UNDERSTANDING FAILURES

Knowledge of products is important. If a special application is required, contacting the manufacturer to finding out how it may affect the outcome can be crucial. Not all hazards are as extreme as those in the videos below, but the off-gassing of VOCs can be an issue to some people, or even unpleasant odors caused by faulty installation.

I was at a job site most recently to discover that an unlicensed worker had been hired by the homeowner to do some tile work and plumbing. Inspecting his work, I found the slope of the drain to be too shallow, an S-Trap (prohibited for decades) newly installed, and it was relayed to me that instructions were not followed and there was a struggle installing Schluter Ditra, a substrate for tile. Proper adhesion may not have been achieved and the tiles may fall off the walls over time.

These are a couple of related videos that greatly demonstrate the roll of government in creating rules, the importance of good design from an experienced professional and the hiring of a contractor with strong ethical values. These videos are of large scale projects, but the principles generally apply.

THE FIRES THAT FORETOLD GRENFELL – BBC Documentary 2018 – This documentary tells the story of the United Kingdom’s failure to properly define and then enforce new regulations in construction that should have come about due to some very tragic and avoidable fires.

GRENFELL: THE FIRE OF LONDON – This documentary tells of the direct failures of a bureaucratic government agency, the Architect involved, the General Contractor and even the product manufacturer in a devastating fire that killed 72 people.