This document discusses various construction defects caused by dampness and applied forces. It describes defects like cracks in walls due to differential settlement from soil moisture changes or structural overloading. It also discusses defects from lack of expansion joints in walls, issues where rigid slabs meet load-bearing walls without slip joints, and rising dampness from lack of damp proofing. Remedies include proper drainage, deep foundations, avoiding overloading, and installing damp proof courses.

1. DEFECT CAUSED BY DAMPNESS
AND APPLIED FORCES
SUBMITTED TO-
AR.OP GUPTA
SUBMITTED BY-
NITIN BHARDWAJ (2015BAR012)
PRAGYA CHATTREE (2015BAR013)
SHUBHAM TYAGI (2015BAR015)
(BUILDING CONSTRUCTION AND MATERIAL)

2. • A construction defect is that which makes a project
dangerous, unsafe or causes real damage to the
consumer.
• Building defects affect society at large due to possible
danger posed; they also result in direct and indirect cost in
repairs, abnormally high maintenance, disputes and
possible loss of building use.
• Construction defects usually include any deficiency in
the performing or furnishing of the design, planning,
supervision, inspection, construction or observation of
construction to any new home or building, where there is a
failure to construct the building in a reasonably
workmanlike manner and or the structure fails to perform.
Construction defect would result from:
1. Defective building material or components-materials:
i.e., inferior material such as building bricks, cement,
roofing material, poorly manufactured windows
2. A violation of Building Codes at the time of construction.
3. Failure to meet professional standards for design at the
time plans were approved. Design: i.e., faulty rcc roofing
design contributes to water intrusion
4. Failure to build according to accepted trade standards
for good and workmanlike construction. Workmanship:
i.e., substandard or shoddy work
5. Engineering/Soil: i.e., structural failures and earth
movements
DEFECTS DUE TO DAMPNESS
1. Outside walls of the building remain wet at roof
level
Causes:
• Coping not provided on top of parapet wall so that water
stays on the top surface of brick wall and seeps into wall
gradually making it wet.
• Slope of coping over parapet wall provided in the wrong
direction
• Gola not made on the junction of roofing and parapet
wall. Water can enter this junction and can come through
crack.
• On the roof slab, if the gap between rainwater pipe
mouth and parapet wall is not properly sealed, than
rainwater can come out from the gap around the pipe and
make the outside walls wet.
.
Remedies:
• Coping should be provided at parapet wall top and it’s
slope should be towards inside the roof rather than
outside so that water from the coping falls on the roof
rather than on the outside wall.
• Gola should be made at junction of roofing and
parapet and if possible should be taken a little bit inside
the parapet wall by making a chase.
• Seal the gap around rainwater pipe mouth on the roof
slab.
2.Horizontal cracks in brick
mortar joints
Causes:
Weakening of mortar due to
sulphate attack. These cracks
normally occur after 2-3 years
of construction as the reaction
is slow.
Remedies:
• Sulphate contents of the brick should be checked
before allowing their use.
• Brickwall should not be allowed to be damp
because sulphate attack happens only in presence of
moisture.
• The correct remedy is to reconstruct the affected
areas.
POWDERY
RESIDUE
3. Rising dampness
Caused by the absence or
breakdown of a damp proof course
or membrane. It is characterized
by wet patches to ground floors and
walls with sometimes a white
powdery 'tidemark' deposit.
IDENTIFICATION OF DAMP
PROBLEMS
• Roof defects such as faulty flashing, cracked or
missing
slates or tiles.
• Faults in the brickwork or masonry such as missing or
cracked pointing. Porous bricks or stones.
• Missing or defective mastic around windows and
doors.
• Blocked weep holes.
• Missing or defective trays in cavity walls.
• Solid, that is non-cavity walls
• Condensation.
• Damp proof membrane or Damp Proof course been
buried by later building activities
INTRODUCTION
DEFECT CAUSED BY DAMPNESS AND APPLIED FORCES
SUBMITTED TO-
AR.OP GUPTA
SUBMITTED BY-
NITIN BHARDWAJ (2015BAR012)
PRAGYA CHATTREE (2015BAR013)
SHUBHAM TYAGI
(2015BAR015)

