Articles :

BEWARE WHEN BUYING IN SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
EARTHQUAKE
IF YOU ARE THINKING OF MOVING OR RETIRING TO PORTUGAL AS THOUSANDS...
THE TEN GOLDEN RULES
WATER DEBATE
WHY DO SOME BUILDING SURVIVE EARTHQUAKES WHEN OTHERS FAIL?

BEWARE WHEN BUYING IN SPAIN AND PORTUGAL

THINK ABOUT THIS BEFORE buying or building in Spain and Portugal.

How many times have you heard of friends, relatives and even complete strangers regretting the purchase of homes abroad? The problems arise because of the WAY the properties are built. Building science incorporates sets of “Basic Principles” and if these are not put into practice during construction, defect and malfunction of the building will occur. Very few other man made items have to stand up to so many different forces, extreme conditions, and variations internally and externally and still remain the same for very long periods of time. Have you ever thought WHY some buildings have a cavity? WHY do some builders use Damp membrane and others do not. WHY are some buildings insulated and others not? Does it matter?

IF YOU ARE THINKING OF BUYING ABROAD – YOU SHOULD READ THIS FIRST IT WILL HELP SAVE YOU £££££’S AND MANY UNECESSARY SLEEPLESS NIGHTS!

The UK has some of the highest level and most stringent codes and regulations for building practice in Europe and they are policed and vigorously enforced by authority. Breaching or non-observance of the rules can be very costly for the offender as the enforcers have many options and powers available to force anyone breaking the rules to comply.

The difference between UK and other countries differs in quite an alarming way, in that codes and regulations have historically been much lower than those of the UK, and in some cases non-existent. Although after 25 years of debate the EU have decided on a set of building rules for EU members, (The Eurocode) and that should be complied with by all countries during 2010. I personally do not believe that this will make much difference in some countries, as they still ignore laws and do not implement or adopt EU rules that have been in force for several years.

Let’s look at how buildings differ in UK and some other European countries and the impact it has on the property. We should start at the bottom, and work our way up, so let’s start with the

FOUNDATIONS.

A different page on this site discusses foundations, but basically different foundation types are used for different applications, ground conditions, building types and configurations. The SLAB or RAFT type, are the most common in use in Europe, although STRIP foundations are becoming more popular. It doesn’t matter which is used, but certain components MUST be incorporated into the base. One such component is THE DAMPROOF MEMBRANE (DPM). This is a layer of thick Plastic sheeting that is laid under the concrete slab and is brought up the walls and laid under the Damp Proof course in the inner wall of the building. This prevents any rising damp or water to ingress the house floors. It is essential in UK but many European countries do not use it! This means that any quantity of water can affect the ground floors and infuse the concrete with salts, acids and other undesirable chemicals from contaminated earth that can contribute to early failure of the foundation. Another component missing in many countries is INSULATION. In the foundations? Yes!

This component stops air leakage, which in turn means a reduction in thermal emissions. The insulation also prevents cold air penetrating the porous concrete and affecting the house ambient temperatures, and this means less fuel required to maintain ambient temperature. I have NEVER seen insulation used under-slab in Spain or Portugal.

WALLS also take their toll in some Mediterranean countries. A DAMPROOF COURSE (DPC) is not often used in the walls and this leads to rising damp affecting the walls. Because of the concrete and fill that are the preferred methods in Iberia, a solid mass wall is rarely achieved and when ground water rises it will enter the walls and it is forced up the fissures left in the fill and can reach high level in many cases. The DPC is a continuous strip of thick plastic type material and is defined as follows: Damp-proof course - a course of some impermeable material laid in the foundation walls of building near the ground to prevent dampness from rising into the building. Britain would not dream of building without DPC, but Spain and Portugal don’t consider it important. Masonry buildings using the single skin method also suffer in the hot weather with re-radiation effect. This means that the buildings heat up during the day and cool within during the night, making for a very uncomfortable night, unless you have air-con, and this is very expensive and noisy to run. The same happens in reverse in the winter, nights become very cold and the houses are freezing and damp. Never put your wardrobes or clothes drawers against an outside wall they will become covered in mould and mildew in the mildest winters.

