South View floors slope following party, building condemned

Large numbers of people parting in South View have caused some apartment floors to slope, a general manager said.

The floor of junior Aaron Whitehead’s South View apartment, 1036 L, began to slope two weeks ago during a party.

"The girl beneath us, (junior Tiffany Cross), told us that she could see her ceiling sloping down as if it were about to crack," Whitehead said.

Cross said her ceiling started to bend and her doors started rattling as the night had progressed and the party grew larger. She added that Whitehead asked the people in his apartment to leave once he came downstairs and saw her ceiling.

"However, he couldn’t act fast enough," Cross said. "Before we knew it, a whole beam began to bend and break the sheet wall of the ceiling."

Cross called authorities and she and her roommates were asked to leave their apartment until the building inspector and fire chief declared the building condemned or otherwise. After several hours, the building was condemned until the ceiling could be repaired, Cross added.

"[When we get a call regarding a floor sloping,] we evacuate the apartments above and below and call the building officials," Fire Chief Larry Shifflett said.

Cross added, "The building inspector and South View employees said that this [happened] last year, and we were not the first ones."

Cross said South View was notified and LB & J Limited general manager Kevin Williams came to the apartment to inspect the problem. "We ended up staying in the South View model home. I was very pleased with how South View handled the problem." Cross said.

Williams said excessive movement like jumping or dancing is a cause. He added that there are signs posted on the back of each apartment door stating that the maximum occupancy is 25 people..

"[South View] has structural integrity," Williams said. "It is built above code." Williams added that the tenants whose floors begin to slope dangerously are responsible for the cost of repairs, which can run from $2,000 to $4,000.