STRUCTURAL DEFECTS

Northern Advocate, 19 June 1925, Page 5

STRUCTURAL DEFECTS

TRAGIC COLLAPSE. THE CROWN'S ALLEGATIONS. (Received 9 a.m.) MELBOURNE, This Day. The inquest concerning the deaths of the four victims of the collapse of the Tobacco Company's building has commenced. The Crown called evidence to show that iho sand used contained impurities, and that the method of mixing the concrete was wTong, in that it had 12 per cent, of water. This, it was stated, resulted in the concrete being weakened by 40 per cent. It was also contended that, the steel reinforcements w-ete -badly placed in some of the concrete and that others had insufficient rods in them. The Crown alleged that the steel ligatures were too far apart. The men engaged in lime-washing the beams were paid an extra lid per squaTc yaTd for filling up apparent cracks in the. coWtetjc. At times the material was too wet for them to work. Action of the bruuh sometimes brought away large portions of the beams. There was no wall beam utider the fourth floor, although part of the design, and the walls of the lift well were only four inclies wide. The other walla were six inches. They were designed to be six inches throughout. Engineering experts considered that this structural defect, combined with weakness of ihe concrete, was responsible for the collapse.

The hearing was adjour'ned. —A. end N.Z. ' .