It’s been a while since I’ve posted.
We’ve been busy building projects and working on plans this summer, which is a good thing.
I usually write about something I find creative , artistic, innovative and interesting, along with posts about our own projects.
This morning I came across a blog post that alarmed the structural shit out of me.
The design was aesthetically charming , creative and interesting but the project was constructed so poorly that it screamed
“major law litigation” and
HUGE SAFETY HAZARD.Project depicted below:
- no footing, no reinforcement, and glued together with liquid nails. (!!)
What made this blog post very alarming is that it was providing the
construction specifications for building the wall and lots of people were responding that they were going to ‘try this in their own back yard’.
It is exactly this type of practice that truly hurts the profession of landscape design : A landscape designer providing construction details that are
WAY beyond their skill and legal liability level.No wonder the LATC has their panties in a knot when they see work like this.
This reflects very poorly on the profession of landscape design and should never be done.
Sure , go for the pretty pictures, show the finished project, but DO NOT provide construction directions when the project is way beyond your professional skill level and liability.
I’m not a structural engineer, but because all of our design and construction projects are run threw a structural engineers office for the planning, building and permitting departments approval , I can say with certainty that this is one wall that requires structural engineering.
Actually any wall that is taller than 48 inches from the BOTTOM of the FOOTING requires a permit and building review in California and any other progressive state with a building and planning department that observes a UBC : Unified Building Code.
This wall is over five feet tall . It has no footing and no reinforcement . It is a major safety issue and law suit waiting to happen.
Again, I love the aesthetics of this project and I think its creativeness should be shared BUT providing construction instructions is professionally irresponsible especially when these building instructions are so poorly engineered that this un-reinforced concrete wall could easily kill someone in a blink of an eye.
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