A DVA N C E

CO N ST RU CT I O N & N EW
B U I L D I N G M AT E R I A L S

Defe c ts I n a
B uild ing
Re p o rt

Deveshwar Sen | Ayush Datta | Sreejith | Prashant Manohar | B.arch | Semester VIII
Content
1. Cracking ............................................................................................................................... 1

2. Delamination ...................................................................................................................... 2

3. Crazing ................................................................................................................................ 3

4. Blistering ............................................................................................................................ 4

5. Water Seepage .................................................................................................................. 5

6. Structural Cracks ...................... ...................................................................................... 6

7. Non-Structural Cracks ..................................................................................................... 6

8. Defective External ........................................................................................................... 7

9. Dusting ............................................................................................................................... 7

10. Curling/Warping ............................................................................................................. 8

11. Effloresence ...................................................................................................................... 9

11. Scaling & Spalling ............................................................................................................. 10

11. Erosion of Motar .............................................................................................................. 10

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C R AC K I N G : D E L A M I N AT I O N

Hairline cracks over doors and windows are likely due to settling. Concrete delamination is the separation of the paste layer at the surface, creating an un-
Houses of any age move and shift subtly over time, and the weakest area in a wall is the bonded concrete layer between there and the slab body. This issue develops with troweled
most likely to crack. concrete, commonly during the early spring and late fall with concrete placement on a cool
subgrade. 
Causes
•Permeability of concrete
•Thermal movement
•Creep movement
•Corrosion of reinforcement
•Moisture movement
•Poor construction practices (Prashant’s House Meerut) (Prashant’s House Meerut)
•Improper structural design and specifications PC: Prashant, Sreejith PC: Prashant, Sreejith
•Poor maintenance
•Movement due to chemical reactions Causes
When the initial setting of the concrete is delayed, and rate of bleeding reduced, the
chances for delaminations increases. While they can occur under a range of circumstances,
Remedies & Precautions it’s more common when these nine factors are present:
The best way to repair a crack in drywall is to re-tape the joint. ~A cool subgrade causes the underlying concrete to set more slowly;
~The concrete temperature or mixture ingredients impedes the concrete setting;
~Joints shall be considered during the design and constructed properly. For example, ex- ~Entrained air is present in the concrete, or the overall air content is higher than wanted
pansion joints, construction joints, control joints, and slip joints. for the specific application;
~Use minimum possible quantity of water. ~Higher cementitious material or sand-fines content have created a sticky concrete mix-
~Employ large coarse aggregate. ture;
~Provide compression reinforcement if possible. ~Environmental conditions have created a rapid drying situation, in turn causing a crust-like
~Avoid formwork removal at early ages. surface and the appearance that its ready to finish;
~Cure concrete properly. assign proper cross section for the concrete element. ~Excessive vibration draws too much mortar to the surface;
~Use low permeable concrete ~Using a dry shake, especially with air-entrained concrete;
~Provide adequate cover thickness ~A thick concrete slab; and
~Make sure concrete-steel bond is as good as possible. ~The slab placement is directly on top of a vapor retarder.
~Provide movement joints
~Use minimum possible quantity of water for mixing cement concrete or cement mortar.
~Compact concrete properly; vibrated concrete suffers lesser shrinkage compare with Remedies
manually compacted concrete.
~Finally, avoid the use of excessive cement. 1. Use A Granular Fill With A Vapor Retarder
~Monitoring construction process properly. 2.Don’t Use Air-Entrained Concrete For Interior Floor Slabs
~Utilize good quality materials at the time of construction. 3. Patching is performed after removing the surface layer and thoroughly cleaning the
~Proper specification for concrete materials and concrete. underlying concrete. Grinding and laying a new surface may be necessary for extensive
~Proper specifications to take care of environmental as well as sub – soil conditions. delamination. When steel corrosion is the culprit, sandblasting the steel is necessary for
~Constructible and adequate structural design. proper rust removal.
3 4
CRAZING BLISTERING

Crazing in concrete is the development of a network of fine random cracks or fissures on Concrete blisters are hollow, inconspicuous nodules on a concrete surface. Though they’re
the surface of concrete caused by shrinkage of the surface layer. These cracks are rarely generally small, usually dime-sized in diameter up to one inch, blisters can grow up to three
more than 3mm deep, and are more noticeable on over floated or steel-troweled surfaces. inches in diameter depending on the situation.

