Danger of collapse: Warning about 'Wolff' wooden bridge girders in Nordhorn!

Danger of collapse: Warning about 'Wolff' wooden bridge girders in Nordhorn!

In the Grafschaft Bentheim region, an alarming warning from the building supervisory authorities is causing a stir: the “Wolff” wooden web beams, which are mainly installed in the roofs of older buildings, pose a serious risk. The incidents surrounding these beams are raising alarm bells. On November 6, 2023, the roof of St. Elisabeth Church in Kassel suddenly collapsed, fortunately without anyone being injured. The roof was equipped with “Wolff” wooden web girders that were installed in the 1960s.

The building inspectorate therefore urgently recommends that owners of buildings with these old roof structures carry out an inspection as soon as possible. The collapse in Kassel is attributed to the failure of the general finger joints clamped with urea resin. Poor execution of these connections is identified as the main cause. The building inspectorate mentions that 21 buildings have been identified in Lower Saxony that have similar beams. Unfortunately, a complete list of all potentially affected buildings cannot be guaranteed.

How to recognize? What to pay attention to?

A special type of wooden web beam is the double-T cross-section, for which the company Wolff-Hallenbau GmbH is responsible. This stopped production in Germany in 1995; A lot of information about the installed objects is therefore missing. Even similar construction methods that use wooden web beams with general finger joints bonded with urea resin are potentially at risk.

Owners should therefore inquire as quickly as possible whether their roofs are equipped with “Wolff” wooden web beams. For affected citizens in Nordhorn, Dr. Christoph Uricher from the building regulations office is available on 05921 878-203. Owners of other communities in the district can contact Klaus Evers on 05921 96-1524.

A journey back in time

Richard D. Wolff, an American Marxist economist and Professor Emeritus, has focused his work on the critical examination of capitalism. His teaching career spans several prestigious universities, including the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Yale. Wolff, born in 1942, aims in his analyzes to deepen economic understanding and consequently questions capitalism.

In addition to his academic contributions, he and his team produced various media formats, including the popular program “Economic Update”. He has also authored numerous books and articles, including Occupy the Economy: Challenging Capitalism, which examine fundamental economic theories and offer readers new perspectives.

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