The writer has lived in these types of houses on occasions in Spain and Portugal and writes from personal experience.

WALL CAVITY is of paramount importance in a building – again this is rarely used in some European countries. Using two “wall skins” tied together across a cavity allows a free airflow that lets the building breathe. The external leaf or skin protects the internal leaf from becoming wet which of course in vital to prevent internal damp.

RENDER on the external walls is very poorly applied in these countries and water collects behind the using areas not correctly applied and again this leads to pools of water percolating through the fill to the interior of the building. BELL CASTING is rarely seen on rendered walls. It is bad building practice to render an external wall down to the ground as pooling surface water is absorbed by the render and transferred to the inner wall surfaces. A bell-casted render stops approx 60cm from the ground and is turned out away from the building by about 25-40mm. This means that water running down the external wall is thrown off away from the building. INSULATION plays a major role in Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), both in the walls, under floors and in roof spaces. Not only does it keep the heat in, meaning less fuel requirement, it also reduces carbon emissions and for hot countries, stops excessive heat entering the buildings, reducing the need for mechanical cooling.

VAPOUR BARRIERS are never used, even in wooden buildings, and this protective measure is absolutely VITAL in buildings. Steam from showers and cooking, even human breathing wants to return to its natural form of water. It chooses to do this by seeking the coldest point in a room, usually an outside wall or window. If the former, it will be absorbed to a great degree by the porous materials making up the wall. If we put a vapour barrier in the wall the damp can’t penetrate the walls. If the room is warm and there is some air-flow condensation will not occur. So by using insulation and a vapour barrier the walls do not get affected by internal damp. A vapour barrier is fairly thick plastic sheeting affixed on the “warm” side of a wall under the plaster-board.

SOUNDPROOFING is also virtually unheard of! ALL traditionally constructed buildings in masonry in Europe have no passage of sound provision. Apartments, houses, bars and public buildings are very noisy, as the materials used are all conductors of transmitted and airborne sound. Insulation and building to ROBUST STANDARD DETAIL reduces sound dramatically, so you can still have traditional tiled floor finishes, without the constant annoyance of noise by using MMC

This is by no means an exhaustive explanation of what you can expect, unless you demand. By making absolutely certain your architect and builder KNOW what you want you can avoid disappointment and have a luxury home you will enjoy. It will cost very little more and mean a great difference, to incorporate all the above, and by doing so your home will be trouble free and so will you.

TIMBER ENGINEERING EUROPE IS HERE TO HELP YOU –CONTACT US NOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUERIES OR NEED ADVICE.
Written by Chris Thorpe for TIMBER ENGINEERING EUROPE Website April 2009 and may not be reproduced unless permission is granted by the writer

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EARTHQUAKE

Here are some examples of opinion from around the world.

CHINA

One particularly interesting example comes from China. According to Ms Zhang Zhiping, Director of the Conservation Centre for Monuments and Sites at the National Institute for Cultural Heritage in Beijing, traditional timber-framed buildings have been built in China for thousands of years. And these buildings perform excellently in earthquakes. During the 1996 earthquake in Lijiang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, traditional buildings remained intact while more modern ones collapsed, even in the most seriously damaged areas of the town.

RUSSIA

Wood frame buildings with stud walls generally perform well in an earthquake, unless they have no foundation or have a weak foundation constructed of unreinforced masonry or poorly reinforced concrete. Damage to wood frame buildings is generally limited to cracking of the stucco, which in fact, dissipates much of the earthquake's induced energy. The collapse of wood frame structures, if it happens, generally does not generate heavy debris; but rather, the wood and plaster debris can be cut or broken into smaller pieces by hand-held equipment and removed by hand in order to reach victims (FEMA, 1988)

U.S.A.

