Balcony Collapse.. East Doncaster

Sadly, I read of a Balcony Collapse today in East Doncaster where there were deaths and injuries As a Structural engineer and repair contractor. If anyone needs assistance or preliminary advice on structural matters please take photos, upload them and ask for help. “Better safe than sorry”
OT. In an age of the internet, simulations, data and analysis these deadly collapses are preventable.

Yes I concur, it's sad and tragic and there will be coronial inquest into the deaths of two people. It is too early to speculate as facts are not known and in any case we should not try to pre empt the findings but there are five categories as to why buildings fail:
1 Defective design
2 Defective construction
3 Loss of strength due to poor maintenance
4 Occupant abuse(damage and or overloading)
5 Combination of the above

Just a note of caution: buildings are designed with required factor of safety which should not be exceeded by excessive loading.

I watched news on 10 last night and it was said that over 30 people were on the balcony at the time it collapsed.
What were they thinking?
Houses are not designed for this type of live loading
Typically design live load for a house is 1.5 KPA
Live loading required for this type of crowd is 5KPA or more

Realistically, would the house floor have collapsed with the same loading?

Does a balcony floor have to be the same strength as the house floor? I think that most people would assume that the same loadings would apply.

The complication with this tragedy is with the house being a rental, how are the tenants to know what the maximum loadings are and should advisement legislation be evoked?

How far do you go with legislation?
You cannot legislate for common sense and against stupidity
Cars are built safe but are not idiot proof, as we are reminded by the ones that died and are maimed
Similarly, houses are built with a safety factor but cannot be built to withstand reckless loading.
You cannot have two storey project home with long span posi truss floor and 30 people on it dancing Zorba without asking for trouble.
Common sense has to kick in.

The problem is the people that should take responsibility (Regulators) DON'T
Where does this leave the battlers and punters...
Is it their problem?

• If a brick wall collapses onto a public walkway and kills you
• If your apartment is clad in Polyethylene and is a fire death trap
• Or your balcony collapses a week before Xmas and kills 2 and injures 17

Yes,apparently it is your problem, OT...Those of us that help out on Social media and Forums can only do so much
Doncaster East balcony collapse could point to rising problem, says engineer


More to come

I was referring to the RE property manager perhaps needing a legal requirement to advise tenants about the maximum engineered load applicable to an outside decked area if applicable to a property they are renting. This would also ensure that the structure was properly engineered to begin with.

Yes, you cannot legislate against stupidity but many and perhaps most people are not aware of structural load limits. This does not make them stupid. You can legislate awareness.

Yes good point SaveH2O I am all for awareness, but at some point people have to start taking responsibility for their actions. The host should have known better and the 30 or so people crowding on a balcony should have known better.
Do we need a notice on every car "do not crowd more than 5 people it may not be safe"

Balcony checklists here
About Balconies ,Decks and Balustrades
Balconies and Decks a guide to maintenance
Building authorities requires balconies and raised decks to be designed by a structural engineer
they can also offer advice on noncompliance & repairs, etc. hth

From the outside looking in at the deck, from a non building industry person and with balcony collapses in the news, no way in hell would you put 2500_3000kgs extra on what looked a ******* deck plus tables plus fridge, if you value your life, then common sence better kick in, if in doubt just be cautious.