At the end of July, the fire brigade had to evacuate a residential building in the Hamburg district of Altona. Since then, many tenants have been asking themselves whether their own walls also show dangerous damage. Hamburg structural engineer Michael Dartsch, who regularly inspects buildings for their structural stability, gives the all-clear for most old buildings in an interview with Zeit.
According to Dartsch, cracks in the facade, crumbling plaster, or warped windows are often merely cosmetic problems. It only becomes serious when masonry, concrete, roof trusses, or floors sink – then closures, monitoring, or in the worst case demolition threaten. In his practice, he has already seen closed underground garages, slipping slopes, and houses with sheared-off gable walls.
The expert considers a general building inspection (Gebäude-TÜV) to be well-intentioned but bureaucratic symbolic politics. For special structures, inspection regimes already exist, while negligent owners are hardly impressed by more forms. Hamburg’s old buildings are predominantly in good condition, and truck traffic or the Sternbrücke as a cause can practically be ruled out.
Anyone who does not get help from their landlord when cracks grow should, according to Dartsch, alert the building authority, the structural inspection department, or, if in doubt, the police. The authorities in Hamburg usually intervene quickly and competently in an emergency, if necessary by substitute performance (Ersatzvornahme).
Source: www.zeit.de
