PROJECT REPORT

ON

COMMON DEFERCT

IN
BUILDING
CONSTRUCTION
AND
REMDIAL MEASURES



PRESENTED BY:

S.K. SHARMA XEN/BR/NWR
R.MURALI AXEN/Works/SR
L.N. REDDY ADEN/SCR
K.K. SINGH ADEN/NFR


IN THE GUIDANCE OF:
SHRI. N.C.SHARADA Sr. PROFESSOR
IRICEN, PUNE


1. PREAMBLE

Importance of Housing

Housing is an important scale of the level of countrys social
progress. Besides food and clothing humans next basic need is shelter.
Shelter they requires for protecting himself against natural calamities, wild
animals and beasts and from other fellow beings. The history of mankind
reveals that the man has been moulding his environment consciously or
unconsciously throughout the ages. From the cave his early abode down
to the most sophisticated air-conditioned houses of today, it is an absorbing
and thought-provoking study of humans progress and advances in various
fields.

House is a medium for self expression as well as a sanctuary for old age.
On an average, one lives almost two-thirds of ones life in the house. As
such, ownership and utility of house contributes a lot to human welfare and
joy. In India particularly, the very possession of house is regarded as a
symbol of prestige and status in society. The house ownership inculcates a
feeling of responsibility by society about use, poise and belonging to a
community of people. Voltaire had rightly said that ownership gives
personality and uplifting pride. House ownership binds one to the soil, to the
community, ennobles, and creates self-confidence, dignity, a sense of
responsibility, security, civic sense and stable personal behavior. It is not
uncommon that to acquire this objective, the people put all efforts and hard
earned savings towards this end.

Housing building design which includes its internal and
external environment has traditionally been the responsibility of the
architect. With recent developments house building has now become so
complex a task that, except for the simplest of buildings, a multi-disciplinary
involvement is necessary. Internal form and environment will be determined
by the functional requirements of the occupants, the space needed to meet
these functional requirements and the required comfort levels in regard to
such items as noise, temperature, humidity and lighting. The external form
and environment depends upon the site characteristics and adjacent
buildings.


Housing Organizations and Associations

In India, general requirements for planning and layout of
buildings have been covered by the relevant by laws brought out by the
local authorities in various big cities of different states. All these by-laws
more or less follow in principle the by-laws laid down by the Indian
Standard Institution in IS : 1256and the National Building Code Part II
Administration, Part III General Building Requirements, Part IV Fire
Protection, Part VIII Building Services, and Part IX Plumbing Services.

In India, four organizations dealing with various aspects of
housing are functioning under the aegis of the Ministry of Works and
Housing, namely, National Building Organisation, National Building
Construction Corporation Limited (N.B.C.C). Housing and Urban
Development Corporation ( H.U.D.C.O), and Hindustan Housing Factory (
H.H.F).

Central Building Research Institute

The Central Building Research Institute is essentially a
research body set up by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.
This National Institute was established in the year 1951. this work of the
Institute is organized in seven research divisions, viz (1) Building Materials,
(2) Soiling Engineering, (3) Efficiency of Buildings, (4) Building Process,
Plant and Productivity, (5) Architecture and Physical Planning, (6) Fire
Research, and (7) Rural Building.

The last two have been added in the last. Besides these,
there is also a division of information and extension to look after the
research needs of the scientists and to assist in the utilization of the results of
research.







2. INTRODUCTION

In Railways yearly around Rs. 1200 crore spend for the construction
of New Buildings, bridges and Roads. In addition to that for maintenance of
exgissiting structures lot of amount spend on every year, but proper
planning, supervision, good quality of raw materials and skilled
workmanship not ensured at the time of construction which leads to lot of
construction defects, thus makes perennial problem to maintenance of
Railway Buildings.

Practically no supervision available at the time of Building construction
work, in most of the Railway work spot, it is left to choice of contractor to
choose the raw materials and to decide labour workmanship.

Most of the Labour engaged by contractor is not suitable to carry out the
work, and not having adequate experience in the work entrusted to them.

Due to construction boom in private sector skilled labours are not
available in market, so forced to compromise with semi-skilled/unskilled
labours.