3. Various effects (indirectly defects) , cause due to
dampness in building , are mention below:
• A damp building creates unhealthy living and
working conditions for the occupants.
• Presence of damp conditions causes efflorescence
on building surfaces which ultimately results in
disintegration of bricks , stones , tiles etc. and hence
in the reduction of strength.
• It may result in softening and crumbling of plaster.
• It cause bleaching and flaking of paint which
results in formation of colored patches on the
wall surface.
• It result in corrosion of metals used in
construction of building.
• Timber when in contact with damp conditions gets
deteriorated due to the effect of warping , buckling
and rolling of timber.
• All electrical fittings get deteriorated causing
leakage of electric current with the danger of short
circuit.
• Dampness promotes the growth of termites and
hence creates unhygienic conditions in building.
2. Waterproof (or Damp proof) surface treatment:
• The surface treatment consists in filling up the
pores of the material exposed to moisture by
providing a thin film of water repellent material
over the surface.
• some of the material , as water proofing agent in
surface treatment are: Sodium or Potassium
silicates, Aluminium or Zinc Sulphates, Barium
Hydroxide and magnesium sulphate.
1.Use of Damp-proofing Course:
These are the layers or membranes of water repellent
materials such as Bituminous felts,
Mastic asphalt, Plastic sheets, Cement Concrete,
Mortar, Metal sheets, Slates, Stones, etc.
PREVENTION OF DAMPNESS 4.Cavity Walls (or Hollow Walls):
Cavity wall consists of three main parts, namely..
1. the outer wall or leaf(100mm)
2. the cavity or air space of 50mm to 80mm, and
3. the inner wall or leaf (min.100 mm in thickness)
5. The provision of continuous cavity in the wall
efficiently prevents the transmission of dampness from
outer wall to the inner wall…
3. Integral Damp Proofing treatment:
• The integral treatment consists adding certain
compounds to the concrete or mortar during the
process of mixing, which act as barriers to the
moisture penetration.
• some of the compounds like chalk, talc, fuller’s
earth, etc.
• It is suspected that the problem is condensation,
then a room should be sealed off with a left running
for the recommended time and then further
instrument tests made.
• If the dampness has disappeared, then
condensation is Very likely the problem.
• Insulation of cold surfaces and/or the elimination of
water vapour at source are the answers.
• The cause of the dampness must first be
eliminated, by providing better drainage or fixing
leaking pipes. You can also install a physical or
chemical DPC.
• Then, any affected plaster or mortar must be
removed,
and the wall treated, before replacing the plaster and
repainting.
• Proper DPC must be provided and all the joints
must be properly sealed
TREATMENTS FOR DAMPNESS
DEFECT CAUSED BY DAMPNESS AND APPLIED FORCES
SUBMITTED TO-
AR.OP GUPTA
SUBMITTED BY-
NITIN BHARDWAJ (2015BAR012)
PRAGYA CHATTREE (2015BAR013)
SHUBHAM TYAGI
(2015BAR015)
EFFECT OF DAMPNESS

