What causes cracks in buildings?

There are many causes of cracks, anything, from natural causes like the recent tremors to
using wrong or inadequate building materials.

Its easy to ask whether a crack is serious but a professional will find it difficult to give you an
instan answer. This is because cracks are not serious and are easy to repair whereas some may
be a sign of serious defect, that may result into expensive repair costs, or danger of the
building collapsing.

Taking cracks seriously

Cracks may appear in the walls bricks/block mortar plaster, beam-wall joints, columns wall
joints, slabs, beams, columns, foundations and in many other places.
Much as its not a simple task, its essential you take any cracks seriously and get assessment
done in order to specify their significance.
Most buildings will develop cracks at some point in time during their service life due to the
following causes.

Poor workmanship
Poor mixing of building materials, like cement sand and aggregate will cause cracks in the
walls, beams, slabs etc. Normally poor workmanship is as a result of ignorance, carelessness,
negligence, lack of proper supervision and many others or worth still a combination of all
these.

Temperature variations
Its important to know that most materials tend to expand when subjected to direct sunlight
and contract in cooler temperatures this process, and therefore end up causing cracks. The
cracks will be severe, especially in thin walls that are exposed to direct sunlight.

Structural design
Poor structural design and specifications are another cause of the cracks in concrete works.
Its important that the designer considers all the environmental aspects that include soil
(Geotechnical) investigations that will enable the designer to come up with a proper design of
the foundation.
Normally, buildings are designed for particular uses, and also to withstand a given measure of
weight (loading) for example a building designed as residence will have different structural
specifications from the one designed to operate machinery.
Lack of (or) poor maintenance
Its always important to take good care of your house, by doing maintenance works after a
lapse of certain periods. This will keep the building intact and also extend their life span.

Natural forces
Earthquakes, tremors like the ones that were experienced in Kampala recently, winds, rains,
flooding and many others may cause cracking in the buildings.
There are many other causes and types of cracks in buildings therefore always look out for
them and take the necessary actions.

Please note that, the remedies or solutions are not discussed because, of the various technical
reasons, and therefore the solutions can be provided by technical people, However knowing
the causes will help you to ask some crucial questions, and also have helpful awareness
before, during and after the construction of your house.
 Introduction
Buildings and other built structures are moving all the time, but usually these
movements are so small as to be unnoticeable. Movement can be caused by defects,
movement of the ground, foundation failure, decay of the building fabric and so on.
If a structure is unable to accommodate this movement, cracking is likely to occur. The
appearance of distortions and cracks can be visually unattractive and disconcerting for
occupants, and if left untreated they can affect the integrity, safety and stability of
the structure.
Effective treatment requires first that the causes of cracking are understood. Only then
can a strategy for repair be implemented.

Causes of cracks
The most common causes of cracking are:
Ground movement (beneath foundations) caused by clay shrinkage, land slip,
vibration, subsidence, settlement, heave, sway, and so on.
Foundation failure due to the decay of soft clay brick, concrete erosion due to
chemical contaminants, and so on.
Decay of the building fabric, due to woodworm, rust and so on.
Moisture movement that causes materials to expand or contract, perhaps due
to the presence of vegetation or faulty or damaged drains.
Thermal movement that causes materials to expand or contract
as temperature increases or decreases.
Inherent defects, particularly in historic structures.
Faulty or damaged drains.
Suspended structures such as floors that deform under load.
Tree root growth.
Absence of foundations in older buildings.

Size of cracks
BRE assessed a number of properties as part of a study that was published as BRE
Digest 251 Assessment of damage in low-rise buildings. This identified six categories
of cracks together with the typical damage caused and the remedy required:
0 - Hairline cracks: Less than 0.1 mm in width. No repair action required.
1 - Fine cracks: Up to 1 mm in width. Generally restricted to internal
wall finishes. Easily treated using normal decoration.
2 - Cracks easily filled: Up to 5 mm in width. Not necessarily visible
externally, but doors and windows may require adjusting to prevent sticking. Can be
masked by suitable linings.
 3 - Cracks that require opening up: Widths of 5-15 mm. Weather-tightness and
service pipes may be affected. External brickwork may need repointing or, in some
cases, to be replaced.
4 - Extensive damage: Widths of 15-25 mm. Windows and door frames
become distorted, walls lean or bulge noticeably. Requires breaking-out and
replacement of wall sections.
5 Structural damage: Widths greater than 25 mm. Beams lose their
bearing, walls require shoring, and the structure is generally unstable. May require
major repair works.

Shapes of cracks
Hairline cracks are common in many buildings, particularly in plaster, which
is prone to shrink and is very sensitive to movement.
Stepped cracks tend to follow the lines of horizontal and vertical joints in
buildings, such as beds of mortar between bricks or blocks and may indicate structural
movement.
Vertical cracks may indicate that structural components such as bricks or
blocks have failed and so can be a sign of significant stresses within the
building structure.
Cracks that are wider at the top or at the bottom may indicate that there has
been foundation movement, with the direction of the widening giving an indication of
the likely direction of the movement.
Horizontal cracks may indicate that an element such as a wall is failing and
this may present a safety concern.

Dealing with cracks

Designers of new buildings may try to design out many of the causes that may lead
to cracking by careful design of the foundations and superstructure, introducing movement
joints, specifying materials that can tolerate movement and so on.
Existing buildings should be examined for the likely cause of movement, and whether
this is due to an external factor (such as subsidence) or is caused by the fabric of the building
itself (such as a poor grade of cement). It is important to establish whether the cracking is
likely to be progressive and to deteriorate further, and if so, to what extent and over what
period of time. Research of archival information, such as previous surveys, can help with this
assessment.
Repair strategies can range from major interventions to limited cosmetic works.
However, unless the underlying cause has been dealt with, it is likely that
further maintenance work will be required in the future. Movement caused for example by
vibration or by thermal expansion and contraction is likely to persist. In this case,
repair materials must be chosen carefully; those with the ability to deform in a plastic manner
will be more successful than those that simply increase strain around the crack and so are
likely to cause the repair to fail.
For example, hydraulic or fat limes may provide enough plasticity to accommodate
strain. Corrosion-resistant stainless steel reinforcements can be inserted into bed joints to
reduce the risk of failure by redistributing strain and stress over a wider area.
Instruments such as boroscopes can be used to locate voids that may have opened up as
a result of movement. Grouting voids to fill them with cementitious material can provide a
solution if the underlying cause has been dealt with.
Where underpinning of foundations is required, a number of alternative techniques are
available. See underpinning for more information.
Rather than simply covering up problems, it is important to understand the reason
that cracks have occurred, particularly if they are large, or if they are increasing in size, and it
may be wise to seek expert advice.