Yes, you can get arrested....

[FatCat]

The space above a shop frontage is ALWAYS used for hanging signs... that's what it's there for.

This sign company have been stitched up like a kipper... the architect should NEVER have signed off on a cr@ppy plasterboard construction when it's obvious to ANYONE that a shop fascia is required to support load. Wrong materials, wrong construction methods and you can guarantee that NO ONE asked a structural engineer to look at this fascia design BEFORE it was built.

The centre management should have issued construction drawings to ALL sign companies working in their building.. they have a record of exactly how this jerry built fascia system was thrown together. If anyone had bothered with load bearing calculations at the design stage the centre management would be able to hand out figures for maximum load per square foot and specifications for fixings to be used.

In this case the poor old sign maker has made a fatal error... they've trusted the construction professionals to design and build a fascia system which meets the basic requirements of a retail fascia.... the ability to bear load safely.

Another issue which is lacking from the original story is accumulated loading... this sign tore out 200ft of plasterboard so it's clear that the entire fascia run is a connected construction. It could be entirely possible that this "defective" sign installation was exactly the same as others on the same fascia run.... the reason the entire fascia let go could be as simple as the final sign being the straw that broke the camels back.... the other signs were just about holding but the added weight of the last sign tipped the whole fascia over the point of no return.

On old shop frontages it's normal to do a lot of poking around to find out exactly what lies beneath.. a new fascia in a location dedicated to retail sales? I think most people would quite rightly assume that a new build was constructed to modern building regs and would therefore be adequate by design.

I couldn't agree more. If the sign had strictly torn out the section of fascia it was attached to, then that would be better proof that the weight of the sign was too much for that portion of the wall to withstand. The fact that the majority of the wall failed, spanning across several different stores, points to improper engineering and/or shoddy construction of the wall itself.

 

[round man]

from my experience working in malls we usually dealt with the engineer in charge of amenities,..he or she would show us prints or take us on a walk-thru to show us what was in store for the install. someone in charge dropped the ball here and passed blame on to the sign company,..like the others have said above,anyone with any sense should have known that that would be a load bearing wall designed for storefront signage. Some one passed the blame here in order to cover their own butt and the sign man got bit.

 

[signage]

I think if this sign man get an engineer to asses what has happened I think he will be alright! Looking at the photo for this one sign to pull the fascia down in front of stores down the line, proves this was not engineered and/or installed correctly. Now if only the part that the sign was attached to then maybe it would have been the sign installer/companies fault. I hope this company has an engineer on retainer or knows one that would testify for them, it would even be better if this engineer has a PE.

 

[UFB Fabrication]

This will likely have fell if they painted the sign. Thank good we dont install signs. Any lawyer worth his/her salt will eat their lunch. I would also counter sue.

 

[John L]

This is bad. I'm losing sleep and I'm not even involved. The last guy that touched it before the big crash is always the one that gets his ass in a sling over this sort of thing. Judges aren't engineers and lawyers only pretend to understand when it supports their angle.

I've been waiting to use this term (stolen from a previous poster on this site) but this is, without a doubt, a WHOLE NATHA LEVAL.

Not making fun... I feel bad for these cats.