In this Project we made small attempt to bring out the some of the most
common defects noticed in Railway Building construction works spots, it is
not to find a fault in any individual but to improve the system of work and
to achieve safe and maintenance free Buildings in Railways.

3. BUILDING CONSTRUCTION IN RAILWAY

Indian Railways has large number of buildings for its various
infrastructural needs, viz., service buildings, staff quarters, passenger
amenities, etc. At present more than 7000 station buildings, many types of
passenger amenities, and approximate six lakhs staff quarters are available to
meet with daily requirement of about 15million passengers and
14lakhs railway employees

The construction of these buildings was started at the time of
introduction of railway system in India and still continued along with the
extension of railway network in the India. Initially most of railway building
were constructed in stone masonry/ brick masonry in lime mortar with tiled
roof or jack arch terracing etc. afterwards with the production of cement in
India, construction started with stone masonry/ brick masonry in cement
mortar along with RCC roof slabs. Many of the old buildings have given
aesthetically pleasing look and historical heritage look as per that area and
are landmarks even today. The service life of a building is expected more
than 50 years with normal maintenance.

Indian Railway has a big building infrastructure but no due care is
being given for the building construction and their maintenance which is
resulted in poor construction and quality work.

We in the Railway far behind from other department as well as from
open market in the building construction because very casual approach is
being taken in Railway for construction/maintenance of buildings.

To look after building construction works in open line, the
administrative set up are CE/Works at zonal level available, at divisional
level Sr.DEN/DEN, sub-divisional level ADEN and field level SSE/SE/JE
(Works) are responsible.

4. What are Construction Defects?
Although there is controversy in defining what construction defects
are, normally it is grouped into four categories.
a). Design Deficiencies: Design deficiencies, which sometimes stem
from the work of engineers. These design professionals design a building or
design a specific system that does not function, as it was intended to
function. The end result is a product that is defective.
b). Material Deficiencies: Material deficiencies are occurring by using
inferior building material that causes a variety of defect. This type of defect
that is fairly common is doors and windows built with poor quality materials
will warping and cracking.
c). Substandard Workmanship: This category of construction defect
usually becomes evident with water seepage through some part of the
building structure. Other examples of such as cracks in floor slabs or in the
foundation. There could also be evidence of construction deficiencies in
plumbing.
d). Subsurface or Geo-technical Problems: This issue occurs when
housing developments are built in areas where water once stood, or is hilly,
both resulting in an unstable foundation upon which to build a house. If
foundation not did properly on this soil then inevitably it will begin to see
symptoms of this construction defect.
In this project we had taken up last three defects for discussion and
left design aspect deficiencies.

5. 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.



Settlement crack Settlement crack



Settlement continues...


Non Structural Cracks:- These are mostly due to internally induced
stresses in buildings materials and do not endanger safety of a building but
may look unsightly, or may create an impression of faulty work or may give
a feeling of instability. In some situations due to penetration of moisture
through them non structural cracks may spoil the internal finishes thus
adding to the cost of maintenance, or corrode the reinforcement, thereby
adversely 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.

Plastering cracks




6.PRINCIPAL CAUSES OF CRACKS

To prevent or minimize the occurrence of non-structural cracks it is
necessary to understand the basic causes and mechanism of cracking, and
certain properties of building materials which may lead to dimensional
changes of the structural components. The principal mechanism causing
non-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

a) Moisture change:
Most of the building material (e.g. Concrete, mortar, burnt clay brick, timber,
plywood etc.,) are porous in their structure in the form or inter molecular shrinks
on drying. These movements are reversible i.e. cyclic in nature and are caused by
increase or decrease in the inter pore pressure wit moisture change. Extent of
movement depends upon molecular structure and porosity of a material.

Apart from reversible movement certain materials undergo some
irreversible movement due to initial moisture changes after their
manufacture or construction. The incidences of irreversible movement in
materials are shrinkage of cement and lime based materials on initial drying
i.e. initial shrinkage/plastic shrinkage and expansion of burnt clay bricks
and other clay products on removal from kilns i.e. initial expansion.

b) Thermal movement
All materials more or less expand on heating and contracts on cooling.
When this movement is restraint, internal stresses are set-up in the
component, and may cause cracks due to tensile or shear stress. Thermal
movement is one of the most potent causes of cracking in buildings and calls
for careful consideration. The extent of thermal movement depends upon.

