, like Spanish, but you may excel if you learnt conversational Spanish.

3. You may find science subjects challenging; however, try reading your science texts from the first chapter until the end and you may be surprised at how easy the subject really is.
 

2.  Identify your Motives

After you have identified your aptitudes, identify some jobs that you think that you would find attractive.  Write them down and then ask your self, “Why do I want to do this job”. i.e. try to identify your motives. If your motive is principally to make money, then you may have identified the wrong job for you.  If your motive is principally care, then you may have identified the right job for you.  You must care about what you do rather than simply doing a good job and getting paid for your services.
 

3.  Get some Experience

It may be useful if you worked for a company (it can be a company of one) who offered the service that you found attractive. If they are not hiring, then offer to work for them for one month for free, explaining to them that you see it as an investment (and it is). If you have made that agreement, then DO NOT QUIT!  If you do quit, then that decision may follow you for the rest of your life. If you do not think that you can last one month without pay, then agree to work for one or two week without pay. Remember to explain that you are trying to choose a career, and therefore, you want to work in an environment that will help you to decide.
 

4.  Ask God to Guide You

Our national anthem states: “The Lord has been the people’s guide …”.  You are one of those people and therefore have the right to ask God for guidance.  However, while God provides the direction, you must provide the thrust and momentum.  The thrust, or the initial movement, is accomplished in the first three steps until you can secure any type of job.  The momentum is provided by you working with conscientious dedication to achieve the highest standards of competence at that job, even if it is one that you do not like.

When you are ready, God will guide you into the responsibilities that He has for you.  Therefore do not hold on too tightly to any one position of responsibility.  If someone else wants your job, then let them have it.  God will take care of you if you let Him.

Best regards,

Grenville