Comment by latexr

> on what timescale though?

Short enough to kill you or your direct descendants. These things can look fine for years and then collapse in one day.

> and in an invisible way?

Makes no difference how visible it is if you don’t understand the risk and do nothing until something happens. And the longer you wait, the harder it will be to remedy.

> I believe buildings are seen as more temporary in japan than in the west

I’m not talking about Japan, I’m addressing the general point.