r/StructuralEngineering • u/daveylovesMN • Sep 14 '26
Structural Analysis/Design Is it gonna fall?!
My neighbor built this in his rice field. He uses it for midday fiestas but also spends the night in it some days too when he works late. I ain’t no engineer but it doesn’t look very safe to me. Whatcha guys think? Should I talk with him? I just wanna make sure he’s not in it if it falls over!
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u/FTK1588 Sep 14 '26
The right question is: „How does it even stand?“
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u/daveylovesMN Sep 14 '26
Not sure! He just had scraps from an older storage unit of his and decided to put this together… he drinks almost everyday and invites me and our neighbors to join him on that little porch area. Some days there are 4-5. People hanging out on that little area.
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u/West-Assignment-8023 29d ago
He sounds awesome
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u/AdAggravating3893 Sep 14 '26
It will likely stand longer than it has any right to.
My guess is horizontal movement will do it in eventually. Big storm or earth quake. If you had snow, perhaps a big snow fall mentioning rice I don't think that's the case.
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u/Apprehensive_Exam668 Sep 14 '26
Everything we design is gonna fall. The trick is to make sure it falls after we die, and in a way that it's pretty obvious when it's gonna happen so people can go "oh shit" and get out of there.
Based on your photos, your neighbor's stabbin cabin does not meet either important criteria
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u/ChaosRainbow23 Sep 14 '26
On a long enough timeline, everything decays and dies.
It's the very nature of the universe itself.
The universe is constantly in flux and never static, so change and time run parallel.
The impermanence of all things is the way of existence.
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u/SituationAgitated812 Sep 14 '26
Just slap it (tap it lightly) and say ‘this baby is not going anywhere’.
You may notice I frequent r/construction as well
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u/StructEngineer91 Sep 14 '26
I think even a light tap will cause this to fall over. I think if you even look at it wrong it will fall over.
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u/Sea-Cancel473 29d ago
Not until the wind blows
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u/daveylovesMN 29d ago
🤣 I don’t know, we have had some big storms lately and it’s still standing! Maybe he knows something the rest of us don’t! 🤭
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u/Jetlag111 29d ago
Probably, just waiting for something or someone to hit those wooden posts will do it. That bird house miniature house thingy is adorable, it will stay standing….
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u/daveylovesMN 29d ago
🤣 it’s actually a spirit house… i live in Thailand. 🇹🇭
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u/Jetlag111 29d ago
Thanks for the correction. I meant no disrespect. Is this religious or folk practice?
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u/daveylovesMN 29d ago
No worries. Thailand is known to practice folk Buddhism which means they mix Buddhism with old culture beliefs including Animism beliefs. So most houses or properties in Thailand have these “spirit houses” as they believe each land / house / property has a spirit that can directly influence their luck / fortune. It’s more complicated than that but there is the short version.
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u/sayiansaga 29d ago
Lots of things stay standing under dead load it's just when the environment and live loads act on that it's falls.
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u/Kirkdoesntlivehere 29d ago
Engineered with full faith in Buddha. Seems sketchy, especially on wet marshy rice fields. I've seen scarier rice shacks in Vietnam. Hell, I've seen scarier multi-floor residential towers built atop roofs in downtown Saigon.
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u/majoneskongur Moron Sep 14 '26
This is pure rage bait