Sydney's Opal Tower

**allover** · 27-12-18, 06:56 AM

WOW, look at the damage to Sydney's Opal Tower, according to this press release a sheet of plaster has fallen from the wall

Now when i look at the picture two things become evident. One the plasterer didn't use glue and/or enough screws, two an engineer has pulled back the plaster to inspect the wall behind
I have never seen plaster fall in a heap like that in all my building career, crack yes but!
What a shit article, unquote, news must really be slow at the moment and the ABC is letting all the junior cadets cut their teeth training them how to write crap articles, commonly called beat ups
Lift your game Auntie

**ol' boy** · 27-12-18, 07:41 AM

I read it before and laughed myself

**VroomVroom** · 27-12-18, 07:45 AM

some movement is acceptable but it wouldnt surprise me if some lebbo or slopehead contractors cut corners somewhere. The images i saw made it look like a vertical crack in a pre cast panel around the lift shafts , which are in the centre , so i dont know how they can determine some to be safe and some not.

Sydney is such a shithole these days , nothing but apartment blocks in some suburbs ,more and more going up all the time with bugger all changes to basic infrastructure

**mtv** · 27-12-18, 07:47 AM

Looks to me that the plaster has been pulled away, breaking it off in pieces.

Also, there's a blurred square in the image... a sign or some other identification they don't want published?

**Uncle Fester** · 27-12-18, 10:22 AM

Originally Posted by allover

WOW, look at the damage to Sydney's Opal Tower, according to this press release a sheet of plaster has fallen from the wall

Now when i look at the picture two things become evident. One the plasterer didn't use glue and/or enough screws, two an engineer has pulled back the plaster to inspect the wall behind
I have never seen plaster fall in a heap like that in all my building career, crack yes but!
What a shit article, unquote, news must really be slow at the moment and the ABC is letting all the junior cadets cut their teeth training them how to write crap articles, commonly called beat ups
Lift your game Auntie

The article also mentions a failure of an internal support wall and the photos DO show plaster strewn across the ground, so it seems to me that they are reporting correct facts. The article does NOT mention if the plaster damage was caused from the shift or was required to assess the damage of the structure behind it. So it only you making assumptions.

This raises a red flag for me and should be closer looked into:

The building, which cost Australian developer Ecove $165 million to build, was given the green light under the Government's significant development legislation, which gives major developments a way of side-stepping council approval.

If one structural wall has failed, one could assume that others might fail too. Generally these walls are all constructed in a similar manner.
I wouldn't feel safe to continue to live in there, well I wouldn't fee safe to live in many parts of Sydney anymore but that has also other reasons.

**garrycol** · 27-12-18, 11:36 AM

The plaster coming off is not the issue - the underlying structural parts have cracked forcing the gyprock to come off.

**allover** · 27-12-18, 03:18 PM

[QUOTE=nomeat;792468]The article also mentions a failure of an internal support wall and the photos DO show plaster strewn across the ground, so it seems to me that they are reporting correct facts. The article does NOT mention if the plaster damage was caused from the shift or was required to assess the damage of the structure behind it. So it only you making assumptions.

Implied !!!!

**mtv** · 27-12-18, 03:27 PM

Originally Posted by garrycol

The plaster coming off is not the issue - the underlying structural parts have cracked forcing the gyprock to come off.

Indeed... I think we all understand that to be the case.

The should really be worried if the plaster sheet was designed to hold the building together.

**fandtm666** · 27-12-18, 04:42 PM

every one out now

**lsemmens** · 27-12-18, 06:27 PM

How many modern buildings are going to survive the test of time. I doubt that there will be many current buildings standing in 100 years let a lone 2, 3 or more. The blokes that did not build to "the code" did a way better job than many of our modern "compliant" builders.

**VroomVroom** · 28-12-18, 07:42 AM

Originally Posted by mtv

Also, there's a blurred square in the image... a sign or some other identification they don't want published?

that was the apartment number. the one next door wasnt blurred out

**admin** · 28-12-18, 03:27 PM

I dont know how people live in apartments. The restrictions, body corporates, living with a few hundred people....pass.

Plus if this is an indication of quality, you may end up a pancake.

At least you wont know what happened.

**alpha0ne** · 28-12-18, 04:22 PM

So where are all the residents living whilst the damage/fault is assessed ??, and who is paying ??

**admin** · 28-12-18, 04:28 PM

I read in the paper today (not sure if it was The Australian or the Herald Sun) that the people have been moved to 2 hotels, developer is paying.

One Chinese chick was going ape shit as she has a dog and the hotels wont take her, she said she is now homeless and thanks a lot.

**admin** · 28-12-18, 04:57 PM

Glad I dont live there

**ol' boy** · 28-12-18, 05:32 PM

Originally Posted by admin

I read in the paper today (not sure if it was The Australian or the Herald Sun) that the people have been moved to 2 hotels, developer is paying.

