Post-Earthquake Building Durability Test Increase: The One Who Bought a Core Drill…

Similar opportunism is experienced in the seismic resistance tests of buildings, after the increase in rents in the surrounding provinces after the destruction caused by the earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş.

These tests, which increased by 53 to 66 percent annually with rising labor costs starting in January 2023, increased again after the last earthquake.

Speaking to Sozcu.com.tr, TMMOB Chamber of Civil Engineers (IMO) Adana Branch President Hasan Aksungur said: “Usually, there was a fixed price and it was charged between 500 and 600 TL per core. If 20 cores were taken from a building, it would cost 10-12 thousand TL. After the earthquake, this price increased to 50 thousand TL. Unfortunately, this situation exists in all sectors, from general prices to rental prices.

‘EVEN THE INSTALLERS STARTED TRAINING WITH THEIR HILTI’

The only problem is not those who take the opportunity to raise prices…

While these tests are normally carried out by authorized companies on the website of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, it is claimed that those who bought a core drilling machine after the last earthquake misled citizens by carrying out these tests.

“Even the plumbers go and take core samples with the device they put on the tip of their grips,” Aksungur said, adding: “In my opinion, this is more common in Adana than in other provinces. Because in Adana, which was affected by the earthquake, 12 buildings were destroyed, there are 42 buildings badly damaged. However, it is not possible to mine cores in buildings with moderate damage. They are buildings that have lost their balance,” he said.

Speaking to Sozcu.com.tr, the president of the Earthquake Strengthening Association (DEGUDER), Sinan Türkkan also drew attention to a similar point with Sungur:

“At the moment, unfortunately, everything is very confused. Anyone buying a core drilling rig is on their way. There are so many complaints that way.”

‘Someone came, walked through the building, prepared a report’

Türkkan said: “Recently, we have received complaints such as ‘someone came, visited the building and prepared a report.’ The building soundness report cannot be detected visually. It is said that the solidity of the buildings is determined by examining the buildings from the outside with the microtromor system spread on social media. “This is absolutely false and unscientific,” he said.

Explaining that they observed that the risk reports were given with some ‘false methods’ even before entering the building, Türkkan said: “These have no validity. Many malicious people appear at such times. Citizens should not believe it, that they arrive at the laboratories with the authorized companies from the website of the Ministry of the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change. Another reliable place is the static project offices on the website of the Chamber of Civil Engineers.

Türkkan also explained in his remarks to Anadolu Agency yesterday, what kind of path should be followed for a reliable earthquake resistance test.

THE TEST WAS 12 THOUSAND TL LAST YEAR, 20 THOUSAND TL THIS YEAR

According to DEGUDER data, earthquake resistance tests, which started at 12-13 thousand TL in these months last year, start from 20 thousand TL this year.

Depending on how many floors the building has and if there is a land study, this price can increase even more.

GAINED MORE THAN LIFE SAFETY

On the other hand, another problem is that people refuse to take these tests even though they live in high-risk buildings.

The tenants may not want the test done, as the building, which is deemed unsafe as a result of the test, will have to be demolished within 60 days, and they agree to live in the existing unsafe building, as it The price of the rented apartment in another building will be much higher.

Homeowners, on the other hand, cannot take the building durability test, as their home’s value will decrease if the test result shows the building to be risky.

“This is one of the problems that we encounter the most,” Türkkan said, “if the scene that will be found as a result of the test is risky, the citizen refrains from doing this test. The rental aid that the State grants to citizens for urban transformation is limited to 1500 TL. Increasing this number will be encouraging,” he said.

FLAT OWNERS, NOT TENANTS, MAY APPLY

So, how many types of seismic resistance tests are there and what is the process like?

Speaking to Sozcu.com.tr, Tayfun Gücenmez, President of the Association of Building Inspection Companies of Turkey, said: that there are two different tests, the first is the test that adheres to the Regulation for the Detection of Risky Buildings; as a result of this test, if the building is risky, it will be demolished; He explained that the other was the test to know the general seismic behavior of the building and to strengthen the building.

Stating that apartment owners, not tenants, can request these tests, Gücenmez summarized the process as follows:

“Even if there are 100 flats in the flat, it is enough for one of the flat owners to apply to the authorized companies.

A series of documents is prepared, a core test is carried out, and the file is prepared after carrying out the diagnosis in the building.

This file is submitted to the provincial office. After the provincial management approves the file, the property demolition procedure begins, which is risky.

After this approval, the building must be demolished within 60 days. In this process, electricity, water, etc. are cut off. The legislation adds another +30 days to this process.”

40 THOUSAND FREE IMM TRIAL APPLICATIONS IN 6 DAYS

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Deputy Secretary General Dr. Buğra Gökçe made a statement yesterday about the free and fast building scanning works in Istanbul, where demand exploded after the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes that destroyed 10 cities.

According to news from SÖZCÜ’s Özlem Güvemli, Gökçe said, “After the earthquake on February 6, our website was clicked 10 thousand times per minute and our page crashed for a while. In addition to Istanbul, we receive requests from abroad, from various cities in our country, to determine the condition of buildings. While we have received around 29,700 requests in 3 and a half years, we have received 40,379 requests in the last 6 days. This number increases every minute. We have reached much more than the number we have reached in 3 years, in 6 days,” he said.