Patong shopping mall seals off areas as structural pillars crumble

[lvr181]

Now THAT is scary.

Exactly the same problem as the crumbling pillars of the car park below Central Shopping Mall in Pattaya. Same construction company hello ?

I pray for the collapse of Central Festival shopping mall everyday.

Really? A very callous thought.

[Alwyn]

No comment from the ministry of tourism yet then...

[rodknock]

cheap cement, not enough or poor re-bar(not enough recycled autos)!!!!

must have been designed by a Thai. engineer!!!!

one to hold the bulb, ten to turn the building!!!

how about pilings are there any??????

are there any real structural engineers in Thailand??

[ozyjon]

Didn't use enough steel in the pillars,

builders long gone by now.

[NamKangMan]

I can see a lot of farang engineers on Thai Visa as well

You don't have to be an engineer to see that pole is under "compression."

I can't see any signs of "concrete cancer" and I doubt the damage was due to a vehicle collision.

Maybe they can round up a few Turkish guys and blame it on them, either way, the WHOLE structure is unsafe.

[DrDave]

So, the pillars are in the underground car park. Does this mean that the pillars are holding up the shopping mall above? If not, what are they holding up? The owner(s) of the structural engineering firm are probably on their way to Cambodia about now.

Jungceylon is composed of 2 major buildings. The building that houses Big C has a parking garage in the basement. The building closest to Rat-U-Thit 200 Pii Rd has no parking garage, but has a large retail area (known as "That's Siam") and a food court in the basement. The photos in posts #23 and #56 are clearly in that basement retail area, and above that area, there's another 2 floors of retail space. Perhaps even more disturbing, part of this building is a large hotel.

[keeniau96]

I have parked in the basement below Big-C several times a month during the past two years or so. Never noticed any problems but from now on will avoid in toto.

[webfact]

related topic:

Areas of Phuket shopping complex remain closed to the public

Darawan Naknakhon

PHUKET: -- Management from the Jungceylon shopping complex in Patong held a press conference yesterday (June 9) in which it was stated that only four supporting pillars are damaged and not 10 as reported by some media.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/923908-areas-of-phuket-shopping-complex-remain-closed-to-the-public/

[Familyonthemove]

...... oh that's a relief. Only 4 and not 10. Carry on shopping.

[atyclb]

Like the Hotline for reporting collapsing hotels is there a Hotline for reporting collapsing Malls?

use the same number

[phuketandsee]

If they don't close it all down immediately they are risking mass murder.

[tigermoth]

The photo shows some interesting issues. There appears to be a section of the column void of concrete and its not a typical compression failure. There is also very visible evidence of over hydration by the numerous cavities left after curing. The reo has no signs of rust but the concrete has also not bonded to it as you would expect.

The green and pink colour tinge on the surface and beyond which I assume is not the lighting as it is patchy.

Looks to me like a failure caused by a casting void due to over hydration, possibly at the start of a new batch delivery, whereby the load was only supported by the reinforcing until a lateral force, probably thermal movement, resulted in the axial displacement.

In other words, a crap batch of over watered concrete.

Exactly. Overwatering of concrete is common practice here, particularly when traffic congestion causes delays for the concrete trucks so to keep the concrete from beginning to set they just throw in more water. Another problem I have seen is some of the reinforcing steel being removed to save cost. Another practice is to put understrength steel in the concrete to that specified. This steel comes from China and is much cheaper. Yet another is to reduce the quantity of cement but add the amount of sand. All the above is very hard to pick up unless you are a very experienced engineer and aware of these tricks and also happen to be around when it is happening. All batches of concrete are required to have samples poured into a steel tube which is roughly 200mm in diameter and about 500mm long. This is then tested for the compressive strength of the concrete at various intervals of its setting, ie 7 days 21 days. This is frequently ignored or falsified, again, money and profits rule. Not all contractors do these things but many do and many buildings here would have totally inadequate margins of safety. God help Bangkok if a decent earthquake strikes.

