Sink Holes in Fl.

[timjimbob]

I am hoping to hear from contartctors that are familiar with home building in Florida.

I cannot understand how anyone can fall through a floor when the ground gives way. Explain it to me.

In this area of Texas, concrete foundations have thick beams every 20 feet with rebar at a 24" grid, all tied together. Even if itis tunnelled underneath, as plumbers sometime do, the rebar would hold the concrete together. At the very least, how could a person or a bed fall past this rebar reinforcement.

Most all the weight on a small house is at the perimeter walls. The house, in Florida sinkhole incident, was fully intact.

Maybe Florida construction is different.

[ControlsInMT]

Saw a Nat Geo progam one time about all of the underground water ways down there in Florida. There is a butt load of them. They were everywhere or at least everywhere they filmed. Kind of scary building with that underneath you.

[hotntired]

I am hoping to hear from contartctors that are familiar with home building in Florida.

I cannot understand how anyone can fall through a floor when the ground gives way. Explain it to me.

In this area of Texas, concrete foundations have thick beams every 20 feet with rebar at a 24" grid, all tied together. Even if itis tunnelled underneath, as plumbers sometime do, the rebar would hold the concrete together. At the very least, how could a person or a bed fall past this rebar reinforcement.

Most all the weight on a small house is at the perimeter walls. The house, in Florida sinkhole incident, was fully intact.

Maybe Florida construction is different.

I understand exactly what you're saying. That unsupported section of the slab should not fall away like that. Of course, that house looked to be 35+ years old, so codes were different, maybe. I've seen slab erosion where a whole corner of the house is undermined and hanging out in mid-air, and it didn't even crack the stucco.

[coolwhip]

Maybe the house didn't have a slab. Maybe it had a sand floor...some people roll funny that way down there.

[Snapperhead]

I often wondered what happens when you drill for oil , by the millions of barrels , which has to be leaving a void , if the earth would one day begin to implode ....

[jpsmith1cm]

A 30 foot wide hole is pretty substantial.

I doubt seriously that a bit of rebar will hold your slab up over a hole of that size.

[sweat hog]

Reminds me of a subdivision I heard about. Put the rebar in the framing, call for inspection, pass, move the rebar to the next hole and pour,