1). Ambient temperature variation

2).Co-efficient of thermal expansion:- Expansion of cement mortar & concrete is
almost twice of the bricks and brickwork. Movement in brickwork in vertical
direction is 50 % more than in horizontal direction.

3. Dimensions of components: - The cracks due to thermal movement is caused
either due to external heat i.e. due to variation in ambient temperature, or due to
internally generated heat i.e. due to heat of hydration in mass concrete during
construction.
Cracks in the building component due to thermal movement opens and
closes alternatively with charges in the ambient temperature. The concreting
done in summer in more liable for cracking due to drop in temp. in winter
since thermal contraction and drying shrinkage act in unison. Whereas the
concrete job done in the winter in less liable to cracking through it may
require wider expansion joints.
Generally specking, thermal variation in the internal walls and intermediate
floors are not much and thus do not cause cracking. If is mainly the external
walls exposed to direct solar radiation, and the roof, which are subjected to
substantial thermal variation, are more liable to cracking.

c) Elastic Deformation
Structural components of a building undergo elastic deformation due to dead
and the super imposed live loads, in accordance with hook law. The amount
of deformation depends upon elastic modulus, meningitides of loading and
the dimension of the component. This elastic deformation under certain
circumstances causes cracking in the building as under: -
1. When walls are unevenly loaded with wide variations in stress in different
parts, excessive shear stress is developed which causes cracking in walls.
2. When a beam or slab of large span undergoes excessive deflection and
there is not much vertical load above the supports (as in the case of roof
slab), ends of beam / slab curl up causing cracks in supporting masonry.
3. When two materials, having widely different elastic properties, are built
side by side, under the effect of load, shear stresses are set up at the interface
of the two materials, resulting in cracks at the junction. Such a situation is
commonly encountered in the constructions of RCC framed structure and
brick masonry panel (external) and partitions (internal) walls.

d) Creep: -
In concrete, the extent of creep depends on.
1. Water & cement content
2. Water cement ratio
3. Temperature and humidity
4. Use of Admixture and pozzalans
5. Age/strength of concrete at the time of loading
6. Size and shape of the component

Creep increases with water and cement content, water cement ratio and
temperature; it decreases with increases in humidity of surroundings and the
age/strength of the material at the time of loading.
Use of admixtures and pozzalans in concrete increases the creep. Creep also
increase with increase in surface to volume ratio of component.
IN brickwork the creep depends upon stress/ strength ratio therefore the
creep in brickwork with weak mortar in generally higher. For example : For
same quality of brick, creep of brick work in 1:1:6 mortar is 2 to 3 times that
of bricks work in 1:1:3 mortar.
Generally creep in brickwork in approx 20 to 25 % that of concrete. In
brickwork it ceases after 4 months while in concrete it may continue up to a
year or so, and most of creep takes place in 1
st
month thereafter it pace slows
down.
The major affect of creep in concrete is the substantial increase in the
deformation of structural members, which may be to the extent of 2 to 3
times the initial elastic deformation. This deformation sometimes causes
cracks in brick masonry of frame and load bearing structures. When the
deformation due to elastic strain and creep occurs in conjunction with
shortening of an RCC member due to shrinkage, cracking is must more
severe and damaging.

e) Movement due to Chemical reaction
Certain chemical reactions in building materials result in appreciable
increase in volume of materials, due to which internal stresses are setup
which may results in outward thrust and formations of cracks. The material
involve in reaction also chemical reactions are.
Sulphate attack
Carbonation in cement based materials
Corrosion of reinforcement in concrete and brickwork
Alkali aggregate reaction




f) Foundation movement and settlement of soil:

Shear cracks in buildings occurs when there is large differential settlement
of foundation due to one of the following causes.
1. Unequal bearing pressure under different parts of the structure.
2. Bearing pressure being in excess of safe bearing strengths of the soil.
3. Low factor of safety in the design of foundations.
4. Local variations in the nature of supporting soil, which remained
undetected and could not be taken care of the foundations design at the time
of constructions.
5. Foundations resting in active zone on expensive soil.



