‘Unusual’ violations raise more concerns at Ogden apartment construction site
Oct 18, 2023, 6:33 PM | Updated: 7:07 pm
OGDEN — There is more reason to be concerned tonight about a construction project on 25th Street in Ogden. City inspectors deemed the project unsafe and now a state building official has called some of the violations unusual.
He said he’s never seen violations like these in his 20 years as a building inspector.
It’s important to note that these problems were identified as part of the routine inspections conducted by inspectors across the state.
The construction site was quiet Wednesday and it’s been quiet since last March when inspectors with Ogden City declared it an unsafe building.
“It seems like there were some deficiencies that should have been caught,” Thomas Peterson said. He’s with Utah’s Division of Facilities Construction and Management.
We asked him to review the order and report issued by Ogden’s Building Services Division, and some of what he saw was surprising.
“This is not the normal construction that we typically see, nor are these the normal violations we encounter throughout the state of Utah with these projects,” Peterson said.
He explained that this type of project is especially technical and requires expertise, unlike what was observed in some of the 17 listed violations. Among those violations were floor joists that were cut down and shoehorned to fit into anchors that were too small, and wooden beams that were improperly attached to steel beams using nails and trusses that had rotated in their anchors.
Notice Order 10-12-2023 by Cary Schwanitz on Scribd
“It looks to me like there are some obvious deficiencies that need to be resolved, and I’m glad that the city is taking the necessary steps to ensure corrective action happens,” he added.
The positive aspect, according to Peterson, is that the problems were identified and will be addressed. He points out that many other apartment projects in Utah meticulously adhere to the standards, working closely with inspectors to ensure the work is done safely. However, this situation raises questions about what happened here.
“As these issues came up, obviously, there should have been a conversation between the contractor and the engineer. It looks to me like maybe those conversations never happened,” he said.
Peterson wondered how construction progressed so far before these major problems were discovered.
Ogden City had no comment on that Wednesday and the builder, Makers Line, did not respond to our calls or messages.
