Water leakage or water seepage is one of the major causes of common building defects. If water leakage can be prevented, almost 80% building defects can be eliminated.
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.
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
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.
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.
The locations and causes of water leakage in building are given below:
LOCATION OF LEAKAGE |
POSSIBLE CAUSES |
| Underside of roofs (such as flat roof, podium roofs) and bottom of light wells | 1. Damage or deterioration of waterproofing layer.
2. Leakage at access doors or top hatch doors. 3. Deterioration of corrugated steel roofing materials and joints. 4. Defective enclosure for water tanks. |
| Ceiling with internal areas above | 1. Leakage from bathroom or kitchen above usually caused by seepage from fitments, bathtubs, shower trays, buried pipes or drains due to improper construction of joints, installation of sealants or occurrence of cracks.
2. Waterproof cement rendering underneath floor tiles for the floor above not installed/specified or such waterproofing features damaged by installation of sockets or conduits. 3. Mal-function of waterproofing in nearby external features such as balconies or external walls above. |
| Wall | 1. Water penetration through external wall defects such as cracks, joints, honeycombs, spalling, weak points, holes, punctures, leftovers of debris, and movement of external wall components.
2. Water penetration through defective external wall finishes such as loosened mosaic tiles, cracked ceramic tiles & paint surface; through poor cladding or curtain walls constructions or weaknesses in water-resisting components. 3. Water leakage through partition walls between units of pre-fabricated elements or between buildings |
| Floor | 1. Defective bathroom fitments such as bathtubs, shower trays or hand wash basins, or the improper installation of pipework or necessary sealants.
2. Temporary floods and overview. 3. Seepage from defective pipe-works or sanitary fitments. |
| Window | 1. Improper fillings around frames.
2. Deformation of frame, defective gasket, sealant or putty for window glass setting or frames. 3. Air conditioning box or platform tilting inwards. 4. Insufficient sealant around air conditioning units. |
| Basement | 1. Inadequate or damaged waterproofing tanking.
2. Deterioration of water stops at construction/movement joints. |