REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING OF BUILDINGS

Dr K M Soni, Chief Engineer, CPWD, West Zone I, Mumbai

Many structures have been constructed in the country without any structural or proper
structural design. In addition to this, there are many structures constructed with poor quality,
in terms of materials, workmanship and design. Such structures show distress after few years
of construction. Rehabilitation and retrofitting becomes a necessity in such structures though
a costly affair. In case, structures are not rehabilitated in time, deterioration of such structures
accelerates at a faster rate. Since a large number of such structures exist in the country
particularly in semi urban and urban areas, this is high time that rehabilitation is carried out
on large scale, both in government and private sectors. A brief on rehabilitation and
retrofitting of such structures is given in the following.

CAUSES OF DETERIORATION OF CONCRETE

RCC is not considered an impervious material and therefore penetration of water and/or
aggressive chemicals during the service life of structures are considered primary reasons of
deterioration of concrete. Penetration of water or chemicals leads to carbonation, chloride
ingress, leaching, sulphate attack, alkali silica reaction etc. and causes deterioration of the
concrete and corrosion in the reinforcement. But one must understand that main reason of
penetration of water or chemicals is porosity of the concrete. Therefore, it is to be examined
whether sufficient precautions can be taken to avoid porosity.

Porosity in the concrete is stopped by taking various measures. No concrete surface is left
exposed until it is rich in mix. Roof is covered with water proofing materials as it attracts
maximum quantity of water. External surfaces of concrete are plastered and then a water
proofing coating is applied on the plastered surface like water proofing paints. Internal
surfaces attract less water hence internal concrete surfaces are plastered or rendered and then
a protective coating of paints is applied over the same. Thus, sufficient precautions are taken
to avoid porosity in the concrete. Thus, penetration of water or chemicals should not be
feasible as the surface becomes almost impervious with all such measures. Therefore,
penetration of water or chemicals is not a direct cause of deterioration but it is the failure of
the concrete or plaster or protective coating which allows penetration of water or chemicals.
Thus, when construction is not carried out as per the design and specifications, it helps in
penetration of water or chemicals in the concrete. Therefore, deterioration of concrete is due
to poor quality of design, construction or maintenance. Poor quality gets reflected in the form
of seepage, leakage, corrosion, porosity, carbonation of concrete surface etc.

Design of a structure is based on the knowledge available in terms of books, codes and
ultimately designer. Normally, codes are prepared once a technology and design are proved
theoretically, in the lab and also through mock up structures or prototype. Sometimes, it is
observed that design philosophy changes due to unknown factors which come in the
knowledge afterwards. Therefore, codes are revised. In such cases, retrofitting of structures is
required.
Once the design is finalized, execution has to be done as per the design and properties of the
materials considered in the design. These are called the specifications. Thus specifications of
materials are to be selected according to the design requirements and quality has to be
ensured during the construction. Design issued by the structural designers is for foundation,
slab, beams, and columns. Therefore, in RCC frame structures, other members are
constructed according to the specifications or general practices. Suppose, design of a lintel,
chajja or fins is not given then at site, the same may be cast according to the specifications or
general practice or even as per the sweet will of the site in-charge. In such a case, adequate
bearing may be provided in a lintel or may not be; brick work may be as per the
specifications or may not be. In case, these are not provided as per design requirements or
specifications, they become highly vulnerable to deterioration. Similarly, in load bearing
structure, in case, design and detailing of bands, corner reinforcement are not given, the same
may not be provided as per the design requirements. Therefore, these members start
deterioration at an early stage and even may become source of deterioration for other
structural members. Poor quality construction requires frequent repair and after some time
rehabilitation.