Causes Why Does Concrete Blistering Happen?

~Poor or inadequate curing – Curing of concrete is required to maintain the moisture con- It begins when either bleed water or bubbles of entrapped air move through the concrete
tent when concrete starts to set and gain strength. When the evaporation rate from the and are unable to escape the surface.
concrete surface is higher than the moisture gain from curing, the crazing cracks occurs in Usually, the surface was sealed too early during finishing, resulting in the hidden voids of
concrete. This occurs due to direct sunlight, low humidity, or drying winds. air and bleed water underneath the mortar skin.
~Intermittent wet curing and drying – intermittent curing allows the concrete surface to dry While it’s possible for the blisters to develop soon after finishing, they can be difficult to
for sometime and this leads to concrete crazing. identify in dim and/or poorly lit areas. In this case, the blisters are only detected when
~Excessive floating is the accumulation of cement paste on the top of concrete while the they break open after the concrete has cured, frequently under the weight of traffic.
coarse aggregate settles down. This causes the moisture accumulation at top which when
dries up causes crazing. Causes :
~Excessive laitance on surface. •Excessive or Insufficient Vibration
~Finishing with float when bleed water is on the surface. •Use of an Improper Floating Tool
~Sprinkling cement on the surface to dry up the bleed water. This will create a weak sur- •Excessive Evaporation of Bleed Water
face on the concrete due to concentration of fines on surface. •Entrained Air
~Over vibration loading extra bleed & laitance on surface. •Cooler Subgrade Than Concrete
•Thick Concrete Slab
•Cohesive or Sticky Concrete
Remedies •Prematurely Applying Dry Shake
1. Proper and early start of curing prevents the loss of moisture in concrete and helps in •Placing The Slab On an Impervious Base
(Prashant’s House Meerut)
hydration process of concrete. The maintenance of continuous supply of moisture in con-
PC: Prashant, Sreejith
crete prevent the appearance of crazing on concrete surface. Remedies :
~Don’t seal the surface before air and/or bleed water have escaped from the concrete be-
2. Use workability enhancing air-entrained concrete with a moderate slump. Air-entrain- low.
ment reduces rate of bleeding in fresh concrete and reduces the likelihood of crazing. ~Don’t use dry shakes on air-entrained concrete.
~In cooler weather, using accelerated or heated concrete promotes even setting through-
out the slab depth.
~If vapour retarders are required, refer to CIP 28 to avoid premature finishing. Otherwise,
never place a slab directly on a vapour retarder.
~Take steps to protect the concrete from premature drying and/or evaporation.
~For slumps more than five inches, don’t use excessive vibration, such as a vibratory
screed.
~Don’t steel trowel air-entrained concrete. If use is necessary based on project specifica-
tions, use extreme caution when timing the finishing.

(Prashant’s House Meerut)

PC: Prashant, Sreejith
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WA T E R S E E P A G E ST R U C T U R A L C R AC K S

Water seepage can be caused by numerous reasons. However, all kinds of seepage may 1.Cracks that penetrate the surface rendering into the structural concrete or load-bearing
spoil environmental hygiene, and even cause damage and rust to the reinforcing steel in- brick wall.
side concrete. 2.Cracks that appear on structural elements of buildings such as beams.
3.Long cracks that run across the wall.
Causes 4.Rusty stains that appear on the cracks.
Improper sealing of the pipes with concrete that causes water flowing out to the walls 5.Diagonal cracks that appear on the corners of window frames or door frames.
(2) Weakened joints between installations like sinks, windows, doors and bathtubs which
causes water seepage through the joints
Remedies
(3) External wall cracks which allows rainwater to seep through internally
(4) Air conditioning condensation, piping system failure
1.Employ large coarse aggregate.
(5) Roof leaks due to cracks in the roof system or waterproofing system
2.Provide compression reinforcement if possible.
(6) Basement leaks that runs through the walls or up from the floor
3.Avoid formwork removal at early ages.
4.Cure concrete properly.