Leaning PISA TOWER due to settlement
g). Growth of vegetation: -

Roots of a tree generally spread horizontally on all sides to the extent of
height of the tree above the ground and when the trees are located in the
vicinity of a wall, they can cause cracks in walls due to expensive action of
roots growing under the foundations.
Sometimes plants take root and being to grow in fissures of walls, because
of seeds contained in bird droppings. If these plants are not removed well in
time, these may in course of time develop and causes serve cracking of wall.
When soil under the foundations of a building happens to be shrinkable clay,
cracking in walls and floors of buildings can occur following ways.

Growing roots of trees cause de-hydration of soil which may shrink and
cause foundation settlement, or

In areas where old trees had been cut of to make way for building
construction roots had be hydrated the soil. ON receiving moisture from
some sources, such as rain etc., the soil swells up and causes an up-ward
thrust on a portion of the building resulting in cracks in the building.

7. 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, and
e). Roof terrace.

There are some method /preventive measures for repairs of cracks in
specific cases. However, main emphasis should be given on prevention of
cracks, as in many cases there may be no satisfactory method of repairing
the cracks after they have appeared.
a). Cracks in walls
In masonry structure
i. Cracks at ceiling level in cross walls
ii. Cracks at the base of a parapet wall
iii. Horizontal cracks in the topmost story below slab level.
iv. Diagonal cracks in cross walls of a multi-story lead bearing structure
v. Vertical cracks below opening sin line with window jambs
vi. Vertical cracks in the top most storey at the corner
vii. Vertical cracks around stair case / balconies opening
viii. Vertical cracks in the side walls at the corner of long buildings
ix. Horizontal cracks at lintel / sill level in top storey
x. Diagonal cracks over RCC lintels spanning large opening.



Staff quarters wall cracks

In RCC framed structures
i) Cracking of panel walls ii) Cracking of partition walls
iii) Crack in free standing walls
b. Cracks in RCC members
i) In exposed members
ii) Racks in RCC members due to corrosion of re-inforcement









c. Cracks in rendering and plastering
i) On masonry background
ii) On concrete background
iii) Cracks around door &window frames
d. Cracks in concrete and terrazzo floors
i).Crazing
ii) Corner cracks
iii) Cracking of floor in deep fillings
e. Cracks in roof terrace

8.COMMON DEFECTS IN BUILDINGS DUE TO
NEGLIGENCE-

These can be classified based on it position and it nature of
construction as under:

a. Improper layout
b. Improper orientation of buildings, far & setbacks
c. Casual decision for foundation
d. Casual decision of plinth level
e. Improper construction of wall
f. Construction joint between old/new wall and dissimilar structure.
g. Defective RCC work.
h. Improper slope of floors in rooms and bathrooms
i. Cracks in the plastering.
j. Breakage of wall & plastering by installation of electrical insulation.
k. Improper drainage and sewage line.
l. Defects in wooden doors, window and ventilators.
m. Defects painting and distempering

a). IMPROPER LAYOUT: Normally layouts are given by lay men
who are not technically sound and efficient. In later stage the following
difficulties may arise due to defective layout of building.
i). Properly squaring of building corner.
ii).Even thickness of courses in building.
iii).Straightness of wall
iv).Levels of the buildings.
v). Gradient of the sewage live.
vi).Gradient of road and connection to the main road

REMADIAL MEASURES

i). Leveling instrument and theodolite should be invariably used for out of
buildings, surface drainage, sewage disposal or water supply works. No
work should be started be started without installing pegs and bench marks
for centre lines and levels.

ii). The survey instruments should be kept in proper adjustment. Supervisor
should acquire the knowledge and confidence in making permanent
adjustment. The instruments including the optical parts should be kept clean.
Those should be transported with almost care.

b). IMPROPER ORIENTATION OF BUILDINGS, FAR &
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.

REMADIAL MEASURES
i). Provide proper orientation, far & setbacks based direction of sun, and
wind direction.

c). CASUAL DECISION FOR FOUNDATION

Very casual approach/decision is taken in the matter mentioned below-
i. Arbitrary decision for depth of foundation.
ii. Visual decision for level of bottom of foundation.
iii. Not uniform width of foundation.
iv. Not properly leveling of foundation.
v. Excess excavation of foundation in the in same place.

