VARIOUS TYPES OF DEFECTS IN BUILDINGS CRACKS.

Presented By;

Various reasons of Cracks and their preventive measures are:

1) Elastic Deformation : foundation movements and settling of

buildings
2) Thermal Movement : changes in temperature and climate.
3) Chemical Reaction : chemical reactions in construction materials
4)

Shrinkage : environmental stresses like nearby trains, earth quakes

etc

5) Excessive Fine materials

6) Foundation Movement and Settlement of Soil

Note: Faulty design, bad quality materials, wrong method of

construction,
weather effects and lots of wear and tear can

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.

The Prevention of Elastic Deformation:

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
(i)

Construct joints such as construction joints, expansion joints,

control joints
and slip joints.

(ii)

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 :

i. Sulphate attack on cement products
ii. Carbonation in cement based materials
iii. Corrosion of reinforcement in concrete
iv. Alkali aggregate reaction

Prevention of Chemical Reaction:

(i)
concrete

Use dense and good quality concrete i.e. richer mix of cement
1:1.5:3 to prevent cracks.

(ii)
Repair corrosive cement concrete surface by guniting/
injecting
technique after removing all loose and
damaged concrete and
(iii)

cleaning reinforcement from all rust also.

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 :
a. 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:

Use minimum quantity of water required for mixing cement

concrete or 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

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.
d. 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.

5.

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.

6.
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 :
(i)
Unequal bearing pressure under different parts of the
structure
(ii)
Bearing pressure being in excess of safe bearing strength of
the soil
(iii)
Low factor of safety in the design of foundations
(iv)
Local variation in the nature of supporting soil

Prevention

7.

Earth Quake

Crack may occur due to sudden shift inlower layer of

The voids in the earth might have suddenly collapsed

with soil from the above.

and be filled

Many geological events can trigger earth movements

continuous movement. This results in cracks.

but is

the earth.

Prevention

Construct the foundation of buildings on firm ground

construction.

Tie up the building with connecting beams at

level and roof level.

while doing

foundation level, door

CRACKING IN BRICKWORK

The role of a pre-purchase building inspector is to identify defects in

the property and make recommendations that will enable the purchaser
to make informed decisions about whether to buy this particular
property or not.

When the building inspector finds significant cracks

in the
brickwork or
rendered surfaces, or other cracks that may appear
to the building inspector to be significant, then the purchaser needs to be
informed of how significant the
cracks appear to be.

The prolonged drought in Australia has caused a significant increase

in the
incidence of cracked buildings, particularly housing, due to
the drying out
of foundation soil.
CRACKING IN BRICKWORK RELATED TO REACTIVE SOILS

The movement of the footings and foundations is rarely even over

the whole of
the building site.

Therefore, differential movement under different parts of the

footings creates
stresses in the walls resulting in cracks.

Foundations are usually classified as either reactive or nonreactive to

changes
in their moisture content.

Reactive soils are typically soils that have a high clay content.

These types of soils are referred to as plastic soils, expanding and

contracting
over time as their moisture content increases or
decreases.

For example, reactive clays may swell and retain moisture when

CRACKING IN BRICKWORK RELATED TO TREES

Contrary to popular belief, it is rarely the growth or uplift of the tap

roots of
big trees which damage the footings and foundations.

The damage is more often caused by the tree roots extracting

considerable
quantities of moisture from the soil.

This can cause footings and foundations to subside and cracks in the
masonry
to appear.

This phenomenon is known as tree drying settlement.

NOTE:
A commonly accepted formula is that a trees root system will
extend
for a horizontal distance equal to its height. A large
healthy tree can
extract up to 300 litres of moisture from the
per day.
CRACKING IN BRICKWORK RELATED TO POOR SITE DRAINAGE

The provision of an adequate storm water drainage system to carry

all roof
water away from the footings and foundations is essential to
avoid
subsidence, rising damp, cracking and the eventual failure of
the structure.

Down pipes should be connected to a storm water drainage system

or water
conservation tank to avoid failure of footing and foundations.