Water ingress into external RCC members is not easy. In roof, over the RCC slab, water
proofing is done which does not allow water ingress. In columns and beams, over the RCC
surface plaster and paint do not allow water ingress. Therefore, all RCC surfaces have
protection layers. Still if water ingress is noticed in RCC members, it means that all
protection layers have failed. Even after, failure of protection layers, steel is protected with
concrete cover and if water ingress causing corrosion in the reinforcement is noticed into the
reinforcement, it means, concrete cover has also failed. Thus, corrosion in the reinforcement
means;

i. Quality of paint is poor

ii. Quality of plaster is poor
iii. Quality of concrete cover is poor and/or
iv. Quality of RCC is poor

Quality of materials used in plaster and RCC include cement, reinforcement, sand, aggregate,
water and admixtures. Quality of workmanship is also equally important. Then, there is
quality of procedure i.e. compaction, curing, temperature during its placement etc. thus, when
quality is being discussed, it includes all of them. A quality structure is durable and requires
normal maintenance during its service life but a poor quality structure needs heavy and
frequent maintenance. Repair is to be carried out more often which is very difficult and costly
affair, that too, normally carried out by small contractors and thus in such structures,
rehabilitation of members becomes necessary. During earthquakes, such structures may show
large distress due to repetitive dynamic loadings and thus may require seismic retrofitting
also.

If quality of RCC is not poor but quality of protection layers is poor or protection layers are
not provided, RCC members may be attacked by environmental factors. For example, if RCC
members are not painted and surfaces remain wet and dry for considerable period, water
ingress may deteriorate RCC. Thus timely maintenance and its quality are important during
service life of a structure to prevent deterioration of concrete.

Structures also get deteriorated due to aging as aging reduces various strengths and resistance
to environment. Hence, aging structures require repair and rehabilitation.

Therefore, causes of deterioration of RCC can be summarised as;

i. Inadequate design
ii. Poor quality
iii. Inadequate maintenance
iv. Aging of structures

Structures which are attacked by more number of causes as mentioned above deteriorate fast.

DECISION ON REPAIR AND REHABILITATION

Cost of distressed structures depends upon the quality of the design, construction,
maintenance, and aging of structures. A structure having design deficiencies requires
retrofitting as per latest codes. As per the guidelines for repair, restoration, condition
assessment and seismic strengthening of masonry building “ As a thumb rule, if the cost of
repair and seismic strengthening is less than about 30% of the reconstruction cost, the
retrofitting is adopted”. This cost may be only 5 – 6% of cost of reproduction of a building if
only seismic members are to be provided but repair and rehabilitation is also to be carried
out, it may lead to a very high cost. In case of poor quality construction, rate of distress is
very high and cost of repair, rehabilitation and retrofitting is also very high. Also, such
structures cannot be brought to the level of required quality level. For example, if the joints of
brickwork have not been filled up properly, any rehabilitation work such as grouting may not
fill up all the hollow joints.

Sometimes, it becomes economic to go for reconstruction but due to some other

considerations such as non availability of buildings for the users, short life of structures, and
litigation etc., repair, rehabilitation and retrofitting is carried out. Even after, repair and
rehabilitation, such structures need continuous maintenance and may not last for originally
designed life.

In the structures where quality has been taken care in the design and construction but not
during maintenance period or maintenance is not carried out as per the frequency, repair and
rehabilitation may be required due to distress in the structures but cost of repair and
rehabilitation is comparatively low in such cases. In case of aging of structures, cost is also
not very high though depends upon the elapsed and remaining life but in case such structures
have been constructed with poor quality or maintained poorly, cost becomes very high.

STRUCTURAL EVALUATION

Structural evaluation is carried out through condition survey and non destructive testing.
Condition survey is carried out at four stages through preliminary inspection, planning,
detailed visual inspection and field and laboratory testing. Non destructive testing tests
include tests for in situ compressive strength like rebound hammer test, ultrasonic pulse
velocity test, Windsor probe test, pull out test, core tests and load tests. Tests for chemical
attack include carbonation tests, chloride test and sulphate test. Corrosion potential
assessment can be made from cover meter/Profo meter, half cell method, and resistivity
meter. Normally a series of tests or a combination of tests or all tests are carried out based on
condition assessment and importance of the structure. Though interpretation of tests is
important and to be carried out by the experts, testing procedure is equally or more important
as incorrect testing procedure may provide incorrect results. Problem sometimes is that field
testing is not normally carried out by the experts themselves. Sometimes results are so erratic
that one may require retesting. Results also vary with the equipments used, calibration
conditions of the equipments and site conditions and accessibility of the members. Hence,
there are numeral factors on which correctness of indirect tests depends and thus one has to
be very cautious while doing such tests and interpreting results based on them.

