Links of straw in chains of iron

I was surprised at the response to my first Red Alert Warning that contractors were using non-structural timber, that was also not pressure-treated for termites, in roofs of recently built houses in Barbados.

I expected contractors to continue installing non-structural termite-vulnerable timber in roofs, and they did. I also expected all hardware stores to continue advertising non-structural timber as structural termite-treated timber and selling it as such, and they did.

I expected homeowners, who are the main stakeholders in this matter since their families are at risk of homelessness, to retreat to their comfort strategy of hoping that this problem will go away by simply wishing it to be so, and they did. I also expected that no journalist in Barbados would investigate this matter to prompt the disinterested public to take this warning seriously, and none did.

Act of stupidity

I investigated how far back this contagion spread and found that it went back as far as 2014. This means that: every house built privately, every
housing estate built by a developer, every housing estate built by the government, and every multi-million-dollar villa, hotel, church and commercial building built since 2014 likely used non-structural timber that was not treated for termites.

Regardless of how much a person paid for the property, if it was built during and after 2014, it is likely a sub-standard building waiting to be eaten by termites and destroyed by a weak hurricane. If it is damaged by termites, then the property owner has the fortuitous opportunity to replace the roof’s timber frame before the roof and the building’s contents are lost during a hurricane.

If the building is damaged by a hurricane, then those who want to absolve themselves from blame will likely claim that it was an Act of God. The available evidence suggests that it was an act of hardware stores selling non-structural timber not treated for termites to contractors, and the government not holding anyone accountable especially after this practice was publicly exposed.

Climate change

What was surprising was the government’s response. We are internationally promoting our aim of adapting to the harmful effects of climate change. However, continuing to build and regulate the building of sub-standard houses is entirely inconsistent with this aim.

We are now intentionally inserting proverbial links of straw in chains of iron. What do we possibly hope to gain by purposefully building weak and vulnerable houses in Barbados? I have no idea.

Grenville Phillips II is a Doctor of Engineering and a Chartered Structural Engineer. He can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com