REMADIAL MEASURES
i. The bottom level of foundation concrete should be governed by the
benchmarks, even for a simple work, such as construction of
compound wall. Otherwise the longitudinal pro of the wall will
become snaky with undulating terrain.
ii. If square ness of walls in building is not achieved through proper
initial setting the blunder will show up when flooring tiles are fixed.

d). CASUAL DECISION OF PLINTH LEVEL-

We are deciding the plinth level casually without seeing the
following points-
i) Not watching the surrounding to decide the plinth level.
ii) Not taking the consideration of approach road at the time, when deciding
the plinth level.
iii) Not watching drainage and sewage disposal in vicinity.

REMADIAL MEASURES
i. Plinth level of a building should be carefully decided depending on
site conditions post history of flood level and future level of the
serving roads.
ii. Where plinth masonry is of brick has the super structural and has no
plinth offset, there should be a groove in plastering of exterior wall.
The plinth masonry thus demonstrated should receive darker colour to
suppress earth-splash due to rains. This scheme will also add to the
appearance of the building.
iii. If RCC belt or plinth beam is provided at plinth level it should be cast
at such a distance below floor level, so that any sewer pipe called is
clearly above the belt or beam. The structural designer also should
remember this point.

e. IMPROPER CONSTRUCTION OF WALL -

We are not giving due consideration on the following points.

i. Improper ratio of opening.
ii. Plumb ness of the wall.
iii. Improper sequence of material used in masonry work. as in stone
masonry bigger size stones in lower courses and smaller in upper
courses.
iv. Not proper curing of the work.
v. Direction of opening
vi. Not providing leveling course/ bed blocks under lintels, slabs.
vii. Not staggering of joints at a particular point.
viii. Not proper bedding of stone/ bricks in the same layer.
ix. Filling of gaps in between big stones by small stone/brick pieces
without properly filling of motor.
x. Not properly mixing of mortar.
xi. Thick joints


No proper Bonding at wall junction

REMADIAL MEASURES

i. Adequate attention should be paid while positioning the door and
window frame with respect to the width of gap, de the hinge side and
deciding the direction of opening of the shutters.
ii. In tropical countries too many windows and glazing are not required.
However, of there is a tendency to wear the wall by providing too
much of opening. 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. Further due to
unfavorable positioning of openings, scene locations of masonry may
get weakened. In such situations also RCC pillar may have to be
provided on the openings may have to be provided on the openings
may have to be repositioned. Plasters in masonry as adopted in olden
days are not just for luxury or look these have structural function too.
Every civil engineer should be conversant with the principles of brick
masonry design, as explained in the National Building Code. No
location on the earth is free of the earthquake possibility. Careful
design and construction of masonry may save many lives in future.
iii. 3. RCC bed block should be provided at the bearing of beam carrying
heavy load and resting on brick wall, to avoid stress concentration,
even if drawing fails to details the same.

f. 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.

REMADIAL MEASURES

i. Construction must be provided in between dissimilar works right from
the bottom.

g. IMPROPER BONDING OF DISIMILAR MATERAIL
AND AT JUNCTION OF THE WALLS-

It is because of not proper bonding of masonry in super
structure. Bonding is a process of arranging bricks and mortars to tie them
together in a mass of brick work. It should have a minimum of vertical joints
in any part of the work. It is a weak portion of brick work and should not be
continuous in two successive courses. A wall having continuous vertical
joints can act as independent column. Hence, in such cases, load on wall
shall not be uniformly distributed and there are chances of load settlement. A
more strong and durable brick/stone masonry construction must not have
continuous vertical joints. It shall distribute load on a wider area and thereby
minimize the tendency to settlement.
At some places some vertical cracks in masonry are seen
near the joints of two angled wall and near the corner of walls. At the time of
construction building masonry work of one wall is taken at a time and
bricks/ stone of each layer is left cantilevered outside the surface of this
wall. If these cantilever portions are not in proper line and level or not
properly matched with the right angle/ any other angle walls then cracks
may be appeared.

