okotoks equestrian facility roof collapse

skegpro · Apr 2, 2018

Anyone know who built this structure?

https://globalnews.ca/news/4118746/okotoks-equestrian-facility-roof-collapse/

Grinder · Apr 2, 2018

Horse people will blame us

znowman_9 · Apr 2, 2018

Ouch. A real bummer. The density of snow can vary wildly.

Hope insurance can come through for them or maybe see how the investigation pans out.

skegpro · Apr 2, 2018

Grinder said:
Horse people will blame us

You built it?

crashidy · Apr 2, 2018

We had a barn collapse a few years ago on our dairy. If it is over 15 years old insurance wouldn't cover it.

znowman_9 · Apr 2, 2018

Us sledders appeased the appropriate gods a lil too much ya say?

skegpro · Apr 2, 2018

It looks like the truss let go in the center?

skegpro · Apr 2, 2018

crashidy said:
We had a barn collapse a few years ago on our dairy. If it is over 15 years old insurance wouldn't cover it.

Did they atleast give you your premium back for every year you insured it after it was 15 years old?

crashidy · Apr 2, 2018

skegpro said:
Did they atleast give you your premium back for every year you insured it after it was 15 years old?

Nope. We aren't using that dairy since then though. ****ing pricks. I've been burned by cooperators one personally and our family by that one.

Grinder · Apr 2, 2018

skegpro said:
You built it?

The exhaust from our sleds, quads and diesel burning trucks caused climate change and weakened the structure.

skegpro · Apr 2, 2018

Grinder said:
The exhaust from our sleds, quads and diesel burning trucks caused climate change and weakened the structure.

Ummmm.
Nothing burns more diesel than a girl pulling her hayburners around.

But I see what you are getting at.

gordhunt · Apr 3, 2018

My barn collapsed a few years ago because of snow and wasn’t covered by insurance there was one line in the contract that basically said it was covered for anything but snow load ... ****ers

Rotax_Kid · Apr 3, 2018

I was fortunate enough to tag along on a few inspections of an engineer who specialized in designing hog barns. ~12-14 years ago, we had a few locally collapse. I was quite amazed that this could happen. Then I saw the structure. Although built to code, truss spacing of 4'+, 2nd or 3rd grade lumber, minimal sill to truss tie ins....I never looked at a hog barn the same after that..

77Crash77 · Apr 3, 2018

I’m a contractor and I can see barns failing. Since they don’t use professional builders. They use whatever is cheapest. And they get around standards by being agricultural. But a riding arena is a public building and damn well should have been classified as such.

In which case I am fairly surprised as it looks like a pre eng metal building. Usually pretty bulletproof. Somebody done screwed up a calculation or it was just put together wrong.

Flyer · Apr 3, 2018

Looks like a wood truss pole building to me. The trusses would have been engineered and built by professionals and specialists. Should have been built to commercial building code if it was planned to be open to customers. The code is more lenient if it was built for private use only. I think machinery sheds and animal shelters are an even lower code.

Some riding arenas have have been "converted". Started out as private use, but were evaluated and found to meet commercial code. Sometimes with a few upgrades such as fire alarms, emergency lighting, panic bars on exits, etc. I'm not sure how higher structural requirements are addressed.

I'm not commenting on this incident specifically, and have no knowledge of the design or history of this building. Don't even know where it is. My comments are general. I have first hand experience dealing with county inspectors and planning offices. They frustrate me to near insanity, but they are trying to prevent failures like this.

I wonder where the liability rests here? Should the snow load have been monitored more closely? Were all the braces and strapping installed in the trusses as per design? Was the design and quality control adequate in the truss manufacture? Was the building being used for its intended purpose? Who really investigates? A good lawyer might be able to find someone associated with the construction who has insurance that can come into play.

Not fair that the current owner of this property gets stranded with no recourse. Life deals it's blows though.

summit889 · Apr 3, 2018

skegpro said:
Did they atleast give you your premium back for every year you insured it after it was 15 years old?

Need a different insurance company. We had a 35 year old barn collapse due to snow load. Had no issue

skegpro · Apr 3, 2018

Flyer said:
Looks like a wood truss pole building to me. The trusses would have been engineered and built by professionals and specialists. Should have been built to commercial building code if it was planned to be open to customers. The code is more lenient if it was built for private use only. I think machinery sheds and animal shelters are an even lower code.

Some riding arenas have have been "converted". Started out as private use, but were evaluated and found to meet commercial code. Sometimes with a few upgrades such as fire alarms, emergency lighting, panic bars on exits, etc. I'm not sure how higher structural requirements are addressed.

I'm not commenting on this incident specifically, and have no knowledge of the design or history of this building. Don't even know where it is. My comments are general. I have first hand experience dealing with county inspectors and planning offices. They frustrate me to near insanity, but they are trying to prevent failures like this.

I wonder where the liability rests here? Should the snow load have been monitored more closely? Were all the braces and strapping installed in the trusses as per design? Was the design and quality control adequate in the truss manufacture? Was the building being used for its intended purpose? Who really investigates? A good lawyer might be able to find someone associated with the construction who has insurance that can come into play.

Not fair that the current owner of this property gets stranded with no recourse. Life deals it's blows though.

Even if it was a pole shed, this shouldn't happen if built properly.

Kinda a grey area cause I think riding arenas fall under agricultural use.

52weekbreak · Apr 3, 2018

Took a bit of time to look through the different videos. There was a lot of snow on the roof for a building of that design so that should have been monitored a little more closely. Even when built to code, long span wooden trusses will lose some of their strength over time so need attention and often shoring over time.

Too bad about the snow load exclusion but those can be removed usually after an engineer has inspected the building. I am pretty sure there were warning signs not recognized by the owner.

Nohing lasts forever and how long it does last is in direct relation to how well it was maintained.

None of this exhaustive analysis makes it suck any less for the owner

niner · Apr 3, 2018

Definitely a pole barn. Trusses 4’ on Center. Each truss should have bolt running through the pole tying them together. A truss can be engineered to be strong enough even at 4’ centres. Chances are this building was built as a agricultural building then converted to commercial. Numerous things can cause trusses to fail. Stress over time weakens the plates. Most likely there was insufficient truss bracing installed. Last couple of years the specs have increased for truss bracing and increased minimum standards for snow loads. If you don’t feel like shoveling your roof off increase your snow load rating when you buy your trusses.

RGM · Apr 3, 2018

It doesn't really look like that much snow on the roof to me, does anybody actually know how much was on it. I have a 3000' hanger and it had 3 ft of heavy snow on it one year. I shovelled it off so I could sleep at night.

okotoks equestrian facility roof collapse

Active VIP Member

Active VIP Member

Active member

Active VIP Member

Active VIP Member

Active member

Active VIP Member

Active VIP Member

Active VIP Member

Active VIP Member

Active VIP Member

Active VIP Member

Active VIP Member

Active VIP Member

Active member

Active VIP Member

Active VIP Member

Active VIP Member

Active VIP Member

Attachments

Active VIP Member

Similar threads