BUILDING JOINTS

Designing for building movement is an important part

of detailing a building. This can be achieved by the
use of joints to relieve or take up the movement.

A building joint is essentially a separation of building

elements that allows for independent movement and
protects the structure and finishes from damage.
Each material, has its own unique properties that cause it to
contract or expand more than other materials.

Some are also more susceptible to moisture or condensation and

the rate and period of expansion or contraction due to exposure
varies.

Other causes are structural.

They include the sagging of materials over time or the
movement of walls and roofs due to wind loads. Some
movement occurs during construction as materials dry out over
a period of time.
 Any joint, as in a physical break or gap between
members, in a concrete structure or building is a
potential weak link which may lead to serviceability
problems, lack of durability or structural failure.
WHY JOINTS ARE NEEDED
■ the member or structure cannot be constructed
as a monolithic unit in one placement of concrete
■ the member has to be of limited size so it can
be handled by cranes, etc.
■ the structure or member on one side of the joint
needs to be able to move relative to that on the
other
BUILDING JOINTS
TYPES
• Construction joint
• Expansion joint
• Contraction joint
• Isolation joint
• Seismic joint
• Sliding joint
CONSTRUCTION JOINT
■ A construction joint occurs when there are multiple concrete
placements.
It can occur between different days of concrete placements.

Construction joints are placed at points of ending and beginning of

construction for provision of a smooth transition between pours.
CONSTRUCTION JOINT
In mega projects there are starting and
stopping points. The entire concrete
work may not be done at once, hence
concrete pouring needs to be stopped
causing a joint in element known as
Construction Joint.

These joints are formed between

successive building element parts during
construction work, in which one part is
allowed to harden before the next is
placed.
EXPANSION JOINT
These are structural separation between building elements that allow
independent movement without damage to the assembly.

An expansion joint is used in concrete and steel. An expansion joint

allows the concrete or steel to expand or contract with daily
temperature variations. If you don’t allow this, you may get buckling,
or spalling, or total failures. They are commonly provided in bridges,
railway tracks, piping systems, and other structures.
EXPANSION JOINT
The concrete is subjected to volume change due to many reasons. So
we have to cater for this by way of joint to relieve the stress.
Expansion is a function of length. The building longer than 45m are
generally provided with one or more expansion joint. The joints are
formed by providing a gap between the building parts.

These are able to handle both expansion and contraction. Their

purpose is to anticipate the amount of thermal movement likely to
occur and to provide a complete separation that allows for
movement.
EXPANSION JOINT
In addition to dampening movement, expansion joints must maintain
weather tightness. They are made waterproof with waterstops, elastic
joint sealants, metal flashing, etc.

Expansion joints vary in width from half an inch to one inch in width or
more.
CONTRACTION JOINT
A control joint or contraction joint is a joint that is put in the concrete
to control cracking.
Control Joints (often confused with expansion joints) are cuts or
grooves made in concrete or asphalt at regular intervals.
These joints are made at locations where there are chances of cracks
or where the concentration of stresses are expected, so that when a
concrete does crack, the location will be known to you.In such a way
concrete will not crack randomly but in a straight line (i.e. control joint
CONTRACTION JOINT
A contraction joint is a sawed, formed, or tooled groove in a concrete
slab that creates a weakened vertical plane. It regulates the location of
the cracking caused by dimensional changes in the slab.
Unregulated cracks can grow and result in an unacceptably rough
surface as well as water infiltration into the base, subbase and
subgrade, which can enable other types of pavement distress.
ISOLATION JOINT
Isolation joints have one very simple purpose—they completely
isolate the slab from something else.

These joints separate new construction from existing construction.

They are used when new additions are made to an old building. They
are meant to allow for movement and settlement to occur within the
new structure, without disturbing the existing structure.
ISOLATION JOINT

Essentially, they provide a means for each separate building to settle

and move independently. These joints are often times also referred to
as construction joints or abutment joints for this reason.

Isolation joints are formed by placing preformed joint material next to

the column or wall or standpipe prior to pouring the slab. Isolation
joint material is typically asphalt-impregnated fibreboard, although
plastic, cork, rubber, and neoprene are also available.
SEISMIC JOINT

The seismic joint, is used to divide a geometrically complex building

into small units that can move independently of one another during
an earthquake.

Seismic joints are similar to expansion joints, but at the same time
very different.

Expansion joints are introduced to accommodate building movements

caused by shrinkage, creep, or temperature changes. They are often
one-way joints, that is, they are primarily intended to accommodate
movements in the direction perpendicular to the joint.

Seismic joints, on the other hand, must accommodate movement in

both orthogonal directions simultaneously and their spacing is not
typically affected by building length or size.
SLIDING JOINT
Sliding layers are needed wherever the friction arises.
The main function is to reduce friction forces between two
materials or two structures.
Sliding joint is a joint with complete discontinuity in both
reinforcement and concrete and with special provision to
facilitate movement in plane of the joint.
It allows two structural members to slide relative to one another
with minimal restraint.
SLIDING JOINT
Sliding joint is usually applied under foundation structure on the
concrete base layer.
The most often used material is ordinary asphalt belt. It can be
loosely laid or glued on concrete base.
To create sliding joint, only one belt or more layers or more
materials can be applied above smooth layer of plaster(if
required).