EVALUATING CRACKS IN BUILDINGS

By

Engr. Dr. Nuruddeen Muhammad Musa

Civil Engineering Department,
Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil.

INTRODUCTION

Cracking in structures is of common occurrence and engineers are often required to look into

their causes and to carry out suitable repairs and remedial measures. For repairs and remedies

to be effective, it is essential that the engineer should have proper understanding of various

causes of cracking. For investigating the causes it is necessary to observe carefully location,

shape, size, depth, behaviour and other characteristics of the cracks, and to collect

information about specifications of the job, time of construction and past history of the

structure. It will also be necessary for the engineer to know as to when the cracks first came

to notice and whether the cracks are structural or non-structural.

CLASSIFICATION OF CRACKS

1. Structural cracks are those that can endanger the safety of a building. Structural

cracks develop due to structural adjustment of load transfer mechanism. They

develop due to the following reason:

a. Incorrect design

b. Faulty construction

c. Overloading

d. Settlement of foundation

e. Effect of temperature variation

f. Swelling of soil below the foundation of the structure.

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 2. Non-structural cracks which are due to moisture changes, thermal variations, elastic

deformation, creep, chemical reaction, foundation movement and settlement of soil,

vegetation, etc. Non-structural cracks are mostly due to internally induced stresses in

building materials and these generally do not directly result in structural weakening.

In course of time however, sometimes these cracks may, because of penetration of

moisture through cracks or weathering action, result in corrosion of reinforcement and

thus may render the structure unsafe.

3. Classification of cracks may also be done according to the width of the crack. They

are classified as:

a. Less than 1mm in width – thin

b. 1 to 2mm in width – medium

c. More than 2mm in width – wide

NATURE OF CRACKS

According to nature of cracks they can be classified as follows:

1. Active cracks. A crack which is still in progress i.e. is still developing is called

Active crack.

2. Dormant cracks. If the development of a crack is not observed during a considerable

period of time, then this crack is known as dormant crack.

CAUSES OF CRACKS IN BUILDING STRUCTURES

1. OVERLOADING

The overloading of a structure may result from excessive external sources e.g wind

pressure, or internally due to excessive load which the building have not been design

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for (e.g. heavy machines). Thus, the overloading due to any cause will develop

defects as deflection of floors causing cracks on the underside of the building.

Flexure crack in one-way slab bottom

Flexure crack in two-way slab bottom

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 2. FOUNDATION MOVEMENT AND SETTLEMENT OF THE SOIL

The differential movement of foundation causes vertical or diagonal cracks near the

corner of the junction of two element of the structure. The uniform settlement of the

whole structure seldom takes place. These cracks are wider at top and decrease

towards the tail.

Remedial Measures

Following measures may be helpful to check these defects:

1. Underpinning of the foundation.

3. CRACKING DUE TO VEGETATION

Large trees growing in the vicinity of buildings cause damage in all type of soil

conditions. If the soil is shrinkable clay cracking is severe.

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Remedial Measures

Following measures may be helpful to check these defects:

a. Trees should not be allowed to grow near the building compound walls, etc. if

any saplings of trees are found growing near building; they should be removed

at the earliest.

b. In case of new constructions, vegetation including trees should be removed

and in case the soil is shrinkable, or clayey, the construction should not be

started until soil has undergone expansion and stabilized at least for one rainy

season.

4. CRACKING DUE TO TEMPERATURE VARIATIONS

Every building material undergoes physical changes due to variation of temperature

according to their coefficient of thermal expansion. Small buildings are not much

affected by the variation in temperature, but long buildings undergo large changes in

sizes causing cracking in the structure.

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To prevent thermal cracks expansion joints, control joints and joints in case of change

of shape and direction of wing in a structure are to be provided

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 General guide lines to provide movement joints

5. CRACKING DUE TO ERROR IN DESIGN AND DETAILING

The design and detailing errors that may cause unacceptable cracking are as follows:

a. Improper selection and/or detailing of reinforcement.

b. Restraint of members subjected to volume changes due to variations in

temperature and moisture.

c. Lack of adequate joints

d. Improper design of foundation results in differential settlement of the structure.

e. Re-entrant corner. These corners provide a location for stress concentration and

thus are the main locations for initial cracks, as in the case of window and door

openings.

f. Improper design cause cracks on members in flexure and shear.

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Remedial Measures

Following measures may be helpful to check these defects:

1. Provision of additional properly anchored reinforcement.

2. Provision for sufficient expansion and contraction

3. Retrofitting of the members

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 6. CRACKS IN PLASTERING

Cracks in plastering are usually non-structural. Before any treatment of cracks, it is necessary

to ensure weather the cracks are limited to plaster only or extend to background also. The

cracks may develop due to the following causes:

a. Shrinkage cracks due to use of rich cement mortar in plaster

b. Inadequate curing of the plaster.

c. Insufficient bond with the background due to insufficient depth of joint raking.

d. Due to sulphate reaction.

These cracks develop during the first dry spell after the construction.

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Remedial Measures

Following measures may be helpful to check these defects:

2. Rendering of minor crack less that 1m wide may be done after observing the crack for

some time and then sealing it with weak mortar of cement and sand (preferably 1:6).

