The expert named the causes of building deformations: they can appear in a few decades

Deformations can occur after several decades.

Although most residents believe that if no damage to the building was evident a few years after the construction of the house, deformations were avoided, according to Prof. Dr. Valivonis, that opinion is incorrect.

“It just came to our knowledge then. For example, in Lithuania, most of the buildings are built with concrete or reinforced concrete. There is a material that has plastic deformations and they manifest for a long time. If the floor is exposed to some effects, loads, one part is compressed and the other is tensile. And in places where the floor is compressed, if there are high stresses in the concrete, plastic deformations can occur, which can develop over decades. For this reason, the floor can be inclined, and if a structure is placed on it, even if the partitions, the wall, only after a certain time, when this floor reaches greater deformations, the defect may be missing. It is not that I built a house and after the first month everything clears up ”, explains the expert.

According to the scientist, it should be noted that there are many reasons for the damage and deformation of buildings. First, a construction defect that develops over time. There may also be building design errors, defects, operational defects (when the building is operated incorrectly, damage occurs during repairs, such as damage to load-bearing structures). In addition, the appearance of additional effects should not be overlooked.

“These reasons can lead to various violations. It is difficult to say because they can be different in each house, there may be more than one, it is difficult to say. <...> In general, a violation does not lead to a serious accident, there must be at least several ”, says the interlocutor.

The most important are the supporting structures

Assessing the causes of deformations in an apartment building on Gabijos Street, Vilnius, experts spoke about possible violations during individual repairs, replacement of partitions in apartments, etc. According to J. Valivonis, such consequences, when the wall of the house is broken, appears on the deformation floor, it may be if the load-bearing structures of the building were damaged during certain works.

“If you change the position of the retaining wall, it is torn down, etc., in which case the building can collapse. The building has load-bearing partitions, they are made up of structures that must withstand certain effects ”, explains the scientist.

According to J. Valivonis, when designing a building, the load, bearing structures are calculated and all this is done according to the construction rules. As for other partitions, without load, which are intended only for the separation of spaces, to ensure sound insulation, the regulation of their construction differs slightly.

“In the design standards, regardless of whether your temporary partitions in Lithuania or in the European Union are evaluated as uniformly distributed variable load. In other words, your position is not fixed. Therefore, it does not matter at all where the partition will be located, the bearing capacity must be satisfied ”, points out the interlocutor.

The broccoli was and is

Another claim, often made in public space, about the possible causes of building deformations: during the construction boom, around 2003-2008, apartment buildings are of lower quality than those built after the crisis .

“Anyway, I would look at this year’s construction house very carefully. Now the quality is better, the legislation has changed, etc., it is now that contractors see these situations very differently. In my personal opinion, the Riskier buildings are from 1993 to 1996, when there was no control and everyone built as they wanted, and when there was a great construction boom, ”said the State Inspectorate for Spatial Planning and Construction under the Chief Environmental Adviser of the Aidas Ministry Valys.

However, prof. Dr. Valivonis says that there was and is a defect in the construction, regardless of the period in which the building was constructed.

“Of course, technology is changing, materials are changing, and of course quality is changing as well, it is improving. But the load-bearing structure in both current buildings and those built in Soviet times is made of metal or reinforced concrete, concrete, brick or wood. The same material is used, only other technology can be used. Sure, it is influenced by the work culture, but it all depends on the person, the scammers are still there. The same can be said of the specialists who carry out the maintenance ”, points out the interlocutor. Here he himself adds that there is a possibility that there was more defect at that time.

Delfi Būstas recalls that in Vilnius, on Gabijos Street, after the wall of an apartment building collapsed on Monday night, residents were evacuated from the building.

“A notification was received about Gabijos street. 30 cracks in the stairwell and some apartments. Our forces went to the place, confirmed the fact, sent construction experts to assess the state, people are evicted and evacuated for security reasons, ”said Saulius Žilinskas, representative of PAGD.

Vilnius Deputy Mayor Valdas Benkunskas said the apartment building was built in 2004, but “it has been known as problematic from earlier times.”