CRACKING IN BRICKWORK RELATED TO LINTELS

Cracking in brickwork can often be associated with settlement,

subsidence,
poor drainage, inadequate footings, reactive soils and
brick growth.

Cracking can also be a result of other forms of destructive processes,

such as corroding steel lintels or arch bars.
The expansion of the steel can be destructive to brickwork.
We recommend that corroding steel lintels be replaced with
galvanised steel to
avoid further destruction of the brickwork.

CRACKING RESULTING FROM BRICK GROWTH

Fired clay products expand exponentially over time, and it is an

inherent
phenomenon of all natural clay products fired at
relatively high temperatures.

This includes most clay bricks, pavers and ceramic (clay) tiles.

Much of the growth takes place in the first few months and may
become
evident as long vertical cracking.

ESSENTIAL ADVICE TO ASSIST IN REDUCING FURTHER CRACKING IN

BRICKWORK
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.

Ensure that all down pipes are placed into a storm water drain or
water retention tank
Keep ground levels at least 3 bricks below the damp course
Keep tree roots at least 5 metres from the footings and foundations
Replace corroding lintels with galvanised steel
Keep mortar joints in good repair

Inadequate structural resistance, which

results into typical diagonal shear
cracking and disintegration of
walls and, consequently, partial or
total collapse of buildings

Typical diagonal shear cracks in the walls of

a stone-masonry building indicate story
mechanism of seismic behavior.
In some cases, inadequate structural layout was the
reason for partial and/or total collapse, whereas in
the other cases, an inadequate foundation system and
/or foundation soil caused partial settlements, sinking,
sliding, tilting, and/or overturning of buildings.

Figure . Vertical cracks in

the wall due to out-ofplane vibration because
of poor connection
between the walls and
floors.

Figure 15. Building D: In 2004,

severe damage occurred to the non
strengthened stone masonry walls on
the ground floor. No damage has
been observed in the walls of the
upper story.

CRACK MEASURING :

Cracks occur in most buildings and civil engineering

structures.

Monitoring the changes in crack width is an

important diagnostic
technique
for determining the cause and specifying the remedial work.

Quick and easy measurement.

Supplied in an ever ready case.
Manufactured in rigid durable
acrylic.
Calibrated to edge scale which
simplifies crack measurement in
corners and awkward locations.

Crack Width Gauge

THE CRACK WIDTH GAUGE IS SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO ASSIST

THOSE
WHO SURVEY AND REPORT ON DAMAGED BUILDINGS

Tell-Tale PLUS Crack Monitor

Internal or external use.

Monitors the opening or closing of

crack to an accuracy of 1.0mm.

Capable of monitoring vertical as

well
as horizontal movement.

Crack record cards supplied with

each
Tell-Tale simplifies Monitoring.

Tell-Tale Crack Monitor

PLUS

Monitoring Spigots incorporated in the Tell-Tale enable exact

measurements to 0.1mm with calipers.

Increased horizontal monitoring range to 25mm.

Manufactured in vandal resistant polycarbonate.

Fixing slots and "extra grip" surface.

Corner Tell-Tale Plus

MONITORS CRACKS IN CORNERS

USE SINGLY TO MONITOR TWO DIMENSIONAL MOVEMENT

USE IN PAIRS TO MONITOR THREE DIMENSIONAL MOVEMENT

MAY BE USED IN INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL CORNERS

THE TEL-TALE IS HINGED ENABLING IT TO BE USED IN INTERNAL

CORNERS WITH ANGLES FROM 70 TO 180 DEGREES

Corner Tell-Tale Plus

COMMON METHODS OF CRACK REPAIR:

i.
Epoxy injection
Preparation of the crack.
Drilling Hole
Surface sealing of crack

Fixing of injection ports or nipples in the holes

Mixing of resin
Injection of resin
Removal of nipples and plugging the hole
Removal of sealing material and finishing the surface.
ii.

Grooving and Sealing

iii.

Stitching
a. Stitching Dogs.
b. Interlocking of plates
c. Dowel Bars.

iv.

Adding Reinforcement

vi.

Dry packing

viii

v.
vii.

Overlays and surface treatment

Autogenous healing.

Grouting
Polymer Impregnation
ix.