Remedies
reak out unsound concrete and expose reinforcing steel until sound concrete and clean
(Prashant’s House Meerut)
non-corroded steel reinforcing are found.
PC: Prashant, Sreejith
Saw cut repair zone perimeter to eliminate feather edges.
N O N - ST R U C T U R A L C R AC K S
The concrete around the reinforcing steel is chiselled away. Prepare substrates including
removing any corrosion. Reinstate steel and/or add more as deemed necessary.
Also known as cosmetic cracks, these don’t pose a threat to the structural integrity of your
After completion of material removal, concrete primers and rust inhibitor to the steel are
home. They can occur over time because of changes in weather conditions, thermal move-
applied prior to reinstating with a high build shrinkage compensated repair mortar. Form-
ment, hydrostatic pressure and exposure to moisture. 
work may be erected to close the cavity prior to installing the repair products.
For further long-term protection, we also recommend a membrane coating system. Install a
heavy-duty modified acrylic membrane in multiple layers as a moisture barrier primer sys-
Causes
1. Faulty or damaged drains.
tem. The primer system will assist in preventing bubbling or blistering, which is highly likely
2.Tree root growth.
if the remedial waterproofing application is not performed, which could otherwise affect
3.Absence of foundations in older buildings
the durability of the system.
4.Ground movement (beneath foundations) caused by clay
shrinkage, land slip, vibration, subsidence, settlement, heave,
sway, and so on.
5.Foundation failure due to the decay of soft clay brick, con-
crete erosion due to chemical contaminants, and so on.
6.Decay of the building fabric, due to woodworm, rust, and so
on.
7.Moisture movement that causes materials to expand or con-
tract, perhaps due to the presence of vegetation or faulty or
damaged drains. (Prashant’s House Meerut)
(Prashant’s House Meerut) 8.Thermal movement that causes materials to expand or con- PC: Prashant, Sreejith
PC: Prashant, Sreejith tract as temperature increases or decreases.
7 8
Remedies Remedies

1.Epoxy injection.
2.Routing and sealing, 1) Proper selection of concrete materials, proper mix design and construction practice to give
3.Stitching. required slump, without excessive bleeding and/or segregation and given required strength and
4.Drilling and plugging, durability.
5.Surface treatments.
2) Never sprinkle or trawel dry cement into the surface of plastic concrete to absorb bleed
water. Remove bleed water by dragging a garden hose across the surface. Excessive bleeding of
D E F E C T I V E E X T E R N A L WA L L F I N I S H E S C R A C K S concrete can be reduce by modifying mix proportions.

1.Peeling Paint
3) Provide proper curing. Insufficient or no curing of the concrete surface often results in a soft
when water enters through the coats of paint it
concrete surface, which will easily dust under traffic.
will detach it from the surface.

