PROJECT REPORT

ON
CRACKS

SUBMITTED TO:
SUBMITTED BY:
AR. ANIL KUMAR
SEMESTER
(SEC-A)

RITU CHAUHAN
9TH
B.ARCH

What are Construction Defects?

Normally it is grouped into three categories.

a). ARCITECTURAL DEFECT: Defects that occur in the

building due to poor designing, bad workmanship or use of
materials of inferior quality, that deteriorate the aesthetics or
appearance of the building, are known as architectural defects.
E.g. flaking of paint.

b). CIVIL DEFECT: Defects that occur due to poor structural

details which leads to deformation of the building or its
complete breakdown.

c). SERVICE DEFECT:Defects that occur in the building

due to services like- plumbing, electrical fittings, etc.

1) CRACKS IN THE BUILDING

Occurrence of various crack patterns in the building during
construction, after completion when it is subjected to super
imposed load or
during the service life, is a common phenomenon. A building
component
develops cracks whenever the stress in the components
exceeds its strength.
Stress in the building component could be caused by externally
applied
forces, such as dead, live, wind or seismic loads; foundation
settlement etc
Cracks in buildings could be broadly classified as structural and
non
structural cracks.
STRUCTURAL CRACKS:These occur due to incorrect
design, faulty
construction or overloading and these may endanger the safety
of a building.
e.g.Extensive cracking in wall and beams.

 NON - STRUCTURAL CRACKS:These are mostly due to

internally inducedstresses in buildings materials and do
not endanger safety of a building butmay look unsightly,
or may create an impression of faulty work or may givea
feeling of instability. In some situations due to penetration
of moisturethrough them non structural cracks may spoil
the internal finishes thusadding to the cost of
maintenance, or corrode the reinforcement,
therebyadversely affecting the stability of the Structural in
long run.
e.g. Plastering cracks, Vertical crack in a long compound wall
due to
shrinkage or thermal movement etc.

PRINCIPAL CAUSES OF CRACKS

The principal mechanism causingnon-structural cracks in the

building are:
a). Moisture change b). Thermal movement
c). Elastic deformation d). Creep
e). Chemical reaction f). Foundation movement &
settlement of soil
g). Growth of vegetation
COMMON CRACK PATTERNS IN BUILDINGS
The commonly observed crack pattern in building can be group
as, cracks in:
a). Walls.
b). RCC members.
c). Renderings and plasters.
d). Concrete and terrazzo floors.
e). Roof terrace.

CRACKS ON JOINTS CRACKS ON WALL

CRACKS ON EXPOSED SURFACE

REASONS

2) IMPROPER LEVELLING
It may cause:
i).improper squaring of building corner.
ii). uneven thickness of courses in building.
iii).improper alignment of wall
iv).Improper Gradient of the sewage line.
vi). Improper Gradient of road and connection to the main road

REMEDIAL MEASURES
(i.Levelling instrument and theodolite should be invariably used
for out of
buildings, surface drainage, sewage disposal or water supply
works.
(ii. The survey instruments should be kept in proper
adjustment. The instruments including the optical parts should
be kept clean.

3) IMPROPER ORIENTATION& SETBACKS

Orientation of a building is defined as a method of fixing the
direction of the building in such a way that it derives maximum
benefit from
sun air and nature. Where possible a house or buildings facing
south
direction is regarded to have a best orientation as sun is at low
attitude in
winter days. Otherwise a house should be oriented in such a
direction in
which wind blows for most of time during the year. Generally in
hot regions.

The building facing east direction is preferred to safe guard

against westerly
wind.
In railway very casual approach is taken for orientation FAR
& set backs of the building. We are simply constructing our
building parallel
to otherwise perpendicular railway line without giving proper
attention to
the orientation, FAR and set backs.
REMEDIAL MEASURES
Provide proper orientation, far & setbacks based direction of
sun, and
wind direction.

4) DEFECTS IN PAINTING & DISTAMPERING

SURFACE PREPARATION FAULTS:Paint failures can result
from many causes. Some of the most common defects caused
byfaults in surface preparation.
Alligatoring:Alligatoring refers to a coating pattern that
looks like the hide
of an alligator. It is caused by uneven expansion and
contraction of the

undercoat. Alligatoring can have several causes: applying an

enamel over an
oil primer; painting over bituminous paint, asphalt, pitch, or
shellac; and
painting over grease or wax.

Peeling: Peeling results from inadequate bonding of the

topcoat with the
undercoat or the underlying surface. It is nearly always caused
by inadequate
surface preparation. A topcoat peels when applied to a wet,
dirty, oily or
waxy, or glossy surface. All glossy surfaces must be sanded
before painting.
Also, the use of incompatible paints can cause the loss of
adhesion. The
stresses in the hardening film can then cause the two coatings
to separate and
the topcoat to flake and peel.