Partial or total collapse of buildings where the floors, walls and roofs fail as large intact units, such as large pre-cast concrete panels, cause the greatest concern in terms of life loss and difficulties in victim rescue and extrication (FEMA, 1988). Thousands of people have died as a result of collapse of these kinds of buildings during earthquakes, such as in Mexico City (1985), Armenia (1988), Nicaragua (1972), El Salvador (1986), and Philippines (1990). Many of the parking structures that failed spectacularly in Northridge (1994) consisted of pre-cast components (EERC, 1994)

ASIA

In urban areas of the world, the seismic risk is greater in non-reinforced buildings made of brick, stone, or concrete blocks because they cannot resist the horizontal forces produced by large seismic waves. Fortunately, single-family timber-frame homes built under modern construction codes resist strong earthquake shaking very well. Such houses have laterally braced frames bolted to their foundations to prevent separation. Although they may suffer some damage, they are unlikely to collapse because the strength of the strongly jointed timber-frame can easily support the light loads of the roof and the upper stories even in the event of strong vertical and horizontal ground

Istanbul

In rebuilding its homes after the earthquake it may be opportune for the Istanbul region to rediscover its tradition of timber frame construction because timber frame can offer a safer form of construction than the concrete that has proved so disastrous. It may also provide a simpler response to rebuilding than the use of concrete and masonry. This is not to suggest timber building as a form of temporary, emergency building but as a form of permanent construction safer against earthquakes and at least as suitable as concrete and masonry to the climate of the Istanbul region.

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IF YOU ARE THINKING OF MOVING OR RETIRING TO PORTUGAL AS THOUSANDS...

TO BUILD OR NOT TO BUILD

If you are thinking of moving or retiring to Portugal as thousands of others have done, the main consideration is always "Where am I going to live"? The first thing that comes to mind is to get on the internet and type in "Houses for Sale Portugal" Don't do it! If you hit on the wrong area, the cost of owning a house may seem very high. If of course you want to pay a fortune for a place in the high demand areas of the Algarve or Lisbon, that's fine, but most of us are looking for that "little gem" at the right price. House prices vary so much from place to place and so does the price of building land. If you were to compare house prices in the South of Portugal with those in Central Portugal, there is a huge difference. By UK standards CP offers excellent value for money and is a beautiful serene place to live.

Building a house here is fairly simple as well and should be considered by everyone for a number of reasons - not least:

The finished cost is comparatively low compared to buying a second owner home.
Traditional Portuguese and Spanish homes are not very comfortable to live in. Traditionally they do not install Damp Proofing or Insulation, Air Cavities or Sound travel prevention. So it's fair to say that many traditional houses are damp in winter, hot in summer, and noisy. We know, we have lived in both countries in traditional homes.
Trad building does not use any environmentally embracing materials nor does it use any renewable materials. Carbon emissions and internal passage of sounds are high.

The main thing that puts people off building their own designer home is not knowing how to go about it. Ask yourself this question "If I could find a plot at a very low price and build a home to my own design, in Portugal, incorporating 21st century engineered technology for a lot less than buying one - would I do it?" The answer is "Probably not". The reasons for this are normally the same given by many would be ex-pats, and can be:

I can't speak Portuguese - how can I possibly deal with the paperwork, never mind the brickwork.
I don't know the laws and rules - I could get in serious trouble if I don't do it correctly.
How do I find and deal with a builder?
How can I be sure it's all legal?
It would mean renting or living in a caravan for 12-18 months - I don't fancy that.
Where do I go to get a house designed?
How do I deal with problems, that will arise with the project (you are absolutely right - they do arise)

We can supply a full service for you from finding the plot to securing planning, design and building on a fixed price. Because we are only involved with modern methods of construction, build times are very fast indeed; you need not even be here if you wish to stay in your home country. We will send you regular update reports on progress and photographs of the project as it grows.

We would love to give you lots of facts and figures, but each and every project is different, therefore prices vary hugely. The size of the property, shape, and roof-scape can differ so much as can the materials and finishes. Access and location of the site have a bearing on the price, so you can see how difficult it is. We will stick our necks out though, because we have suggested that this may be a good route for you to take, and we feel we should give you some idea of costs, so here are two examples.

Example 1
This is a 3 x Bedroom 2 x Bathroom Bungalow of 150m2 - finished to a good standard. All the windows would be Double Glazed and it would be Centrally Heated. Finishing such as Tiles to walls and floors would be middle range, with a quality kitchen.

Land cost	21,000.00€
Full Build Costs	85,500.00€
	107,500.00€

Plus professional fees and taxes.

The property would be built to UK Building Regulations, Robust Detail and to Eurocode 5 - so you know it will be perfect from day one.
Occupation time: From commencement of the ground-works, you move in approximately 12 weeks later.

