Nothing gets done by the government without tens of thousands of dollars of engineering, with more spent on the bidding legalities, inspections, assessments etc.
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Covered Bridge
- Thread starter Chris-CJ
- Start date
Nothing gets done by the government without tens of thousands of dollars of engineering, with more spent on the bidding legalities, inspections, assessments etc.
From Sittlers, the hot cross buns around Easter and strawberry/rhubarb pie in the early summer were excellent.
Let the Mennonites at it. They'll have it fixed perfectly, safely, and to spec inside a weekend I'd care to bet.
And they'd probably hew the replacement beam themselves while they're at it.
Probably for little or no money I'd also bet.
And they'd probably hew the replacement beam themselves while they're at it.
Probably for little or no money I'd also bet.
What union are they in?
Your correct except for the little or no money part, they do understand how to make a buck. ( disclosure:There are Mennonites in my family)
The bigger challenge would be they have a habit of using ungraded lumber when they build barns and bridges, after 300yrs of barn building they sort of know good from bad, but the municipal building departments are at odds with these fellas all the time.
Got to love the "This Old House" guys and the format of the show that has remain basically unchanged over 25 - 30 years. Great info, well presented and most important ......... no HGTV fake reality TV type drama where we have to meet the supposedly cranky spouse of the contractor or the PITA home owner. or the bogus realtor etc. etc......
I was doing a job at a kiln and wanted to buy some rough cut lumber since there was a lot of it around. That company has no way to sell rough cut at any price. They only sell planed and graded lumber. It's a shame that everything has come down to a stamp.
Then have the municipality provide their choice of lumber.
Anyhow, I know it's all a pipe dream as bureaucracy gets in the way - liability, WSIB (or lack thereof), etc etc etc.....
Instead, they'll spend $100,000 to "study" it for 2 years, decide it's a $2M fix, spend another $25K debating if they can afford to fix it, decide they can't afford it, then close the bridge permanently to traffic and pedestrians, blocking it off permanently. People will of course open it back up again for pedestrian use if nothing else, in 5 years after someones special snowflake stubs their toe on a board walking across it there will be a public safety outcry ("Think of the children!"), they'll barricade it again. Repeat about 5 times. Eventually it'll rot from lack of maintenance and in 25 years they'll spend another $200,000 to have a structural engineering review done on it, they'll be told that it's wholly unsafe from 25 years of total neglect, and it'll be knocked down.
.....<sigh>.
ScorpionT16
Well-known member
What would happen in a good Samaritan goes and repairs it on a weekend avoiding all paperwork and permits?
I studied architecture and engineering and work as a detailer, I would leave the beam in place and weld custom tabs to steel I-beams of site and run them alongside each face of that beam, and have them supplement the load. I haven't seen the bridge in person, so on site analysis may change the method. Forgoing any jacks, and can be done with a few heavy duty bolts.
I studied architecture and engineering and work as a detailer, I would leave the beam in place and weld custom tabs to steel I-beams of site and run them alongside each face of that beam, and have them supplement the load. I haven't seen the bridge in person, so on site analysis may change the method. Forgoing any jacks, and can be done with a few heavy duty bolts.
Increase municipal analysis costs by 100% as they don't know what you did and now need to figure that out in addition to the rest before sanctioning an official repair and opening the bridge.
It'd still be closed, they'd spend the $200,000 for the structural study right away because someone would of course question the repair, discover that one hole was drilled 1mm too large and the engineers feel that it "compromises it's structural stability", and then try to identify the good samaritan so they could sue them for the cost of the "repairs".
It's just a sad reality of how things work today. I'm all for government oversight so far as making sure the roads we drive on (especially bridges) are safe and all, but reality is that this could be fixed properly and quickly if bureaucracy was removed but safety remained a priority. Tender out the damn repair, put requirements on paper so far as what's needed, and get it done.
But the overbearing regulations and such now, coupled with municipal governments who couldn't find their own ass with both hands anymore (let alone decide unanimously to actually just do something quickly instead of studying it for a million years beforehand) would make that so difficult to actually accomplish that the $2M route is the far more likely outcome.
ScorpionT16
Well-known member
what a shame, and all said is correct and what would happen. Same shenanigans going on the Gardener bridge now. I used to drive by it for 2 years and all id see is spray paint marking the damage and people analyzing, meanwhile day by day the exposed rebar was rusting away. That covered bridge repair is so simple, I'd trust it more than that wooden roller coaster at wonderland now.
could use i Beams to reinforce, or I'd go in and use flinch plates on all the beams, I'd go I beam with some weep holes for moisture.
could use i Beams to reinforce, or I'd go in and use flinch plates on all the beams, I'd go I beam with some weep holes for moisture.
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That park staircase story was on the surface "aweful" , local guy puts in a simple stair so people dont have to slide down a 30ft bank to get to nice walking space. But we do have to look at the cities view, buddy falls down a 'not built to code' stair on city property, they dont sue the good samaritan that buiklt the stair. Its all about exposure these days and minimizing liability.
Two idiots in oakville poured a 26ft staircase with concrete, on adjoining city property to make the walk down a bank easier. No permits, not standard run/rise, improper handrails, wrong tread patterns. It happens all the time.
Two idiots in oakville poured a 26ft staircase with concrete, on adjoining city property to make the walk down a bank easier. No permits, not standard run/rise, improper handrails, wrong tread patterns. It happens all the time.
The staircase was terribly built. No concrete was poured to make it stable. It was an accident waiting to happen.
I recall that. The gist was that the guy fixed the embankment problem for a couple of hundred dollars. The city was putting off the request as they had budgeted the price of a loaded SUV and it wasn't in the budget. In the end the city tore the econo stair out and somehow got it replaced with a legal one for the price of an econo car.
It's all about liability. No civil servant is going to risk his / her position by approving something that doesn't meet every specification. If you do something it means you recognize a problem. You are not allowed to only fix it a little bit.
My question is "Why was the city able to come up with a relatively inexpensive fix only after the issue became embarrassing?"
Trials
Well-known member
Heck, I'll sell you some trees that are still growing if you want them! You can cut em up as rough as you like.
ScorpionT16
Well-known member
Growing up in Kenya, my dad was a contractor and no one would maintain our neighbor hood streets/area. He started a Neighbor hood pool, and got all the maintenance done himself from potholes, street lamps, adding speed bumps for the kids, landscaping etc... City never came and said anything other than good job, moving to Canada we had a hard time adjusting to all the bureaucracy even if your intentions are right, they find a way to make them wrong. People got resourceful, because taxes did squat there.
As an Architecture student in Ottawa, I saw how much time and money is spent analyzing simple things going around in circles, parliament building being one. In some areas they decided to seal stone for whatever reason that has survived decades untouched, sealing stone doesn't let it breathe thus making it brittle, they spent more going in an unsealing it, starting a whole new "renovations" project.
As an Architecture student in Ottawa, I saw how much time and money is spent analyzing simple things going around in circles, parliament building being one. In some areas they decided to seal stone for whatever reason that has survived decades untouched, sealing stone doesn't let it breathe thus making it brittle, they spent more going in an unsealing it, starting a whole new "renovations" project.
Trials
Well-known member
Love the "adding speed bumps for the kids" part 
I still love them.
I still love them.|
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