Technicians point to improper use of the roof and humidity as causes of a floor collapse in Palma

PalmThe Official College of Architects of the Balearic Islands (Coaib) has pointed to improper use of the roof and pathologies derived from humidity as the possible causes of the detachment of the ceiling of a building on Sant Novici street, in the Foners neighborhood.

Architects have recalled the importance of buildings having perceptive evaluation reports, which should be carried out more or less periodically depending on the age of the property and the municipality in which it is located. These reports, they have stressed, are not a bureaucratic procedure but a tool directly linked to safety as they allow for the detection of any sign of pathology such as fissures, cracks, or dampness so that these can be evaluated by a qualified technician.

In the case of the Sant Novici building, the dean of Coaib, Bernat Nadal, has considered that one of the causes of the collapse could be the improper use of the roof, where materials "of any kind" would have accumulated. Another would be the presence of pathologies derived from humidity problems, which if they persist over time can lead to the oxidation of reinforcements or the carbonation of concrete, factors that reduce the resistance capacity of materials.

To this conclusion, Nadal explained, they have arrived by observing aerial photographs of the building in which the actions taken to waterproof the roof can be seen. For all these reasons, the architects have insisted on the obligation to maintain the state of conservation of buildings and to place the evaluation of any detected incident in the hands of technicians in order to act accordingly.