Example 2
This is a 5 x Bedroom 3 x Bathroom, House over 2.5 floors of 350m2 - finished to a good standard. All the windows would be Double Glazed and it would be Centrally Heated. Finishing such as Tiles to walls and floors would be middle range, with a quality hand made kitchen and swimming pool.

Land cost	35,000.00€
Full Build Costs	186,500.00€
	221,500.00€

Plus professional fees and taxes.

NOTE: These figures are estimated and are believed to be a reliable guide. They were researched and collated in good faith in May 2009, but may be liable to change as a result of material costs and/or labour charge increases. Government and Local authority changes that may take place after this date may alter the examples. Please remember these examples are only guidelines given in good faith.

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THE TEN GOLDEN RULES

NEVER part with any money upfront and do not be pushed into buying. If you are told that other buyers are flying in later today, or any other such rubbish, to pay a deposit – walk away!
NEVER buy anything that has a hazy description such as land advertised as “ Investment” this means it will never get planning for anything, and all you can do is grow olives on it. Land that is advertised with “Water and Electricity nearby” leave alone, it costs a fortune to connect and odds on - the “ nearby” will be miles away. Even If there is an electric pylon on the plot, it may not have any spare capacity for your project. If there is no town water to site and you are told that well water is available, make sure that there is water on the land and that the local authority will grant you a license. In times of water shortage it would be unlikely.
NEVER agree to pay for property or land part cash and part sale price on contract, even if you are told it is traditional. You will regret it when the local government find out!
NEVER use the same solicitor as the seller or one who the builder or seller, introduce you to, it normally ends in tears. The solicitor may not have any obligation to you if things go wrong.
NEVER take the sellers word for it. In many cases it isn’t what it seems. Make sure your legal representatives check and then double-check. Take a person who speaks the language to the council offices and check again. Get it in writing, and then get a notary to confirm the details and attest the document.
“Restoration project” or “Requires some TLC” usually means derelict, so be warned.
“Possible build 250m2 House” usually means not a chance because if there was any possibility, the seller would register a project and he could sell the plot for a lot more.
“Project approved for ***” rarely means what it says. It may be genuine, but in a lot of cases the project has timed out and will not be renewed. The project may be for only a % of the claim, the rest would be illegal.
Many new-builds are illegal; over-sized or on land not designated for dwelling. Even on land not belonging to the seller!
All land has a status designation i.e.: Urban –You can build on this land, no problem here as long as you adhere to the license conditions. Permitted - Areas in which a % of the land size may be developed.

Campo; Rural areas where some development may be approved, although likely to be limited. Agricultural; Little or no chance of permission for anything. These examples do vary from district to district and from country to country.;

Don't fall into the Alamcen; trap in Spain. This is where a local will sell you a fairly large piece of land with a license for a 100m2 house, quite cheap in comparison with other plots. The land is not urbanized and the license is for a warehouse, granted by the local authority who only wants the revenue generated by issuing building licenses. When the Junta (main government) discover that you are living in it, a fine can be imposed, usually very heavy. There are no set limits to the fines, they can be 5000euros or if you are very unlucky 50,000 Euros.

There is a saying in Spain:

The British come to Spain and when they go home they leave their hearts in Spain.

When they come back to Spain to collect their hearts, they leave their brains in Britain.

Finally, remember you need a license and or permission for most things in Spain and Portugal. There have been cases where people have been heavily fined for tiling a swimming pool or using an existing, unused water depository as a splash pool without permission.

Do not be put off by these warnings - remember millions of ex-pats of all nationalities own properties outside their native land and only a very small percentage fall foul of the law. There are no short cuts – do it properly and legally and you will not have any problems at all.

Get a good Architect you can talk to. Get a good Builder who you feel comfortable with. Get a good Lawyer who speaks English. Listen to what they say and don’t do ANYTHING till they tell you to do so. Never let the though of losing that “little gem” sway your judgment - there will be plenty more waiting for you.

IF IT SEEMS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE – THEN IT PROBABLY IS

By Chris Thorpe for Timber Engineering Europe June 2007 may not be copied or reproduced without permission.

