Cracks in a building are like ailments in human body.

The building gets weaker and weaker if

the cracks are not treated properly. The cracks give an impression of faulty and poor quality
work. Moisture penetrates through the cracks and deteriorates the external facade as well as
internal facade.

Types of cracks:

Cracks could be broadly classified as

• Structural and
• Non-structural cracks.

Structural Cracks are those, which are due to incorrect design, faulty construction or
overloading and these may endanger the safety of a building. Extensive cracking of the RCC
Beam is an instance of structural cracking. Non-structural cracks are mostly due to internally
induced stresses in building materials and these generally do not directly result in structural
weakening. In course of time, however, some non-structural cracks may, because of
penetration of moisture through cracks or weathering action, result in corrosion of
reinforcement and thus may render the structure unsafe. Vertical cracks in a long compound
wall due to shrinkage or thermal movement is an instance of non-structural cracking. Non-
structural cracks normally do not endanger the safety of a building, but may look unsightly or
may create the impression of faulty work or may give a feeling of instability.

Which Are Various Reasons of Cracks in Buildings?

Cracks can occur due to chemical reactions in construction materials, changes in temperature
and climate, foundation movements and settling of buildings, environmental stresses like
nearby trains, earth quakes etc. Faulty design, bad quality materials, wrong method of
construction, weather effects and lots of wear and tear can create cracks in walls, floors and
ceilings. Here are given various reasons of cracks and their prevention techniques.

1. Elastic Deformation

When the walls are unevenly loaded, due to variation in stresses in different parts of wall the
cracks are formed in walls. When two materials having wide different elastic properties are
built together under the effect of load, different shear stresses in these materials create
cracks at the junction. Dead and live loads cause elastic deformation in structural components
of a building.

Prevention
Create slip joints under the support of RCC slab on walls. Masonry work on RCC slabs and
beams should not be started before drying RCC slab and beam. Provide horizontal movement
joints between the top of brick panel and RCC beam/slab.
2. Thermal Movement:

All materials expand on heat and contract on cool. Thermal movement in components of
structure creates cracks due to tensile of shear stresses. It is one of the most potent causes
of cracking in buildings and needs attention.

Prevention
Construct joints such as construction joints, expansion joints, control joints and slip joints.
The joints should be planned at the time of design and be constructed carefully.

3. Chemical Reaction

Chemical reactions in building materials increase their volume and internal stress causes
cracks. The components of structure also weaken due to chemical reactions. Some common
instances of chemical reactions are following.

• Sulphate attack on cement products

• Carbonation in cement based materials
• Corrosion of reinforcement in concrete
• Alkali aggregate reaction

Prevention
Use dense and good quality concrete i.e. richer mix of cement concrete 1:1.5:3 to prevent
cracks. Repair corrosive cement concrete surface by ‘guniting’/ injecting technique after
removing all loose and damaged concrete and cleaning reinforcement from all rust also.

4.Shrinkage.
Most building materials expend when they absorb moisture from atmosphere and
shrink when they are dry. Cement made materials shrink due to drying up of the
moisture used in their construction. The factors causing shrinkage in cement
concrete and cement mortar and their preventions are following.

Excessive Water

The quantity of water used in the mortar mix can cause shrinkage. Vibrated concrete has less
quantity of water and lesser shrinkage than manually compacted concrete.

Prevention

Cements mortar according to water cement ratio. Never allow cement concrete work without
mechanical mix and vibrator.

b. Quantity of Cement.

As a general rule, the richer the mix is, the greater the shrinkage/drying will be.
 Prevention: Do not use excessive cement in the mortar mix.

Un-graded Aggregate
Aggregate can cause shrinkage also. If un-graded and fine material/aggregate is used in
cement concrete and cement mortar which requires more water and can cause greater
shrinkage.

Prevention
Use largest possible aggregate and ensure good grading of materials. The use of water
according to required workability has less shrinkage because of reduction in the porosity of
hardened concrete.

Curing
After laying cement concrete mix, the hardening of cement takes place, causes reduction in
moisture and creates shrinkage. This causes cracks in concrete work.

Prevention
Proper curing should be started as soon as initial setting has taken place and be continued for
at least seven to ten days. When hardening of concrete takes place under moist
environment, the shrinkage due to drying is comparatively less.

Excessive Fine materials

Fine materials take more surface area and require more water for mix. The use of excessive
fine materials i.e. silts; clay and dust in aggregate create more shrinkage.

Prevention
Do not use fine materials containing silt, clay and dust. Use coarse sand/fine aggregate in
cement concrete and cement mortar mix which has silt and clay less than 4%. Use coarse
aggregate and fine aggregate after washing to reduce silt contents.

5. Foundation Movement and Settlement of Soil

Shear cracks occur in buildings when there is large differential settlement of foundation due
to any of following causes.

• Unequal bearing pressure under different parts of the structure

• Bearing pressure being in excess of safe bearing strength of the soil
• Low factor of safety in the design of foundations
• Local variation in the nature of supporting soil

Prevention

The design of foundation must be based on sound engineering principles and good practice.
6. Earth Quake

Crack may occur due to sudden shift in lower layer of the earth. The voids in the earth might
have suddenly collapsed and be filled with soil from the above. Many geological events can
trigger earth movements but is continuous movement. This results in cracks.

Prevention

Construct the foundation of buildings on firm ground while doing construction. Tie up the
building with connecting beams at foundation level, door level and roof level.

7. Vegetation

The roots of trees located in the vicinity of a wall can create cracks in walls due to growth of
roots under foundation. The cracks occur in clay soil due to moisture contained by roots.

Prevention

Do not let trees grow too close to the buildings, compound walls etc. Remove any saplings of
trees as soon as possible if they start growing in or near of walls etc.

Source: http://www.gharexpert.com/articles/Cracks-718/Which-Various-Reasons-
Cracks-in-Buildings-_0.aspx