Dilapidated Government Buildings & Their Windows

How bad is the California state building where you work? Mechanical failure has kept one building’s windows unwashed for 10 years. Some office structures lack fire sprinklers, contain hazardous materials, suffer from leak.

Fun fact: The windows on the Resources Building in downtown Sacramento haven’t been cleaned in more than a decade. “The window cleaning platform is not functional,” the California Department of General Services stated in a new report on the 51-year-old building. “The windows have not been cleaned in over ten years, and without an operable platform, the exterior tile joints cannot be maintained.”

Other problems inside and outside the building include asbestos in the walls, ceiling and floor tiles, exterior joints around windows that allow water to seep in, a “spongy” roof the verge of leaking and fire-safety systems that aren’t up to code. Those troubles and others gave the 17-story structure at 1416 Ninth St. the ignominious distinction as the most-dilapidated office building that the state owns or leases among the 29 assessed by HOK, a well-known architectural firm.

HOK figures that fixing everything, from replacing restroom exhaust fans to seismically retrofitting the Resources Building’s exterior, would cost $148.8 million. Lawmakers commissioned the first-ever survey of state properties last year. The Brown administration has said the results will guide policy for repairing or replacing government buildings. Want to check on the state building where you work? General Services has posted the results all the state building assessments by HOK. You’ll find them here.

Part of the problem is that many of the building’s 3,000 windows in the Houses of Parliament of the building on the banks of the River Thames in central London will not close properly

Deteriorating Houses of Parliament could catch fire again, warn Parliament officials: The Palace of Westminster is in such a state of disrepair that it could burn down for a second time, senior officials in charge of a major overhaul have warned. MPs are getting stuck in lifts and missing votes because of the scale refurbishment required at the Houses of Parliament, they said.

Part of the problem is that many of the building’s 3,000 windows of the building on the banks of the River Thames in central London will not close properly, further causing more damage to the fabric of the building designed by the architect Augustus Pugin. Richard Ware, the director for the Restoration and Renewal Programme at the Palace of Westminster, said the £50million a year work programme only kept the building working operationally. More fundamental work was needed to stop the building deteriorating further, referring to the last major fire in the Houses of Parliament in 1834. 

A report on the future of the Palace of Westminster concluded in 2012: “If the Palace were not a listed building of the highest heritage value, its owner would probably be advised to demolish and rebuild.” One of the major problems is that asbestos – a deadly substance which was used in the 1940s and 1950s to fireproof buildings - had been “liberally applied all around the building – not just as insulation but in light switches, toilet systems and as a sound suppressant”, Mr Barlex said.

Window Cleaning Video News Revisited

Facelift van gets an appearance in the background.

55 stone man turns life around: A jobless man has started up his own window cleaning business because he said his weight made him unemployable. Gerald Ash used to weigh 55 stone, but even after losing 20 stone he says it's still hard to get work. So, he's set himself up as a window cleaner and is donating some of his earnings to charity. Ken Goodwin reports. See the original blog here.

No peeking, It even says so on their shirts.

Company features men washing windows in kilts (Boston) - A new business in the Boston area may turn a few heads, because it includes men who are skirting around town washing windows in kilts. They are the kind of window washers where wind could be a problem. "Yesterday was actually really nice really sunny warm so kept the kilt down, no breezes," said Chris Murphy, Men in Kilts. The business is called Men in Kilts. The name says it all; they wash windows, pressure wash homes, and clean gutters in traditional Scottish garb -- and they don't seem to mind. "If you don't look down, it feels like you're wearing shorts,” Murphy said. "Nope, I’m Scottish so I don't mind it at all, paying tribute to my heritage," said Shane Ross. 

The franchise started in Vancouver with only $500. Now, there's one in Holliston which serves the Boston area. People seem to like the idea already. "I got a good thumbs up from everybody. They liked it, they liked the idea of the kilt," Ross said. It's not a job for the bashful; the men have to climb ladders, giving many on the street a view. But, their motto? No peeking. It even says so on their shirts. They’ve already had to remind some people about that rule. "We did a photo shoot last week in Boston. My son was up on the second floor and the women were walking down the street and instead of going around the ladder, they'd go under the ladder. And he just politely said, ‘no peeking,’" said Judy Briggs, franchise owner. And when asked what they wear under those kilts? "You’re going to have to hire us to find out. So, I can't tell," said Murphy. See original blog here.

Sacramento firefighters recover a man's body Monday from the 16th-floor level of a high-rise at 12th and K Street. A rope had constricted his breathing.

Suspected 'extreme graffiti' vandal in Sacramento is identified: The Sacramento County coroner on Tuesday identified a man who died nine stories up an office building in what appeared to be an attempt at producing what's sometimes called "extreme graffiti."Craig Fugate of Vancouver, Wash., was found dead hanging outside the downtown Sacramento building Monday. Police said he appeared to be attempting to vandalize the facade of the building; a spray-paint bottle and a tool for etching glass were found on the roof of the building. Police have been targeting daredevil taggers, who have vandalized such landmarks as freeway signs and the walls of the L.A. River. Earlier this year, a tagger was killed trying to vandalize a freeway sign in the Sacramento area.

In 2006, "Buket," the daredevil tagger who gained Internet notoriety for his brazen, daylight tagging of a sign over the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles and vandalism of a Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus, was sentenced to three years and eight months in state prison. Cyrus Yazdani, 26, became something of an Internet sensation when he plastered his "Buket" tag 20 feet above the freeway -- vandalism that was captured on videotape and posted with a rap soundtrack on YouTube and numerous tagger-related blogs.