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WATER DEBATE

WRITTEN FOR “The Olive Press” by TEE October 2008

It’s “that” time of the year again – The Big Water Debate! Have we? Haven’t we? The tourists are blamed for over enthusiastic water usage, or the golf courses are wasting it on the grass, solely for the benefit of our fellows with the funny shoes and sweaters. The poor old farmers don’t escape lightly from accusations of waste either. Look around you and in every direction you will see water being wasted to excess, and nobody seems to notice! I am referring to the millions of litres – No, lets get it right, billions of litres of water used in concrete construction every year. To give the reader some idea of the massive use of water in construction, each cubic metre of concrete requires in the region of 176 litres of water! This does not include the quantity of water required to make the base products of each material either. Add 176 litres of water to 320kgs of Cement, 600kgs of Sand and 1,200kgs of Gravel and mix it up well, (preferably not with a shovel – it could take some time) and you have 1 cubic metre of concrete! But, in order to manufacture the ingredients, once they have been blasted out of the quarry and before they can be used in concrete production a great deal of water usage is involved.
Embodied energy and embodied water intensity requirements in manufacturing are rarely given much thought. The production of steel also used in construction has a very high-embodied water intensity level, to add to the usage of water required in concrete construction.

Taking that figure of 176 litres of water per cube of concrete and multiply by 6, this tells you that each concrete truck is carrying a minimum of 1056 litres of water. I suppose its something to think about next time you are stuck behind one. According to one Mr. Peter Gleck (don’t ask), he claims that the average daily usage of water in Spain, per person including bathing, washing, drinking, recreation, (I take it this includes pools) and wastage, is 160 litres daily; so each truck has enough water to keep nearly 7 people a day! Not impressed? Read on…………….

In 2007 one concrete supply company, Tarmac Iberia supplied over 2.8 million cubic metres of ready-mixed concrete and 7.8 million tonnes of aggregates, which brought an income of 200 million euros – but, that’s nothing compared to the Spanish Holcim Group who’s cash till rang up 660 million euros in sales. These are only two of many! Based on the above Tarmac Iberia alone used almost 500 million litres of water on just their ready-mix product. It is very difficult to be 100% accurate with these figures as they vary from source to source and without being alarmist I believe them to be reasonably accurate and this statement should avoid receiving rebuke or correction appearing in your esteemed organ, from “Outraged Engineer - Penge”.

Construction also creates a separate problem with supply as water can be heavily impacted by residential construction. Site clearing and grading often cause erosion and polluted runoff. Urban development decreases the percentage of permeable surfaces, reducing the ability of the land to absorb and filter incoming rain and pollution. And, as population and housing developments expand, there is demand for more water so it becomes an ever-faster spinning wheel. So, we are the architects of our own destination – more urbanised construction demands more water use, yet contributes to restricting supply.

We must ask ourselves, why does Iberia continue to use such a product that is so quarry focused and water intensive. Why use a product in construction known for its unpredictable behaviour in earthquake. Why continue to build homes that have ridiculously high passage of sound levels and unbelievably high carbon emission levels? Why use a product and system, which does not allow heat retention in winter and heat regulation in summer, without the use of mechanical assistance? Why continue to suffer defect in new property as a result of the fabric drying process? The opportunity to incorporate modern building technology, along with alternative materials and methods, has never been greater. Construction time and cost can be slashed if modern methods are employed. Many, many other developed countries can supply affordable housing, using modern technology and incorporating the principles of environmental and responsible material and method choices. The rest of the world embraces modern methods of construction – why not Spain and Portugal?

Chris Thorpe.
Operations Director – Timber Engineering Europe

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WHY DO SOME BUILDING SURVIVE EARTHQUAKES WHEN OTHERS FAIL?

Earthquakes can happen anywhere any time, so the idea that "We are not on an Earthquake Zone" is incorrect. In fact EVERY YEAR there are an estimated 2 million Earthquakes worldwide and 500,000 detectable Earthquakes globally of which 100,000 can be felt. Only around 100 each year cause damage.

It is a known and accepted fact that buildings and earthquakes do not go hand in hand and terrible damage is caused in many instances. Building damage avoidance is quite a simple concept, it is the materials used that cause the problems.

