Man parked in a Florida garage and felt the floor bounce under his feet. Then he saw a hole that raised serious questions

A Tampa, Florida resident recently went viral after sharing a video of a parking garage floor that felt strangely bouncy. The video also showed a small, concerning hole in the pavement. The user, known as TheCrawleyTrio, recorded the incident in a multi-story garage. The experience of parking and feeling the concrete move under your feet can cause instant worry.

According to Motor1, the video quickly got millions of views on TikTok, showing the user walking from their car toward a parking spot. A caption on the screen told viewers about the problem, saying, “So I parked and noticed the floor was a little bouncy as a car passed by… And I saw thisssss.” At the end of the clip, you can clearly see a gap in the floor, about half the size of a playing card.

Many people might imagine a movie-style garage collapse when seeing something like that. However, engineers have a comforting explanation for the bounce. It turns out that movement is often a sign of protection, not danger. Buildings, especially concrete ones, need to be able to “breathe.” This isn’t just about temperature changes, though concrete does expand in heat and contract in cold. It’s also about handling the weight the structure carries every day.

The bounce is actually a safety feature, not a warning sign

The average American car weighs around 4,000 pounds. When even a small garage holds a hundred vehicles, that’s 200 tons of rolling steel putting pressure on the structure. Expansion joints are designed to allow this movement without creating stress that leads to cracking. If you’re concerned about parking garage safety, knowing one simple negotiation tactic can help when buying your next vehicle.

One commenter pointed out the reality of garage construction, saying, “Yeah this is normal, do you really think the entire thing is only concrete? Do you have a concept of how much that would weigh and not be structurally safe at all?” 

Another user explained the structural design, noting, “Literally reinforced with multiple bars of reinforced steel rebar laid in between all of that concrete. Just like bridges and overpasses. The fix would be adding concrete to fill the hole to simply to ease fears but wouldn’t improve the overall solid structual integrity that is unaffected irregardless with a hole not even larger than the rebar gap between it within.”

While the bounce itself is usually reassuring, TheCrawleyTrio’s video also showed a small hole in the floor. This detail made structural experts disagree, suggesting the issue might be more serious than just a normal expansion joint. Some experts warn that holes and too much movement could mean repairs are needed.

One user, User2285843469653, pointed out a possible problem, saying, “That’s an embedded plate missing a weld. Might notify the owners. Looks like water is causing some deterioration.” Water is the real enemy of concrete parking garages. When water gets into concrete, it can cause the steel reinforcement to rust. If the steel rusts and expands, it weakens the whole slab.

In some climates, repeated freezing and thawing cycles can speed up this damage, letting even more water seep in. Professional engineers should always inspect multi-story structures to make sure the damage isn’t widespread. Just as experts recommend looking into why used trucks outperform new ones, structural issues require professional evaluation before making decisions.