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Sep 04, 2023

Read the documents: Select Structural Engineering report released

Ryan Shaffer, co-owner of R.A. Masonry, said he took these photos of 324 Main

Ryan Shaffer, co-owner of R.A. Masonry, said he took these photos of 324 Main St. hours before the building collapsed on Sunday, May 28.

Reports from the Bettendorf firm hired by Andrew Wold to assess work at 324 Main St. document the building's problems before its partial collapse on Sunday, May 28.

Following are excerpts from those documents.

Feb. 2, 2023, an emergency site visit was performed after concern that the west exterior wall had a spot where brick was cracked and crumbling.

"This engineer determined that this is not an imminent threat to the building or its residents, but structural repairs will be necessary," wrote professional engineer David Valliere.

Valliere reiterated there are two east-west beams in the west wall that needed to be shored. With those secured, the reconstruction of the wall could commence. The height of the wall should be replaced as well, he said. He recommended a CMU (concrete masonry unit) wall.

"The new CMU wall need not replace the entire west side of the building, but rather only the approximately 12-foot wide area from a window opening (currently boarded up) to an adjacent wall area of CMU," he wrote. "It is also recommended to replace the brick wall in segments, and to shore/support the wall above in said segments."

Villiare said this would minimize the amount of time the building would be unsupported while construction commenced. He gave specific instructions on what needed to be done for the new wall.

"The purpose of the staged and incremental demolition and reconstruction of wall segments is to minimize the risk of local structural failures," he said.

During a follow-up, Valliere said the mason pointed out that the area to the north of the work area was potentially dangerous beneath its facade. Bi-State Masonry was working on the repairs recommended in the report issued Feb. 8, he said.

"They appear to be going according to plan," he said. "What has recently come to the attention of the team is that this area has a large void space, roughly 12"-14" wide, between the clay brick façade and CMU (concrete masonry unite) layer. This void appears to have been caused by the collapse of some mass of clay brick between the façade and CMU."

Valliere said the collapsed mass was now settled and piling against the inside of the facade, pushing it outward.

"This will soon cause a large panel of facade to also collapse, creating a safety problem and potentially destabilizing the upper areas of brick façade, he wrote. "This condition was not visible in the early inspection(s) and did not become apparent until repairs were under way and an opening was made by a smaller area of failing façade."

The mason and engineer on site agreed the best solution was to remove the facade in the area in a safe, controlled manner and construct a second, outer layer of CMU from the ground up, about 15-18 feet.

On March 1, Valliere emailed Davenport's Chief Building Official Trishna Pradhan, saying he had last been on the site on Feb. 23 and the work was being done per his design.

"Bi-State Masonry is doing a good job from what I can see," the email said.

Valliere followed up and noticed several large patches of facade separating from the building. The firm warned portions were ready to fall immediately and would create a safety hazard for cars and passersby.

Valliere said the owner blocked off the area with cones and started to remove drywall from inside the wall to get a view of what was going on. The report also noted two former window openings, roughly 12-by-6 feet, that were bricked over years ago.

The facade on and between those was bulging and, "looks poised to fall." In anticipation of them falling, the brick above the windows needed to be secured, the report stated.

"This is to keep the entire face of the building from falling away when the bottom area(s) come loose. The same temporary façade support as was recommended on February 9th, 2023, may be used here too," he noted.

After ripping out drywall, Select Structural confirmed the windows were never filled with brick or rock but facade was placed over the openings, unsupported.

"This lack of bracing helps explain why the façade is currently about to topple outward. The brick façade is unlikely to be preserved in place, but it can be brought down in a safe, controlled manner," he said.

The firm gave recommendations on how to secure the window openings, then said it would need to be reinforced before the facade was replaced. This time, the new facade would need to be braced against the structural wall with brick pintles to keep it secure.

Just north of the window openings was another issue, he wrote. The wall appeared to be losing stability and was causing deformation. The wall was visibly bowing.

The firm said the culprit could be a weak beam and said a steel column to support it would alleviate the pressure.

Valliere signed the letter by saying the opinions and recommendations in the report were based on field measurements and observable conditions, "not an assessment of the non-structural elements of the local building code or an in-depth analysis of the full structure."

Davenport Mayor Mike Matson speaks at a Thursday press conference on Sunday's partial building collapse.

Groups of people brought food and coolers full of water and sports drinks and sat under the trees on the front lawn of Davenport City Hall on Tuesday. Some were there to protest the razing of The Davenport apartment building until authorities can account for those still missing.

Protestors posted signs demanding that authorities account for the missing before razing The Davenport apartment building that partially collapsed Sunday.

A woman passes out hotdogs to the crowd of onlookers and protestors outside of Davenport City Hall on Tuesday as people protested the city's decision to raze The Davenport apartment building without searching first for five people who are missing.

Children and adults put messages in chalk on West 4th Street on Tuesday.

A candlelight memorial was set up Tuesday night on West 4th Street for five people still unaccounted for in the collapse of The Davenport apartment building located at 324 Main St.

Protestors put signs on the chain link fence authorities erected to keep people away from The Davenport apartment building, the back of which partially collapsed Sunday. Five people remain unaccounted for.

Protestors put signs on the chain link fence authorities erected to keep people away from The Davenport apartment building, the back of which partially collapsed Sunday. Five people remain unaccounted for.

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Coverage from the Quad-City Times/Dispatch-Argus of the partial building collapse at 324 Main Street in Davenport on Sunday, May 28.

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