2008 Woodie Awards
Don't step on a crack
New BSS building already has flaws
Isaura Linares
Issue date: 10/24/07 Section: Campus
- Page 1 of 1
For several weeks rumors have been circulating around campus that the Behavioral and Social Sciences building is unsafe because of cracks and floor lifting that students have seen.
"It's really unnerving to even have the idea in my head that the ground is settling and that eventually the building can fall over," said Terra Rentz, President of Associated Students.
Kristi Janowski is the project manager for Humboldt State University's Facilities Management. She was involved in the planning and construction of the building.
"There are some superficial cracks that you can see in the flooring and that's got some people concerned," she said. "But that's not a structural issue, that's an issue of the concrete curing."
Not all concrete is made in the same way. Different applications require different ingredients such as rock, plastic and dirt. But in general, concrete dries, or cures, over a minimum of 30 years, she said.
"If the cracks were big and they occurred in structural members of the building, that would definitely be something to worry about," Janowski said. "Cracks on a slab in a floor, that's nothing to worry about."
Structural members contain concrete, steel and rebar, and provide much of a building's structural integrity. There are several stairways in the building, particularly the outermost stairways, which are supported by structural members.
"If we saw a crack in one of these, in one of the stairways, that would be something to be worried about," said Janowski. "But it's nothing, those things are fine, they're huge and they're thick and they've got so much steel inside holding them all together, I would be totally confident with my daughter going through that building during a 7.0 [magnitude earthquake]," she said.
Visible cracks in the floor slabs have been a cause for concern among students. However, the slab has nothing to do with the structure of the building, Janowski said.
"The slabs are just flat concrete, but they're supported by other things," she said. "It's not the slab itself that's supporting [the building], that's just like the icing on the cake but you've got the cake to hold the icing beneath it."
The stairs that appear to be cracked and not supported by structural members are just flat concrete, Janowski said. Metal trays support the stairs themselves. Structurally, the concrete provides only a surface to walk on.
House inspector for the City of Eureka Ralph Brady said, "If [the cracks] are less than a quarter-inch wide I would think, even in a building like that, it probably is shrinkage. Concrete will shrink at different rates."
A wall, a ceiling and a floor can all shrink differently, Brady said.
In addition to cracks in the floors, students are also calling attention to the floor lifting in some of the central areas of the building.
"I think what they're referring to is a wood floor," Janowski said. "We're having a problem with the wood floor we're working with right now, but that has nothing to do with the structure of the building," she said.
Contractors are still trying to calculate the building temperature because the "moisture and humidity in the air that soaked into the wood, made it swell, and there was really nowhere for it go, and so [the floor] got tighter and tighter until it just popped up," she said.
The system being used to monitor the temperature of the building is called the Energy Management System. Right now the different temperature levels are being monitored to make sure the temperature is stable enough to go ahead and fix the floor, Janowski said.
"I'd rather put peoples' minds at ease and let them know that it's okay, than have them be nervous or spread more false rumors," Janowski said.
Isaura Linares can be reached at il4@humboldt.edu
"It's really unnerving to even have the idea in my head that the ground is settling and that eventually the building can fall over," said Terra Rentz, President of Associated Students.
Kristi Janowski is the project manager for Humboldt State University's Facilities Management. She was involved in the planning and construction of the building.
"There are some superficial cracks that you can see in the flooring and that's got some people concerned," she said. "But that's not a structural issue, that's an issue of the concrete curing."
Not all concrete is made in the same way. Different applications require different ingredients such as rock, plastic and dirt. But in general, concrete dries, or cures, over a minimum of 30 years, she said.
"If the cracks were big and they occurred in structural members of the building, that would definitely be something to worry about," Janowski said. "Cracks on a slab in a floor, that's nothing to worry about."
Structural members contain concrete, steel and rebar, and provide much of a building's structural integrity. There are several stairways in the building, particularly the outermost stairways, which are supported by structural members.
"If we saw a crack in one of these, in one of the stairways, that would be something to be worried about," said Janowski. "But it's nothing, those things are fine, they're huge and they're thick and they've got so much steel inside holding them all together, I would be totally confident with my daughter going through that building during a 7.0 [magnitude earthquake]," she said.
Visible cracks in the floor slabs have been a cause for concern among students. However, the slab has nothing to do with the structure of the building, Janowski said.
"The slabs are just flat concrete, but they're supported by other things," she said. "It's not the slab itself that's supporting [the building], that's just like the icing on the cake but you've got the cake to hold the icing beneath it."
The stairs that appear to be cracked and not supported by structural members are just flat concrete, Janowski said. Metal trays support the stairs themselves. Structurally, the concrete provides only a surface to walk on.
House inspector for the City of Eureka Ralph Brady said, "If [the cracks] are less than a quarter-inch wide I would think, even in a building like that, it probably is shrinkage. Concrete will shrink at different rates."
A wall, a ceiling and a floor can all shrink differently, Brady said.
In addition to cracks in the floors, students are also calling attention to the floor lifting in some of the central areas of the building.
"I think what they're referring to is a wood floor," Janowski said. "We're having a problem with the wood floor we're working with right now, but that has nothing to do with the structure of the building," she said.
Contractors are still trying to calculate the building temperature because the "moisture and humidity in the air that soaked into the wood, made it swell, and there was really nowhere for it go, and so [the floor] got tighter and tighter until it just popped up," she said.
The system being used to monitor the temperature of the building is called the Energy Management System. Right now the different temperature levels are being monitored to make sure the temperature is stable enough to go ahead and fix the floor, Janowski said.
"I'd rather put peoples' minds at ease and let them know that it's okay, than have them be nervous or spread more false rumors," Janowski said.
Isaura Linares can be reached at il4@humboldt.edu
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