Halliwell’s Senior Structural Engineers performed an investigation at the Ortley House Condominium Association located at 2nd Avenue and Beach Front in Ortley Beach, NJ for claimed damage to the twelve structures as a result of Super Storm Sandy. The purpose of the investigation was to provide an engineering opinion as to the cause and origin of the damage and destruction to the condominium buildings. Halliwell conducted an on-site inspection to observe the existing conditions of the buildings shortly after the storm event and evaluate pre-storm and post-storm aerial photographs of the area. In addition, HEA evaluated a preliminary meteorological report developed for Super Storm Sandy estimating the maximum wind speeds and storm surge elevation that affected the property during the storm, and the timing of each.
The property is located on the north side of Second Avenue, at the east end of the street, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. The property consists of twelve separate buildings, in a horseshoe layout surrounding an in-ground pool and parking area. The main building has 3-stories, with concrete masonry unit (CMU) exterior walls with a stucco finish. The eight condominium units are separated with interior, load-bearing, east-to-west CMU demising walls. The foundation of the building consists of a 6” concrete floor slab supported by nine 27” steel beams. Each steel beam is supported by two 14” x 14” concrete columns, one at the east exterior wall and one at the west exterior wall. The main building has a flat roof covered with a built up roof system with a granulated cap sheet. Roof-top HVAC units servicing each of the 8 units are located on the roof of the main building. An elevated deck spans the east side of the main building and a concrete at-grade patio spans the west side.