New report on Palm Harbor apartment complex

St. Petersburg, Florida -- Structural engineers issued a preliminary report Friday on the Landings at Boot Ranch, the Palm Harbor apartmemt complex where floor collapses were reported last August 30th and January 23rd. The engineers found "a high amount of deterioration for a 9 year old building." According to the draft report's executive summary, "The cause of the rot in the plywood subfloor sheathing appears to be more related to poor construction of the floor covering and extended wet conditions from above from plumbing locations or from rain." The "poor construction" mentioned relates directly to the installation of the tile or final floor coverings. Floor sheathing problems at plumbing/air conditioning areas and lanais were found; engineers attributed these to moisture from above and from water that had been allowed to collect in the crawl spaces. A punch list documenting areas of critical concern that needed immediate repairs and other areas where rot and, in one area, termite damage were found are documented in the report.A final report should be released on Friday, March 3 after Public Works' engineer has signed off on the findings. Once the report is finalized, personnel from the county's Building Department and Environmental Management's Code Enforcement division will request a meeting with Joe Borda, the Landings' managing partner, who is also a certified engineer. The county will present its findings and request a copy of the report from the independent third-party engineer that Mr. Borda hired. None of these findings present an immediate danger or require relocating any of the residents in the units inspected.