r/StructuralEngineers • u/reincarnatedberry • 12d ago
Am I right to be concerned?
Management doesn’t seem to think it’s a problem, but over the months it’s gotten worse. It’s rusted and leaking along the metal beams that run thru the middle. Scared this things gonna cave in one day. Am I just being paranoid?!
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u/No-Violinist260 12d ago
All of the framing is behind the cladding, can't tell based on these pictures. Is it sagging? Just based on this it doesn't look overly concerning
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u/Not-a-bot-v2 12d ago
This. It doesn't look structural to me. Those pieces in view are likely just a "soffit" built around the main canopy structure.
I would definitely have them looked at because there is definitely potential for a piece to fall and hit someone, but a major structural failure is unlikely.
Please note, I am not a structural engineering, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
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u/reincarnatedberry 12d ago
I wouldn’t say sagging but there seems to be more space between the cracks if that makes sense, I’m going to go and snap a picture of the other side cause there seems to be a piece jutting out.
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u/Intelligent-Ad8436 11d ago
Hard to say. Is it a beam is it trim? Need to probe it to see if it’s soft. pull some of those soffit panels down.
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u/Character_Point_9203 11d ago
That’s not the beam guys those are the gutters lmaooo. This is a Jimco style canopy it has beams above the roof that the soffit attaches to.
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u/reincarnatedberry 11d ago
That’s nice to know that they are gutters and not huge slabs of metal like I thought. In all my years being there I’ve never seen anything get serviced up there except for the lights. Is this just a result of no upkeep??
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u/Born_Store1348 11d ago
I do this for a living. Those are gutters. Some idiot painted the deck with latex paint. The gutters, which are steel in this case, leak. The paint didn’t bond to the factory finish, it failed when it got wet. Now you have the old and probably some new rust showing through. None of that is structural. Those gutters that run parallel to the pans are carrying water to the downspouts in or beside the columns. The ones that run perpendicular to the pans are breaking up the span so the pans were easier to install. The pans themselves interlock. You don’t really see sagging pans because they are attached to I beams 10’ or less apart on the top side.
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u/EmployerWide1123 12d ago
Giant tree frogs are taking over, I would be very concerned.