MATERIALS FOR REPAIR AND REHABILITATION

Selection of materials for repair and rehabilitation depends upon many factors such as;

i. Technical requirements
ii. Cost
iii. Availability
iv. Expert’s advice
v. Importance of the structure
vi. Balance life of the structure
vii. Toxicity
viii. Aesthetic requirements

Technical requirements of materials used for repair may include their shrinkage properties,
compatibility to base materials, setting and hardening properties, workability, bond strength,
thermal expansion properties, mechanical strength, curing requirements, permeability, and
durability. Most of the materials used for repair are cements, admixtures, polymer modified
mortars/concrete, aggregates, polymers, epoxies, resins, grouts, plasticizers, steel in the form
of reinforcement, sections, nuts/bolts, wire mesh, metallic sheets, glass fibre sheets, carbon
fibre sheets, geo-synthetics in the same form or in modified form.

REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING METHODS

Repair and rehabilitation methods are to be planned carefully and to be followed in the
required sequence. Structural repairs are to be carried out first and thereafter retrofitting
works for seismic requirements and then repair of non structural members. In the last, repair
and rehabilitation of architectural components should be taken up. Such a sequence is
followed as repair of non structural members initially may cover up structural cracks or
members requiring structural strengthening.
Weak protective surfaces and materials like concrete, plaster, water proofing materials, and
corroded steel are to be removed first. Repair is thereafter to be carried out by ensuring
design requirements, compatibility of materials and also other factors mentioned earlier.
Repair should also be compatible to design requirements. For example, if a lintel is to be
repaired, it should be compatible to seismic retrofitting, if being carried out. For repair of all
distressed structures, no standard method and materials may be listed but depend upon
structure to structure.

During rehabilitation of distressed structures or retrofitting, following methods may be

carried out;

i. Sand blasting to remove rust

ii. Binding/adding additional reinforcement
iii. Binding of wire mesh
iv. Welding
v. Anchoring to the existing members through shear keys or anchors
vi. Shotcreting
vii. Plate bonding
viii. Jacketing
ix. Fibre wrapping
x. Underpinning

One should take decision judiciously on the method of rehabilitation or replacement of

structural members. For example, a slab will always cost more in rehabilitation compared to
replacement. Slab may require sand blasting to remove rust of the reinforcement, anti rusting
coat, additional reinforcement, binding coat, welding, anchoring or shear key and shotcreting.
Shotcreting itself is costlier than new slab, hence rehabilitation becomes very costly. Thus, it
should be examined whether slab replacement is feasible. In case of roof, other factors like
water supply system, water proofing etc are also to be considered. Sometimes, repair and
rehabilitation is to be carried out in a roof slab, without disturbing water supply system to
other residents, hence replacement is not feasible even if it economic. Many times, heavy “I”
beams are provided to support distressed slab and wire mesh is inserted above the “I” beams
(Fig. 1). Such system provides a feeling of unsafe structure. Also, there becomes a large
distance between I beams, and wire mesh itself may sag after few years. Hence, it is
recommended that angle sections should be provided at the ends and T sections in between in
shorter direction (Fig. 2) and wire mesh provided on top. Thereafter shotcreting can be done.
Small sections at closer intervals do not allow wire mesh to sag due to small spans between
beams and in future, it becomes easy to repair small portion if needed. Small portions of slabs
may be rehabilitated by tying additional reinforcement but tying should be proper else
welding should be preferred with the existing reinforcement. In case, wire mesh is needed, it
may also be anchored in existing slab by providing washers made of MS flats in case welding
is not carried out. Mere binding additional reinforcement to the existing reinforcement with
binding wire does not serve purpose for long as binding wire gets corroded after some time
and thereafter there is no monolithic action between existing reinforcement and additional
reinforcement.

