TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin How do you break a concrete bench?

Daily Herald story

Not sure how long those benches have been there, but how did they get broken?

Probably not made the best to begin with and the heat and exposure to saltwater can be detrimental, especially if it has steel rebar in it.

Saltwater? Why would they be exposed to salt water? It's a block from the ocean? Yes, I guess you're right, probably not made that well to begin with.

Salt spray and in the air.

Cars hitting them?!

Yes, another reason.

Concrete can be very fickle if not prepared properly.

JD is correct. Exhibit A is the collapse of the concrete bridge in Genoa Italy in 2018. Seawater spray seeped through the concrete and corroded the steel cables that reinforced that concrete. The bridge was several kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea, and saltwater still got through.

This is likely a similar, yet far less tragic, situation.

LINK

Thanks. I guess I learned something today.

I have always been told there are two guarantees with concrete, it will get hard, and it will crack. It is a fickle building material.

It depends on the cement. If it's Portland concrete it lasts longer. If it's pre compressed concrete it last forever

They were supposed to be reinforced with metal inside and that didn't happen