REMADIAL MEASURES

ii. Construction of wall on these location should be done simultaneously
on both the location
iii. Proper toothing and jointing should be done

j. DEFECTIVE RCC WORK

i. HONECOMBING- If segregation 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. EXPOSITION 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.

Adequate lap length not provided



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. IPROPER 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
.Shuttering joints are not water tight.


Shuttering poles are not vertical position

REMADIAL 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.

h. IMPROPER SLOPE OF FLOORS OF ROOMS AND
BATHROOMS
Sometimes we see that water is stagnant in Bathrooms and tape
water near water closet is flowing in Bath. It is also painful to see that
discharge from Wash Basin is running in open drain in Bath room which is
extremely repulsive and deplorable.
It may be because of the following points.

i. Hesitating to give the slopes in the main room.
ii. Not giving proper slope in bathroom by which water is drained off
regularly.
iii. Joint of the floor tiles is not proper and not in one line.
iv. Improper bedding of mortar resulted as breakage of floor tiles corners.
v. Proper joints are not giving in case of cement concrete-flooring and
not doing concreting in alternate bays.

REMADIAL MEASURE
i). Provide adequate slope in bath and toilet for easy drain out of water.
ii). Slope to be providing in rooms also if is washable.
iii). Proper mortar bedding under the tiles should be ensured.
iv). Do floor concreting with alternate bay not to do as a whole.

i. CRACKS IN THE PLASTERING -

Some times minor cracks are seen in the may be small surface
cracks due to weather effect. It is plastering surface. These may be isolated
at some places .the different type of cracks can be seen in the building.
These cracks may be because of
i. Due to poor work men ship.
ii. Due to thermo statically changes in the climate.
iii. Due to settlement in the building.
iv. At the junction of dissimilar structures.
v. Not proper bonding on the wall.
vi. Not uniformly of the thickness of the joints.
vii. Improper curing of the wall.
viii. Not providing molding and drips.
ix. Due to excessive silt in the sand.
x. Due to application of plaster before completion of curing time of
masonry work.
xi. Not proper mixing of mortar.

REMADIAL MEASURES
i). Reference marks to given before starting plastering.
ii). Background surface to be wetted properly in advance.
iii). Not to use Fine sands having more silt. l. BREAKAGE OF WALL
& PLASTERING BY INSTALLATION OF ELECTRICAL
INSULATION.

iv). Uniform Mortar mixing with adequate water and uniform colour.
v). Ensure Curing for 14 days..
vi). Protect open surface direct from sun light.

Sometimes electrical department damage the Plastering and rectifies the
same by applying Cement mortar by hand without using a trowel and
finishing tools. Such Shabby works looks very odd.
As a general practice, when the civil works are completed, the
electrical & communication staff starts their works and damage the civil
works and finished the work by unskilled people. Which looks very dirty?

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 option
ii. Civil &electrical Engineers should jointly understand the location
where electric supply line enters in the building


k. IMPROPER DRAINAGE AND SEWAGE LINE

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

i. Not consideration of self cleaning velocity
ii. Not watching of sewage disposal points before starting of work.
iii. Not providing the required slope in sewage line
iv.
REMADIAL MEASURES

i. In the case of Indian water closes only orissa type pan should be used
which has straight boundaries and .. it is a good practice is lower
the where the grill is loaded by a
ii. Slope of floating in bath and toilets is important. In the case of.. there
should not be any open. discharge from the parts. The pan should
have any and it should join the
iii. Sun shade should not be allowed to collect water, by providing spout
of large diameter at appropriate levels.
iv. 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.
v. Sunken slabs should invariably provide for bathrooms and toilets in
framed structures, the beam of outer wall of toilets though which the
sewer pipes emerge must be case at lower or higher level so that there
is no need to make holes in the beam to pass the pipes. The structural
drawings should show these details clearly.


m. DEFECTS IN WOODEN DOORS, WINDOW AND
VETILATORS

Freshly cut unseasoned wood are used in buildings for wooden door
and window works. Wood which are not fit for woodwork, joinery also used
in construction. At a time wood having moisture content up to 25% are used,
which will leads to warping, bending and cracking and finally it will end up
with door and windows not closing properly and gap will be there all-round
between frames and shutters. Some time sap wood also used for making
door and windows it is soft work portion and it will not withstand for long
time ,using soft wood to be avoided.