One Chinese chick was going ape shit as she has a dog and the hotels wont take her, she said she is now homeless and thanks a lot.

Doesn't she have Tinder on her phone?

**admin** · 28-12-18, 05:58 PM

Hundreds of residents are scared, angry and stressed.

Even those in the crumbling Opal Tower who were able to stay at the nearby Pullman hotel have to leave again in two days because it’s booked out for New Year’s Eve. That will be the third time distressed Sydney residents from the 36-storey building will be forced to move their belongings since Christmas Eve, after the developer and builder ordered everyone out again on Thursday to investigate the problem. Some people have decided to move out entirely, with one man sent to retrieve his boss’s belongings, which included a giant teddy bear.

Those who were able to return to their units initially — 51 were deemed unsafe to return to — said they suffered sleepless nights because they were frightened every time they heard a noise. Farzad Rezvani said his wife Yenganeh had only arrived from Iran three weeks ago and she was too scared to stay at their home, an apartment he has only lived in for two months himself. Meanwhile those with children and pets are feeling the stress the most. A man named Alex said there were no cooking facilities at their hotel room so they were struggling to care for their two-year-old girl properly. “We don’t want to stay here, it’s not safe,” he said while moving their belongings. “It’s a big stress. We can’t cook (at the hotel) and we have a kid so I don’t know what we’ll do. We don’t want to eat out for 10 days. We don’t know where we’ll go.” People with pets have either had to stay with family or wait for the developer to help them find accommodation that accepts animals, in a city that’s already heavily booked for New Year’s.

For many the biggest issue causing them anxiety is the building’s security. Residents have complained the security guards on site do not appear to be actively enforcing restrictions on the area and tradesmen are able to come and go freely without ID checks. Sixteenth floor resident Yogi said he saw security guards doing nothing and with an “army of tradespeople” entering and residents handing their keys over at 5pm today, they were not assured. “These are the people who are supposed to be the ones looking after our belongings,” he said.
“People are worried. How are they going to assure our belongings are safe? We’re losing sleep, we’re suffering. To anyone who says the building is safe, come sleep a night in my apartment.”

Yogi said he was angry because he had taken time off work to move his things and there was not a proper action plan in place or a team dedicated to the process. Residents spent their Fridays returning to get extra belongings or sorting out accommodation options, with uncertainty over exactly when they will be allowed to return. Many are out of pocket while they wait to be reimbursed for their expenses, on top of paying rents due this week. They have been told to allow for an absence of 10 days because the developer Icon, builder Ecove and their specialist teams are still scratching their heads over what’s gone wrong. They know the issue centres around a precast panel on the 10th floor, but with stringent checks they say took place, they are at a loss over what caused the panel to crack, sparking the initial evacuation. Fronting the media today, Ecove director Bassam Aflak said everyone was still baffled as to what had gone wrong.

“No one has got an explanation for it,” he said. “We honestly don’t know what has caused this panel to fail. That’s the reason why it’s taken so long to give residents information. “There are a lot of big companies involved that have done the right thing so it would be unfair to criticise them for one failure when we’re still investigating the cause.”

Despite a blame game unfolding early yesterday, the builder and developer have now put on a united front and said they were working together with engineers and manufacturers to solve the problem. He said he was in the hands of the builder.

“I’m not throwing them under the bus. We rely on their expertise as a competent builder.”

It comes after it was revealed today the certifier who signed off on the structural integrity of the tower had been previously disciplined by the building watchdog. But Mr Aflak and Icon have defended the building’s integrity and quality and reassured residents it is safe. Residents are being compensated by Icon between $220 a night for a one-bedroom apartment and $500 for a four-bedroom. They are also being provided $100 a day for lunch and dinner per person, and for places where breakfast is not included, $120. They are being told to leave their keys at reception when they evacuate so engineers can gain access.

tate opposition leader Michael Daley returned to the tower on Friday to ask why Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her planning minister haven’t visited.“Families are shell-shocked,” he said. “What’s it come to in Sydney in the 21st century when people are saying they feel unsafe in their homes? Some bloke knocks on their door and tells you to get out of your house. “There’s been more questions than answers. This is not good enough.” Mr Daley called on the Premier again to send a government representative out to co-ordinate what was happening with the residents.

About 30 apartments are still owned by Ecove waiting to be sold.

**admin** · 28-12-18, 05:59 PM

Originally Posted by admin

About 30 apartments are still owned by Ecove waiting to be sold.

Good luck with that.

**admin** · 28-12-18, 06:03 PM

Why dont they move them in to the 30 unsold units (the people with pets) ?

**lsemmens** · 29-12-18, 01:18 AM

Farzad Rezvani said his wife Yenganeh had only arrived from Iran three weeks ago and she was too scared to stay at their home, an apartment he has only lived in for two months himself.

It mus be bad if it is scarier than Iran!