3. Cracks where width change with season should be filled up with elastic fillers like

silicon or polyurethene compound.

EVALUATION OF CRACKS

Before starting repair of cracked structures, the knowledge of location and extent of cracking

is essential for the effective and proper repair. The possible causes and nature of cracks can

be ascertained by visual examination. For determining the accurate and reliable information

about the presence of internal cracks and voids, depth of penetration of cracks which are

visible on the surface, non destructive test may be used. These methods include ultrasonic

method and Schmidt hammer test. Table 1 shows a guideline for evaluating cracks using

visual method.

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BUILDING COMPONENT: Load bearing block wall

S.NO. VISIBLE DEFECT POSSIBLE CAUSE INVESTIGATION SUGGESTED

1. Wall out of plumb -Rotation of foundation, -Examination of foundation and

-Lack of lateral restraint, subsoil.
-Overloading -presence of trees
-Presence of lateral forces -lack of depth below ground of
foundation
-Adequacy of wall – floor
connections and roof ties (in case of
pitched roofs).
2. Wall fractured vertically – cracks -Differential foundation or support settlement. - test mortar
tapering or diagonal following vertical - heave in clay soils -Examination of foundation and
and horizontal block joints. - roof movement subsoil.
- too strong mortar -presence of trees
-overloading -lack of depth below ground of
foundation

3. Walls fractured vertically and/ or -Movement/corrosion of embedded structural Ascertain presence or otherwise of
horizontally – cracks not tapering steelwork. structural steelwork in wall and
- overloading adequacy or omission of concrete
- thermal movement casing.
4. Cracks in rendering, tiling or floor If not associated with parent structure- Differential Remove local areas of finishes to
screeds shrinkage between finish and structure. inspect the structure: then process as
Incompatible materials with ineffective bonding for cracks in blockwork. And check
agent whether finishes properly bonded to
structure (tapping will reveal hollow
areas).
5. Wall cracks, horizontal, up to about 1m Defelection of floor supporting bottom courses of
above floor level blockwork.

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BUILDING COMPONENT: RC WALLS

S.NO. VISIBLE DEFECT POSSIBLE CAUSE INVESTIGATION SUGGESTED

1. -Cracking of concrete cover/exposure of - corrosion of reinforcement (e.g by CaCl2) - adequacy of concrete cover to
reinforcement. - nails and wire ties left in formwork reinforcement.
- very fine cracks are inherent in - fire -having regard to quality of concrete
reinforced concrete. - Corrosion of tying wires or chairs etc. and severity of exposure.
- rust staining on concrete surface -precense of iron containing compounds in the - visual examination – concrete
aggregate at surface. usually white or pink.
- strength test
- test for carbonisation
(phenolphthalein)
- analysis of concrete samples
2. Fine hair crazing of surface Construction fault
3. Vertical fractures at intervals along RC Shrinkage Provision or omission of movement
walls Moisture movement joints.
Amount and spacing of distribution
reinforcement
4. Diagonal fractures in RC walls Differential foundation or support settlement Adequacy of foundation on stiffness
of support.
Presence of water – ground
movement.
5. Spalling of concrete from face or top of Corrosion of reinforcement Adequacy of concrete cover in
nibs or corbels Inaccurate positioning of top reinforcement relation to severity of exposure.
Cracking of ribs vertically. Lack of anchorage of top reinforcement. Cover meter checks
Inadequacy of top reinforcement Design check and Examination of
Overloading detail drawings (where possible)
Loading assessment and comparison
with loading capacity provision (or
otherwise).

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BUILDING COMPONENT: RC BEAMS AND SLABS

S.NO. VISIBLE DEFECT POSSIBLE CAUSE INVESTIGATION SUGGESTED

1. Vertical or slightly inclined cracks Overloading Ascertain actual load being carried
Under-reinforcement, inadequate depth compared with design load.
Fault in design Compare span/depth ratio with code
Thermal movement requirements
Shrinkage around stirrups Ascertain existence or otherwise of
uneven temperature gradient.

2. Diagonally inclined hair cracks Overloading in shear Ascertain shear capacity and
generally at or near supports of beams. Thermal effects compare with shear forces
Compare span/depth ratio with code
requirements
Ascertain existence or otherwise of
uneven temperature gradient
3. Presence of diagonal cracks in beams on Torsional shear stresses Adequacy of design
faces of and extending around the Cause and magnitude of torsional
perimeter of section. moment
4. Cracking of slab and/or finishes over Slabs designed simply supported although Cover meter checks for presence of
supports of slabs continuous. ‘top’ steel.
Anti-crack steel at support inadequate or incorrectly Examination of design.
positioned

5. Random diagonal cracking or lateral Inadequate provision for contraction/shrinkage. Check amount of reinforcement and
cracking across bays at near-even Over-rich concrete mix. spacing of joints.
spacing. Analysis of concrete samples.

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CONCLUSION

The individual cracks in R.C. members and block walls in building structures are unique by

themselves. They are versatile diagnostic devices, clearly indicating the specific problems in

the concerned R.C. members. In addition, they also indicate the degree of seriousness of the

Problem. The cracks throw light on the discipline in the associated structural designs and

construction quality. The corrective measures to be implemented are clearly indicated by

these cracks.

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