In the Sacramento case,  Fugate allegedly used rope to tie himself in a seated position like a rappeller, authorities said. The rope was tied off with a window washing anchor, and fire officials believe that that anchor could have held his weight. But they don't think he was a window washer. The Sacramento Bee reported that the man had two pieces of rope looped around his body in a style used by rock climbers. Battalion Chief Marc Bentovoja told the Bee the Fire Department had no reason to believe the man's death was a suicide. "It looks like accidental more than anything else," Bentovoja said. According to Fox 40, a door was found propped open on the roof of the building at 12th and K Streets, suggesting the man was planning on going back down the stairs.

Man found dead on high-rise not known for graffiti, his uncle says: An uncle of the man who police suspect was in the act of tagging when he accidentally asphyxiated himself outside the 16th floor of a downtown office tower said Tuesday that he never knew his nephew to deface any property with graffiti. "I have never known for him to do that before," Joseph Fugate said of his nephew, Craig Michael Fugate, 30, who was discovered Monday morning as office workers arrived at the high-rise at 1201 K St., just blocks from the Capitol. "He is an artist. I know that," Fugate said. He said his nephew was adept at artwork on T-shirts, including silk-screening.

Sacramento police spokeswoman Michele Gigante said Fugate apparently died accidentally while trying to tag the building's exterior. She said markers, etching tools that could be used to deface glass, and spray paint were found at the scene. Officers also found a stencil. Craig Fugate grew up in Concord and was recently living in Vancouver, Wash. He had told his uncle that he planned to move to the Sacramento area. His uncle said he had been discharged from the Navy on a disability. "He was a really sweet kid," Joseph Fugate said. "He went out of his way to do things with others even though he didn't have the means. He seemed to gravitate toward those who were down-and-out and tried his best to help them."

The Sacramento County coroner's website lists Fugate's cause of death as undetermined. A Sacramento Fire Department official said he had accidentally asphyxiated himself. The rope that Fugate had used to lower himself down the building's facade had looped around his chest and legs, constricting him and pulling him into a fetal position when the rope cinched up. Sacramento police said Tuesday that Fugate had entered the building Sunday. Police said he entered the stairwell and tried to pry open locked doors. Eventually, Fugate reached the top of the 19-story high-rise, which is known locally as the "Ban Roll-on" building. Using rope left by window washers, the man employed an antiquated mountaineering technique to descend to a 17th-floor landing, the Fire Department official said. Then, after retying the rope, he descended to the 16th floor, where he became stuck. See original blog here.

Man Found Hanging With Window Cleaning Equipment

Firefighters recover the body of a man who was found hanging by a rope from the edge of a balcony of a downtown building at 12th and J Streets Monday morning April 1, 2013, in Sacramento, Calif. Officials said they believe the death was accidental.

Dead man is found dangling from downtown Sacramento high-rise: Sacramento authorities are investigating the death of a man whose body was found dangling outside a downtown building. At some point Monday morning, it appears the man tied a rope around himself, authorities said. However, he was tied in seated position like a rappeller. The rope was tied off with a window washing anchor, and fire officials believe that that anchor could have held his weight. But they don't think he was a window washer.

Around 7:45 a.m., a person in another building reported seeing the man hanging near 12th and K streets. Rescuers soon reached the man, took him down, and confirmed that he was dead. The man was at least nine stories above the ground. The Sacramento Bee reported that the man had two pieces of rope looped around his body in a style used by rock climbers. Battalion Chief Marc Bentovoja told the Bee the department had no reason to believe the man's death was a suicide. "It looks like accidental more than anything else," said Bentovoja.

Man found hanging from Sacramento high-rise: SACRAMENTO - There was a spray can and an etching tool found on the roof where a man was found hanging from a window-washing hook high above downtown Sacramento Monday morning, police said. The dead man may possibly have been a graffiti "tagger", according to police officer Michelle Gigante.

Police and firefighters were called to the building at 1201 K Street after employees in an adjacent building spotted the man hanging around 7:45 a.m. Firefighters brought in a tactical rope team for a possible rescue, but quickly determined the man was dead.

Rescue workers were able to retrieve the man's body and determine his death had likely been accidental. "The rope was clover-leafed around his body, it's a common knot that we use, and it tends to be self-cinching, the knot is, and with his body weight hanging on the rope, it looks like that might have been what tightened the rope up on him," said Battalion Chief Marc Bentovoja. According to Bentovoja, responders believed the man had anchored himself to a window-washer's hook on the 17th floor and then rappeled over the edge. Investigators were examining evidence to determine why the man was rappeling in the first place.

Man found hanged from downtown building identified by coroner: The Sacramento County Coroner's office has released the name of the man whose body was discovered Monday morning hanging from rope outside the 16th floor of a downtown building. He was identified as Craig Michael Fugate, 30, of Vancouver, Wash. The coroner's website lists the cause of death as undetermined. Sacramento police spokeswoman Michele Gigante said Fugate apparently died accidentally while trying to vandalize the building's exterior.

Battalion Chief Craig Wiedenhoeft, of the Sacramento Fire Department, said Fugate accidentally asphyxiated himself. Wiedenhoeft said the rope that looped around his chest and legs had constricted him. "He got pulled into a fetal position when the rope cinched up on him," he said. It wasn't known Monday how Fugate reached the top of the high-rise, known locally as the "Ban Roll-on building," 1201 K St.

According to the Wiedenhoeft, the man used an antiquated mountaineering technique to begin his descent. He used a rope left by window washers to descend to a landing on the 17th floor. Then, after retying the rope, he descended to the 16th floor, Wiedenhoeft said. Local climbing experts said the "classic rappel" technique is seldom practiced. It uses friction from the rope against the body at various points to slow the descent. The victim was noticed at 7:50 a.m., and firefighters recovered the body. Gigante said markers, glass etching tools that could be used to deface glass, and spray paint were found at the scene.