Channel: enrigue8

Category: Entertainment

Tags: crack buildingcrack in buildingluxury apartmenticonluxury apartment sydneybuildingcrackopal tower sydneysydney towercollapsed buildingopal towerconstructionaustralia investingmelbourneaustralia slums 20 yearstoweropal tower crackbuilding collapsereal estateaustralia real estateaustraliacondoskyscraperengineeringnightmaresydney olympic parkaustralian housing crisissydneysydney australiaaustralian housing bubbleapartmentcollapse

Description: Newly Build Tower In Sydney' Olympic Park Nightmares: Crack In The Building Sparks Fears Of Collapse Normally you buy a condo or an apartment to have your dream home.You buy it with your hard earned money and you expect some nice amenities and features.You want a beautiful inside and you expect a reliable and well constructed condo. However this real story could be your worst nightmare. Dozens of families in Sydney's cracked Opal Tower have been told they must wait weeks after repairs are complete before they can move back as engineering firms finally agree on what repairs must be made to the building. The tower's builder Icon has agreed to keep funding accommodation for displaced residents but will cut off payments for food in less than a week. The newly-built tower in Sydney Olympic Park was evacuated on Christmas Eve after cracks were found in the building sparking fears it could collapse. Icon, in an update posted on their website , said the design for "structural remediation" had been finalised by engineering firm WSP and submitted to body corporate engineers Cardno for agreement. "The remedial works will be carried out on Levels 4, 10 and 16 which involve strengthening the affected upturn beam via the introduction of a column or wall to one/both sides of the beam," Icon wrote. An interim engineering assessment released indicates concrete panels cracked due to their manufacture and assembly deviating from the original design. Though the building is structurally sound and in no danger of collapse, repairing the faults will be costly, slow and disruptive to residents. The tower's size, age (it is less than six months old) and the timing of its cracks might have made it particularly newsworthy, but badly built apartment blocks are far from unusual. Right now across Australia's cities many buildings have significant leaks, cracks and fire safety failings. The consequences of these flaws increasingly affect us all. As the population of Australia's capital cities grows, more of us are living in apartments. Governments have been promoting greater housing density as an alternative to sprawl for decades. But they haven't always ensured this density has been done well, including in terms of building quality. These include the fact that developers owe buyers few legal obligations once the apartments are sold, which limits their risk if they get things wrong. There are also significant market pressures, particularly in boom times, to build quickly and cheaply. And there are gaps in how the construction process is overseen, meaning errors go unnoticed. Australia is also facing a real estate bubble like never before. house prices have fallen the most in a single quarter since 2008, according to new data for December. Compared with their 2017 peak, Sydney and Melbourne’s house prices have now dropped 11.1% and 7.2% respectively, and a sharp fall in the December quarter hints that the decline is picking up pace, according to data researcher CoreLogic. Prices dropped 4.8% in 2018 nationwide, prompting Deutsche Bank to identify a potential Australian housing crash as one of the top 30 risks to the global economy. Sydney’s house prices surged nearly 20% in 12 months between 2016 and 2017, and national capitals rose 12.9% as well. But 2018 brought a long slide, with Sydney prices falling 8.9% across the year, and Melbourne falling 7%. Western Australia’s houses fell 7.2%, with a 4.7% drop in Perth.