Stew.. The only reason those posts look so close together is because that's our upstairs hallway..

From what I have seen over recent years here, the building standards are good if the plans are adhered to to the letter.. That's why I don't trust contractors that like to cut costs at my expense!

Our last set of plans come with a complete structural integrity report..Must be 50 pages.. I think it's a new requirement here due to the earthquakes we've recently experienced..

We had just finished the first floor slab here when the 7.5 hit us.. Our workers said the whole building rock 'n' rolled for about one minute.. Not a single crack..Whew, that was a scary minute!!

The land our posts are set is different too, which may account for any differences
I have a feeling that there are different options of steel rebar configurations available to architects and engineers depending on the building type etc..

I find it interesting..