Remedial Measures

i. Use seasoned hard country wood or teakwood with moisture content
less than 12%.
ii. Sapwood, cracked ring wood and soft wood not to be used.
iii. Joints in wooden members should be snugly fitted, using the right
type of joints.
iv. It is a good practice to nail wooden beadings around door and window
frames, so as to cover the shrinkage cracks between wood and wall.
Ready- made teak wood beadings of various designs are available in
the market.
v. Provide sufficient hold fast in each door frames, to hold in firm
position.



n. DEFECTS PAINTING AND DISTEMPERING
SURFACE PREPARATION FAULTS:- Paint failures can result
from many causes. Here, well look at some of the most common caused by
faults 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.

Alligatoring .
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.

Peeling.
Blistering: Blistering is caused by the development of gas or liquid pressure
under 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.



Blistering.
Inadequate Gloss: Sometimes a glossy paint fails to attain the normal
amount of gloss. This may be caused by inadequate surface preparation,
application over an undercoat that is not thoroughly dry, or application in
cold or damp weather.
IMPROPER APPLICATION
It takes a lot of practice, but able to eliminate the two most common types
of application defects: crawling and wrinkling.
Crawling: Crawling is the failure of a new coat of paint to wet and form a
continuous film over the preceding coat. This often happens when latex
paint is applied over high-gloss enamel or when paints are applied on
concrete or masonry treated with a silicone water repellent.

Crawling.
Wrinkling: When coatings are applied too thickly, especially in cold
weather, the surface of the coat dries to a skin over a layer of undried paint
underneath. This usually causes wrinkling. Wrinkling can be avoided in
brush painting or roller painting by brushing or rolling each coat of paint as
thinly as possible. In spray painting, wrinkling can be avoided by keeping
the gun in constant motion over the surface whenever is the trigger down.

Wrinkling.
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.
Checking and Cracking: Checking and cracking are breaks in a coating
formed as the paint becomes hard and brittle. Temperature changes cause the
substrate and overlying paint to expand and contract. As the paint becomes
hard, it gradually loses its ability to expand without breaking. Checking
consists of tiny breaks in only the upper coat or coats of the paint film
without penetrating to the substrate. Cracking is larger with longer breaks
extending through to the substrate. Cracking generally takes place to a
greater extent on wood, due to its grain, than on other substrates. The stress
in the coating is greatest across the grain, causing cracks to form parallel to
the grain of the wood. Checking and cracking are aggravated by excessively
thick coatings that have reduced elasticity. Temperature variations,
humidity, and rainfall are also concerns for checking or cracking.

Severe Checking Severe Cracking.

o. OTHER PRECAUTIONS

i. For new building drawing should be prepared to details the scheme of
root dia and the positioning of down pipes

ii. Access to open terrace should be made available should be made
available in all buildings by providing reliable service ladders, in case
extended staircases ac not exist. This is to enable engineering staff to
clean and to attend to bad spots in weathering course. This will be a
positive step to avoid leakage problems.

iii. It is a bad practice to leave the droppings of cement mortar on the
floor, sun and open terrace and allow them to set permanently. This
leaves a poor impression of the engineers in the minds of the building
users.

9.CONCLUSIONS &SUGGISIONS:

From the above it has been seen that defects are non-structural cracks
and majority of common defects are due to negligence of Engineers. Also
proper supervision available in most of the woks spot.

In Railway supervision of building construction is left to field staff
i.e SSE/SE/JE (Works) since higher officials are busy in their office and
track work and building works are totally neglected. The field supervisors of
open line are also busy with their regular Building, bridge and road
maintenance work, routine inspections, and staff matters. Some of the
supervisors are also not having adequate technical knowledge about building
works.

The present system of supervision will not help to improve the defect
free construction and also it will reduce the maintenance burden and cost.

Some specialized training/courses in building construction, modern
materials and in foundation Engineering may be arranged for from field
level supervisor to Divisional Engineer level. The higher officials are afraid
to exercising the power of deciding the type and depth foundation based on
the site condition.










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