Blistering: Blistering is caused by the development of

gas or liquid
pressureunder the paint. The root cause of most blistering,
other than that caused by

caused by excessive heat is inadequate ventilation plus some

structural
defect allowing moisture to accumulate under the paint. A
prime source of
this problem, therefore, is the use of essentially porous major
construction
materials that allow moisture to pass through. Insufficient
drying time
between coats is another prime reason for blistering.

PAINT DEFECTS:
Not all painting defects are caused by the individual doing the
job. It
sometimes happens that the coating itself is at fault. Chalking,
checking, and
cracking are the most common types of product defects.
Chalking: Chalking is the result of paint weathering at the
surface of the
coating. The vehicle is broken down by sunlight and other
destructive forces,
leaving behind loose, powdery pigment that can easily be
rubbed off with
the finger. Chalking takes place rapidly with soft paints, such as
those based
on linseed oil. Chalking is most rapid in areas exposed to
sunshine.

5)IMPROPER CONSTRUCTION OF WALL

CAUSES:
(i. Improper ratio of opening.
(ii.Improper sequence of material used in masonry work as in
stone
masonry bigger size stones in lower courses and smaller in
upper courses
(iii. Not providing leveling course/ bed blocks under lintels,
slabs.
(iv. Not staggering of joints at a particular point.
(v. No proper mixing of mortar.

REMEDIAL MEASURES:
(i. Properpositioning the door andwindow frame
(ii. If a wall between are junctions has openings at
window level totaling to more than 50 to 60% of its length,
engineering of wall by RCC pillars is necessary.

6)CONSTRUCTION JOINT BETWEEN OLD/NEW

WALL AND DISSIMILAR STRUCTURE
(i.Casual approach is being taken for joining of masonry of new
work with the old work resulted cracks in between both the
work.
(ii.If we are constructing the main building along with the
compound
wall etc. (i.e. dissimilar work) and taking the work continuously
without providing construction joints the cracks will be
developed
due to different loading on the work.
(iii.Construction joint must be provided in between dissimilar
works right from
the bottom.

7)DEFECTIVE RCC WORK

(i.HONECOMBING- Ifsegregation takes places during
concreting
and mortar is separated from Grit than honeycomb may be
seen and
there may be leakage problem at these points. It is very
harmful as the
rusting on reinforcement bars may takes place.

(ii. EXPOSE OF STEEL REINFORCEMENT BARS- If the

cover in bottom surface is not properly provided or cover Block
has
disturbed during concreting of slab or concreting not properly
poured

around the reinforcement bars. Than these bars can be seen

from
bottom side . Exposed reinforcement bars may be rusted.

(iii. POOR WORKABLITY If water cement ratio is not kept

proper
than it is harmful to concreting work. If it is less than concreting
will
not be workable and concreting will not flow around the
reinforcement bars. If it is more than segregation takes place
than
there may be chances of honeycombing and reinforcement
exposition.
(iv.IMPROPER SLOPE- Generally No slope is provided in RCC
slab and
if there is any sag at centre or any other place than water is
filled in
these pocket resulted seepage in the Slab.
(v. IMPROPER SHUTTERING- Shuttering not done with proper
care
and level props are supported in inclined manner without any
lateral
and horizontal bracing. To adjust the height of props bricks are
used
.Shutteringjoints are not water tight.

REMEDIAL MEASURES
(i. Without using concrete mixer and vibrator no concreting
should be
done.
(ii. Curing of concrete and mortar works should be ensured as
stipulated in code.
(iii. All slabs should be cast dense, particularly roof slab. Cover
below
reinforcement rods should be ensured at all places, by
providing
ample cover blocks in a reliable manner.

8)BREAKAGE OF WALL& PLASTERING BY

INSTALLATION OF ELECTRICALINSULATION
Sometimes electrical department damage the Plastering and
rectifies the
same by applying Cement mortar by hand without using a
trowel and
finishing tools. Which gives shabby appearance.

REMEDIAL MEASURES

(i. For Electrical installations should be got prepared by

Electrical
branch. Concealed wiring should be planned. Casing and
capping may
be the next optionelectric supply line enters in the building

9)IMPROPER DRAINAGE AND SEWAGE LINE

CAUSES
Generally we see the chocking of Drainage and sewage
line. It may be because of not consideration of following points

(i. No consideration of self cleaning velocity

(ii. No watching of sewage disposal points before starting of
work.
(iii. Not providing the required slope in sewage line
REMEDIAL MEASURES
(i. Any hole or patchwork done subsequently for water
supply ,sewerage
or electrical work should be properly finished and cured, so that
these
location dont form source for ingress of water.
(ii. Sunken slabs should invariably provide for bathrooms and
toilets in
framed structures, the beam of outer wall of toilets through
which the
sewer pipes emerge must be cased at lower or higher level so
that there

is no need to make holes in the beam to pass the pipes.