Earthquake resistance can and is, in many cases, built into the design of the building. It is the materials used that cause the problems.

Any building MUST be able to withstand the horizontal forces inflicted on its foundations by an Earthquake. The tremors inflict sideways loadings to the foundation and this transfers to the rest of the building in a shaking motion. Traditional foundations are designed to take the imposed loads of weight, being roof, floors and walls, so the weight pressing down on the foundation will always be constant and the foundation will have been designed to take the weight of the respective structure. In older buildings, problems occur when extra floors are added or heavier roof structures are installed and the foundations designed for the original building are not reinforced to accommodate the extra imposed loads

To construct a house or building under static conditions, the materials need only to be stacked up, attached to each other, and balanced. These kinds of buildings are not designed to accelerate rapidly and change directions like cars or airplanes. Buildings in seismically active areas, however, must be designed and built to withstand the dynamic acceleration that can occur during an earthquake. Large buildings and structures such as bridges, in particular, must be designed so that vibrations arising from earthquakes are damped and not amplified.

Because noticeable earthquakes are rare in most areas, people may not recognize that the objects and buildings around them represent potential hazards. It is not movement of the ground surface alone that kills people. Instead, deaths from earthquakes result from the collapse of buildings and falling objects in them, fires, and tsunamis. The type of construction that causes the most fatal injuries in earthquakes is unreinforced brick, stone, or concrete buildings that tend not to be flexible and to collapse when shaken.

The most earthquake-resistant type of home is a low wooden structure that is anchored to its foundation and sheathed with thick plywood. Some of the traditional architecture of Japan approximates this shock-resistant design, including wooden buildings that are more than a thousand years old. Strangely, both unreinforced masonry and shock-resistant wood houses are used by different cultures in areas of high earthquake risk.

Timber Frame is without doubt the safest and most durable form of construction in Earthquake conditions. It is lightweight and can stand the horizontal forces imposed during an Earthquake because it has lateral bracing built in as part of its earthquake resistant design. Timber will flex and return to its original shape, unlike concrete and masonry buildings. Joints are also a major fail zone in traditional buildings as the reinforcing and/or joints will loosen during an Earthquake and cause the building to fail. This does not happen with timber frame and it is rare for a timber frame building to collapse if Engineered and erected correctly. The figures shown below speak for themselves, but there is no question that Timber Frame buildings are far safer and more desirable than any other form of building.

Earthquake	People Killed	Killed in T Frame	T Frames Involved
Alaska 1964	130	10	Not recorded
San Fernando 1987	63	4	15,000
Saguendy 1988	76	0	10,000
LomaPrieta 1989	66	0	50,000
Northridge 1994	60	16	200,000
Hyogo Kobe	6300	0	8,000

Source E. Karacabeily (Forintek) 2006

MSK

Classes A ; B ; C. represent: Adobe House, Brick Buildings and Reinforced Concrete constructions.

Classes D ; E. represent: buildings with an element of Earthquake Resistant Design (ERD) and also for WELL BUILT TIMBER, reinforced or confined masonry, and steel buildings.

Class F represents: Resistant design. i.e. a structure of the highest earthquake resistance, due to the incorporated design principles.

The lowest level and therefore the type of building which would suffer most damaged would be buildings without ERD both engineered and non-engineered constructions.
The second level is buildings with ERD. These buildings may include masonry construction, reenforced concrete or steel. Inc. Retrofitted property.
The highest level and subsequent safest level applying the principles of MSK is An engineered construction with ERD

Because EU standards require our engineers to design a building on an elemental basis, i.e. taking into account location, wind and snow loadings, historic weather patterns and many other conditions our products do fit into the ERD category as an engineered construction.

The following points are considered when assessing ERD and would be considered undesirable:

Heavy Roof systems
No flexibility of materials during earthquake
Unable to return to original shape after shaking
Large window/door openings in Stone/Masonry/R.C.
Weak non-mechanical joints in materials
Weak horizontal elements.

Timber frame structure is not affected by any of the above if built to the correct specifications. This is a very brief explanation of a very complex subject but you are safe to advise clients that on information known Engineered Timber Frame construction with ERD is acknowledged as the safest form of building in an Earthquake.

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