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Recently, many owners of Wuhan Ouyada Yuntai Community reported on the "Wuhan City Message Board" that there is an open-air water pit outside the wall of the community basement, and the outer side of the wall is soaked in water all year round. Over time, the accumulated water began to leak into the basement, and when it rained heavily, the water leaked "like a waterfall."

In order not to affect the owners' parking, the property management is helpless and can only use plastic sheets to collect water or use wooden sticks to seal the leaks.

Comparison of the inside and outside of the wall. Photo by Song Weiqi, a reporter from Jiupai News

It is understood that this wall should not have existed in the first place, and the inner and outer sides were supposed to be built into a connected basement. However, the inner side was built first, but the outer side was not started due to funding reasons. The developer could only build a temporary wall at the section for isolation, and "no waterproofing was done."

【1】The building was half-built and stopped, resulting in a cross-section, with the exterior walls soaked in water and steel bars exposed

The rendering of the building at that time. Photo/provided by the interviewee

The owner, Mr. Gao, said that the project is planned to have two districts, the south and the north. The residential buildings in the south district will be delivered in 2020 after completion. The north district was originally planned to be built into a commercial street or a large market, but due to the developer's funding problems, it was not built, and the excavated area is now a wasteland.

"The wasteland you are standing on was supposed to be used to build a kindergarten." Following the owner's instructions, on August 1, the reporter entered the abandoned area from the northwest side of the community and saw that there was a section between the north and south areas. The remaining construction site was large and now overgrown with weeds. Some areas were used to grow vegetables, and nearby residents kept pet dogs there. "At the beginning, they said they were going to build this and that, and the renderings looked pretty good. Now, not only are they not repaired, but they are also leaking," said Mr. Gao.

The remaining construction site is overgrown with weeds. Photo by Song Weiqi, a reporter from Jiupai News

The completed residential building in the southern area includes two underground parking lots, one below ground and the other below ground. The northernmost wall separates the basement from the open wasteland outside. Originally, the two areas separated by the wall should be built into a connected basement, and the construction of the outer area was stopped, forming a section and was abandoned for many years.

In order to separate the built basement from the open-air area where construction was suspended, the developer, Wuhan Ouyada Furniture Street Co., Ltd., built this temporary wall before handing over the house. The property management said that no waterproofing was done.

The north wall. Photo by Song Weiqi, a reporter from Jiupai News

The reporter saw on the wasteland that the north wall was a brick structure. After the foundation was dug, a water pit formed along the wall. There were molds on many places on the wall, and moss grew on the bottom. A branch inserted into the water showed that the depth was about 1 meter. Based on the water marks left on the wall, it can be guessed that the deepest place was nearly 2 meters when the water level was high. In addition, the steel bars of the middle floor of the first and second floors of the basement extended outward and were exposed outside the wall in many places.

"Who would have thought that when you park your car in the basement, the water outside the wall may be as high as your car. If the wall collapses, it will be flooded." The owner said that because of this, the basement of the community has been leaking for more than four years since the house was delivered. There are obvious leaks in some places. When it rains heavily, water gushes out. Now we can only temporarily use cloth and wooden sticks to stop the leak. In addition, the second floor below ground is low, and the porcelain powder on the inner side of the north wall has fallen off due to water infiltration, and the wall tiles are exposed, which makes people look worried.

[2] Property management: We have repeatedly reported water seepage to the developer, but no repairs have been made

Mr. Hong, director of the property maintenance department, told reporters that the north wall was not originally within the planning scope. After the project was suspended halfway through, the construction unit could only temporarily build this wall to separate the inside and outside, and at the same time reserve a section of steel bars outside to facilitate the opening of the wall and continued construction after resuming work.

The property management used plastic sheets to hold the water. Photo by Song Weiqi, a reporter from Jiupai News

Mr. Hong said that when it rains heavily, water will seep into the wall and leak into the basement along the gaps between the steel bars and concrete. For this reason, they have reported the problem to the developer and the construction company many times since the handover, but no repairs have been made. Helplessly, the property staff can only seal the obvious leaks or use plastic sheets to scoop up the water to prevent the rainwater mixed with impurities from dirtying the owner's car. "We have done everything we can within our duties," he said.

Regarding the safety issues that the owners are concerned about, Mr. Hong said that the building has a frame structure and cast-in-place floor slabs. "It is impossible for the pillars to collapse due to waterlogging for a long time, which would affect the load-bearing capacity of the house." He said that if waterproofing is to be done now, the developer's investment is also huge. If the problem is to be solved completely, the only way is to rebuild the area where construction has been stopped outside so that the walls will not be exposed.

Afterwards, the reporter called the developer, Wuhan Ouyada Furniture Street Co., Ltd.,'s office phone number several times, but was unable to get through.

Tianyancha shows that the company has more than 200 judicial case information, including disputes over construction project contracts, pre-sale contracts for commercial housing, and house sales contracts. In addition, the company was listed as a high-consumption restricted enterprise by the court in July this year.

【3】Residential Construction Bureau: Developers are stepping up efforts to drain the accumulated water and completely solve the problem of resuming construction of the property

In response to the situation raised by the owners, the Housing Safety Management Station of the Dongxihu District Housing and Retention Bureau replied through the "Wuhan City Message Board" that after on-site investigation, the reserved steel bars of the concrete beams and slabs at the cross-section were exposed, and water accumulated on the outside of the walls, which would not affect the safety of the overall building structure.

A staff member of the Dongxihu District Housing Bureau told reporters that the bureau has arranged personnel to conduct on-site inspections and coordinate the handling of the matter. He introduced that according to the design requirements, the 20 to 30 centimeters of steel bars reserved at the cross section have been treated for rust prevention. In response to the water accumulation, the developer promised to add water pumps underwater and organize personnel to patrol throughout the day. "When the water level reaches a certain height, the water pump will be manually turned on to drain the water." The staff member said.

"To completely solve this problem, we need to develop the North District so that this location (section) can be closed. However, the developer is unable to implement this plan in the near future due to financial reasons." The staff member said that multiple departments will discuss the matter and seek a suitable solution.

Jiupai News reporter Song Weiqi

[Source: Jiupai News]