[ChrisY1]

I can see a lot of farang engineers on Thai Visa as well

I don't believe that in this instance, you need to be a structural engineer to see that the column has failed.

There are several reasons for this to occur, so a thorough inspection must be done.

Edited June 10, 2016 by ChrisY1

[dageurreotype]

My god. Shut it ALL down, not just a small section around the pillars.

That is truely dangerous.

And yet there are still posters on here spouting corruption is good as they can get away with paying police and officials to queue jump/look the other way deriding 'nanny states' who would have checked the construction of a big mall every step of the way, making sure no OBJs were employing their inept mates or family members to throw the thing up.

[dageurreotype]

...... oh that's a relief. Only 4 and not 10. Carry on shopping.

Yes it's a bit like saying, 'oh never mind that loading beam, just take the door out/knock the wall through ..'

[zlodnick]

I have seen test cylinders taken here on government jobs. When the concrete arrives on the jobsite, a test cylinder is filled and set aside in the shade.

Then, water is added, the concrete is "poured", not "placed", and the concrete is left to bake in the sun.

Im sure when the test cylinders are tested, they pass with no problems.

[retarius]

Slap a bit of cement to cover up the rebar and it will be ok. What's the big deal?

[simon43]

..we don't want to hire vibrators!

Know the problem. I searched high and low in Patong for exactly the same item. In the end, had to order 1 from China...

[Balance]

So, the pillars are in the underground car park. Does this mean that the pillars are holding up the shopping mall above? If not, what are they holding up? The owner(s) of the structural engineering firm are probably on their way to Cambodia about now.

Jungceylon is composed of 2 major buildings. The building that houses Big C has a parking garage in the basement. The building closest to Rat-U-Thit 200 Pii Rd has no parking garage, but has a large retail area (known as "That's Siam") and a food court in the basement. The photos in posts #23 and #56 are clearly in that basement retail area, and above that area, there's another 2 floors of retail space. Perhaps even more disturbing, part of this building is a large hotel.

I don't know much about this stuff, but it would be criminal not to shut the entire complex down until some competent people can get in to do some testing and come up with an overall assessment. In other parts of the world, these kinds of failures seem to be due to rotten or sub-standard concrete. That would certainly not be a surprise to me.

Anyone know how many of the pillars have failed and what percentage of the totat that is?

[glassdude007]

Looks like they are having a "Mall Crackdown" in Patong....

[Valentine]

..we don't want to hire vibrators!

Know the problem. I searched high and low in Patong for exactly the same item. In the end, had to order 1 from China...

They are available in the hardware stores. I have bought several over the years although not in Patong.

Edited June 10, 2016 by Valentine

[phuketandsee]

..we don't want to hire vibrators!

Know the problem. I searched high and low in Patong for exactly the same item. In the end, had to order 1 from China...

They are available in the hardware stores. I have bought several over the years although not in Patong.

Err, I think he is talking about a different type of vibrator. Unless you're talking of a different kind of HARDware store.

[lvr181]

related topic:

Areas of Phuket shopping complex remain closed to the public

Darawan Naknakhon

PHUKET: -- Management from the Jungceylon shopping complex in Patong held a press conference yesterday (June 9) in which it was stated that only four supporting pillars are damaged and not 10 as reported by some media.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/923908-areas-of-phuket-shopping-complex-remain-closed-to-the-public/

We must save face. We will minimise/trivialise and also not accept responsibility! It is our country our culture.

[Pomthai]

Any updates on this? Seems the story has gone very quiet.

[watcharacters]

I was just down there and saw nothing and no warning signs, but had I know, I would not entered. Never walk into a collapsing building.

Good advise indeed!

Never walk into a collapsing building.

[LivinginKata]

Any updates on this? Seems the story has gone very quiet.

No surprise there. Owners and local gov want any problem to disappear ...

[NamKangMan]

I was just down there and saw nothing and no warning signs, but had I know, I would not entered. Never walk into a collapsing building.

Good advise indeed!

Never walk into a collapsing building.

I'm sure if it were to collapse it would be blamed on an earth tremor.