4. DEFECTS CAUSED DUE TO
APPLIED FORCES
1.Diagonal cracks in wall(wide at the bottom and
narrow at the top)
Causes:
Differential settlement in foundation due to expansion
of clayey soil by absorption of moisture.
This may happen when the rainwater finds entry in
soil or if a tree is cut suddenly in the vicinity
of structure so that the soil which was earlier
dehydrated by the tree again absorbs moisture
and swells.
Remedies:
•In clayey soil, foundation should be taken as much as
deep so as to minimize the effect of moisture entry as
much as possible.
• Adequate plinth protection and drainage arrangement
should be made around the building to minimize water
entry in the foundation.
2.Diagonal cracks in brick walls (wide at top and narrow
at bottom)
Causes
• Differential settlement of foundation due to shrinkage of
clayey soil by absorption of moisture.
• Structural overload
Remedies
• In clayey soil, foundation should
be taken as much deep so as to
minimize the effect of moisture
entry as much as possible.
• Avoid constructing walls on filled
up soil.
• Avoid overloading.
•Masonry work shall be
proceeded symmetrically and
uniformly at all levels.
3. Random cracking in flooring
Causes:
Flooring has been cast continuously
without making panels. Cracks occur
due to development of tensile
stresses on account of shrinkage
and thermal contraction of concrete.
Precautions
• Cast flooring in panels.
• Do adequate curing in the initial period of hardening of
concrete.
4. Vertical cracks in long compound wall of
masonry at certain intervals
Causes
• Due to not leaving expansion or contraction joints
at proper intervals .
• In cold weather the wall tends to contract due to
temperature drop, it develops tensile stress and
when this stress exceeds the strength the wall
cracks. Similarly in hot weather the wall tends to
expand and due to compressive stresses, wall will
break.
Remedies
• Leave expansion or contraction joints at regular
interval specially in long stretches of wall.
5. Vertical cracks at junction of R.C.C column
and masonry
Remedies
•A groove in plaster should be made at the junction of R.C.C
column and brick wall so that crack remains hidden in the
groove and doesn’t look unsightly.
• Alternatively, chicken wire mesh should be provided in
plaster at junction of R.C.C column and brick walls.
6. Cracks in load bearing masonry wall below R.C.C.
slab
Causes
• Due to absence of slip joint between R.C.C slab and wall
which does not allow the slab
to move freely over wall leads to cracking in the wall.
• Sometimes the movement of the slab may also cause
cracking in masonry at lintel and window sill level because
here the masonry is weak.
• These cracks are observed mainly on the topmost storey of
the building because roof is more exposed to temperature
variation.
Causes
• Differential movement
between R.C.C column and
masonry due to thermal
expansion/contraction
•Differential settlement of
R.C.C column because of its
different foundation.
Remedies
• Before casting R.C.C slabs over brick wall, smooth
bearing plaster should be done over brick walls occupied
with whitewash/bitumen coating or tarred paper over it. It
allows slab to move freely over wall due to thermal
expansion/contraction/shrinkage.
GAPS
GAPS
DEFECT CAUSED BY DAMPNESS AND APPLIED FORCES
SUBMITTED TO-
AR.OP GUPTA
SUBMITTED BY-
NITIN BHARDWAJ (2015BAR012)
PRAGYA CHATTREE (2015BAR013)
SHUBHAM TYAGI
(2015BAR015)

5. 7. Diagonal cracks in walls over R.C.C. lintels
Causes
Due to drying shrinkage of lintels and sudden deflection
of lintels after removal of shuttering.
Remedies
• Use precast lintels as far as possible for small
openings.
• Construct brick wall over lintel after it has undergone
considerable shrinkage.
•Construct brick walls over lintel after shuttering below it
is removed so that it doesn’t undergo sudden deflection
with the construction of brick wall over it.
8. Diagonal cracks in panel walls in R.C.C framed
structures
Causes
When R.C.C frame deflects due to loads, temperature
variation etc,it causes diagonal cracks in wall which are
located parallel to the movement.
Remedies
• Walls should not be built tightly to the columns.
• For taking lateral support from column, special
connections should be made between wall and column
which provide lateral support to wall but doesn’t tie it to
tightly tie the column.
9. Vertical and horizontal cracks in panel walls in
R.C.C framed structures
Causes
Panel walls too lightly built to the R.C.C beams. when the
beams deflects, load is transmitted to the walls and
vertical and horizontal cracks are produced in the wall
depending upon the direction in which wall is more
slender.
Remedies
Some gap should be left between top of panel wall and
soffit of the beam/slab so that beam can deflect freely.this
gap can be filled by weak mortar.
10. Vertical cracks in the side wall at the corners of a
long building
Causes
The cracks are due to thermal expansion and are mostly
noticed in hot weather. there will be more chances of such
cracks occurring in building constructed in cold weather.
Remedies
•As far as possible long stretches of walls should be
intercepted by cross walls and expansion joints should be
given at suitable interval.
• Bricks should be allowed to undergo initial moisture
expansion before use.
SOME
EXAMPLES
DEFECT CAUSED BY DAMPNESS AND APPLIED FORCES
SUBMITTED TO-
AR.OP GUPTA
SUBMITTED BY-
NITIN BHARDWAJ (2015BAR012)
PRAGYA CHATTREE (2015BAR013)
SHUBHAM TYAGI
(2015BAR015)