Figure 1: “I” Beams provided in distresses slab Figure 2: angles and small T
sections

Beams cannot be replaced easily hence they are rehabilitated. Additional reinforcement
binding has to be ensured as additional reinforcement is part of the design to take up the
loads. Welding though costly ensures monolithic action of additional reinforcement with
existing reinforcement. in case of jacketing of columns, two precautions are to be ensured one
enlarging the foundation as per the requirements of new columns and other monolithic action
of existing reinforcement and additional reinforcement through welding or anchoring and
providing additional bent up bars (Fig. 3) or shear keys. In case of non monolithic action,
cracks will appear between existing section and additionally jacketed section after some time.

Figure 3: Rehabilitation through jacketing in a column

Thus, main procedure to any rehabilitation work is removal of loose materials and rusting,
providing protective layer, bonding coat between old and new surface, providing steel
members/welding/anchoring/shear keys to ensure monolithic action between old and new
reinforcement and concrete work. Two surfaces may be joined through welding, anchoring,
providing shear key, adhesives or bonding coat according to the surfaces and materials used
in rehabilitation work.

Retrofitting is also done through plate bonding, and fibre wrap techniques. Materials used in
plate may vary according to the requirements such as metallic, glass fibre or carbon fibre.
Fibre wrappers are wrapped around the structural members after repair and rehabilitation of
distressed members and may be of different materials such as carbon fibres, glass fibres etc.

Masonry structures are rehabilitated and retrofitted with similar materials but with different
techniques. Horizontal seismic belts are provided in lieu of plinth band, lintel band and roof
band. In case of RCC slab, roof band is not required. Vertical belts are provided at corners
and around openings. Vertical reinforcement bar is provided in inside corners. These bands
are essential for seismic retrofitting or strengthening. For monolithic action segmental arches
are to be connected. Main precaution to be taken is to ensure that these belts do not get
detached during shaking due to seismic forces hence anchoring of belts plays an important
role. Anchoring can be done with mechanical anchors or chemical anchors. Mechanical
anchors may damage brickwork and thus chemical anchors (Fig. 4) are most suitable in
brickwork though mechanical anchors can be provided in strong concrete. Materials for belts
may be Galvanised wire mesh or fibre sheets. Fibre sheets are costly but they do not require
micro concreting/thick mortar for its covering. Also micro concrete/thick mortar over wire
meshes forms bands (Fig. 5) on the surface while fibre sheets have small thickness and can be
fixed with high quality adhesives.

Figure 4: GI wire mesh, anchor and washer for providing seismic belt
 Figure 5: A band formed around opening due to micro-concrete/thick plaster over GI wire
mesh belt

CONCLUSIONS

There are large number of un-engineered and engineered structures constructed with poor
quality of design, materials and workmanship. Some structures are not even maintained with
proper quality. All such structures are highly prone to distress and require frequent repair and
rehabilitation. Such structures cannot be demolished due to high cost involved in
reconstruction and non availability of assets. Thus, there is a need to develop simple and user
friendly guidelines for municipalities, individuals, engineers, architects and contractors. A
brief on repair and rehabilitation methods of structures including causes of distress are
discussed in the paper.

REFERENCES

Rai, D C, Draft code with commentary on seismic evaluation and strengthening of existing
buildings, IIT Kanpur.

Handbook on repair and rehabilitation of RCC buildings, Central Public Works Department,
New Delhi.

Guidelines for repair, restoration, condition assessment and seismic strengthening of masonry
buildings, Arya, A S.

Soni, K.M.& Khatri, N.K.(2006). “Retrofitting of a Brick Masonry Bungalow in Lutyen’s

zone”. New Building Materials & Construction World, Vol. 12, Issue 4 pp140-148.