Thursday, June 13, 2013

The Different Forms Of Building Defects

By Craig Nisbett


Buildings that meet satisfactory qualities are those which are located at the right places, tend to fit well into the surroundings and have the ability to offer adequate facilities and space. Their being satisfactory also implies they have protection against adverse conditions of the weather as well as other undesirable external conditions. For adequate meeting of such conditions, it would take some time for complete construction. Certification and approval takes quite a while. Building defects mostly affect structures that are constructed without following the right instructions.

Fungal stains and other harmful growths affect buildings that are constructed in moist places. For fungus to grow there has to be highly humid conditions around without proper ventilators. Harmful growths like creeping plants and ivy plants tend to be favored by conditions in gutters, walls and roofs. The growth of fungal stains and other harmful growths are facilitated by dirt penetrating in small openings found in joints left by mortar.

The cracks in joints and walls provide suitable conditions for the growth of seeds. As seeds grow, they penetrate more deeply and may end up bringing about bigger cracks and encouraging more water penetration. This may bring about a lot of danger to the buildings as they may even be at a risk of falling.

Mortar joints getting eroded is yet another defect. The main purpose of mortar joints is to even out irregularities in building blocks or stones. The causes of erosion of mortar joints are salt crystallization, scouring action of wind and dampness that comes about through water penetration. In eradicating decayed mortar, there are several techniques that can be used. It can be done forcibly by the use of mechanical discs or they can also be raked manually using a knife.

Depending on the form of painting employed, different types of paint peel off with varying magnitudes. Painting remains one of the commonest structural defects. Of all the types of walls, plastered walls are more at risk when it comes to paint peeling. Buildings around the coast are also prone to accelerated peeling because of the acidic water around those places as well as the strong winds.

There may be poor installation of air conditioning systems. Buildings that may have been constructed without air conditioners may need such installations to deal with warm temperatures. Several factors have to be put into place in installation of air conditioners. The air produced by the conditioners is cooler and drier and may thus lead to shrinkage of building materials. It is also possible to have condensation on surfaces or within structures of the fabric. This may lead to mould build up.

One of the most important parts of a building is the foundation. Permanence of a building is hugely dependent on the strength of the foundation. Stronger foundations ensure structures last for longer. If the foundation of a building is poorly laid, it may be fruitless investing on the other sections of the structures. Factors like dampness, geology and moisture may weaken foundations.

It would not be possible to discuss building defects without mentioning termite and insect attack. If timber is not treated is bound to suffer from attacks by termites. Fumigation and other spraying methods control termite and insect infestation.




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