4) Good curing is extremely important in hot climate as the conditions often favors rapid loss of
2.Cracking of walls/ Leaning of walls.
moisture from the surface. One method that is often used for slab is to cover the surface with
Bowing and  leaning walls  occur when pressure
wet hessian to reduce temperatures build-up.
is exerted on the walls from the outside. There
might be rapid expansion of the soil and the
concrete that is above the expanding soil will
heave, causing cracking in the walls. C U R L I N G / WA R P I N G
(Prashant’s House Meerut)
PC: Prashant, Sreejith Curling is the distortion (rising up) of a slab’s corners and edgesdue to differences in
DUSTING moisture content or temperature between the top and bottom of a slab. The top dries out
or cools andshrinks more than the wetter or warmer bottom. If the curled sec-tion of a slab
Dusting, also called as chalking is the formation of fine and loose powdered concrete on
is loaded beyond the flexural strength of the con-crete, cracks may develop to relieve the
the hardened concrete by disintegration. This happens due to the presence of excess
stress
amount of water in concrete. It causes bleeding of water from concrete, with this fine
particles like cement or sand will rise to the top and consequent wear causes dust at the Causes
top surface.
• Use of mixtures with little water (low A / C): This may imply low workability of the concrete, or
excessive use of water-reducing additives, which could cause differences of concrete settings
Causes
and surface problems, as well as lack of hydration of layers if there any.
1. Water applied during finishing
• Use of mixtures with coarser aggregates: This may involve segregation, in addition to weakening
2. Exposure to rainfall during finishing
the effectiveness of the armed with fibers.
3. Spreading dry cement over the surface to accelerate finishing
• Use of mixtures with little quantity of cement: It can affect the design resistance, in addition to
4. A low cement content
causing a lack of bonding of superficial rolling layers.
5. Too weak mix
6. Lack of proper curing.
Especially in summer allowing rapid drying of the surface
7. Carbonation of surface
8. Freezing of the surface (Prashant’s House Meerut)
9. Dirty aggregates. PC: Prashant, Sreejith
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Remedies • S C A L I N G A N D S PA L L I N G
1. Using a low-shrinkage concrete
Scaling is the general loss of surface mortar exposed to freezingand thawing. The aggregate is
mix.
usually clearly exposed and oftenstands out from the concrete. . Scaling is primarily a phys-ical
2. Using proper control-joint spacing
action caused by hydraulic pressure from water freezingwithin the concrete and not usually caused
(see Cracking).
by chemical corro-sive action.
3. Creating uniform moisture
content and temperature of the
slabfrom top to bottom. Severity
4. Using large amounts of
reinforcing steel 50 mm (2 in.) down • Light - Loss of surface mortar to a depth of up to 5
from the surface. mm without exposure of coarse aggregate;
5. Using thickened slab edges. • Medium - Loss of surface mortar to a depth of 6 to
10 mm with exposure of some coarse aggregates;
EFFLORESCENCE • Severe - Loss of surface mortar to a depth of 11
mm to 20 mm with aggregate particles standing
Efflorescence can be considered a type of discoloration. It is adeposit, usually white in
out from the concrete and a few completely lost.
color, that occasionally develops on thesurface of concrete, often just after a structure is
• Very Severe - Loss of surface mortar and
completed.Although unattractive, efflorescence is usually harmles
aggregate particles to a depth greater than 20
Causes
mm.
• Soluble salts must be present within or in contact with the brickwork. These salts may
be present in mortar ingredients, backing materials, trim, adjacent soil, brick, etc.
Remedies
• A source of water must be in contact with the salts for a period of time sufficient to 1) Properly slope the concrete to drain water away from theslab; saturated concrete is much
dissolve them. more susceptible to deterio-ration than drier concrete
• A pore structure must be present in the masonry that allows the migration of salt 2) Use proper finishing practices. Concrete that is prematurelyfloated or troweled while added
solutions to the surface or other locations where evaporation of water can occur. water or bleed water is onthe surface tends to scale when subjected to saturated freez-ing.
• A driving force, such as a temperature or humidity gradient, directs moisture through Remixing water into the top of the slab can cause the for-mation of a crust of surface laitance
the pore structure. that will scale.
3) Cure promptly with wet burlap (kept continuously wet), cur-ing paper, or plastic sheet for a
Remedies minimum of 7 days (longerwhen temperatures are around 4°C.

1. Never use unwashed sand. Use sand that meets the

E R O S I O N O F M O R TA R
require-ments of ASTM C 33 or CSA A23.1 for concrete.
Joints Basically, the principle capacity of a
2. Use clean mixing water free from harmful amounts
mortar joint is to try and out abnormalities
of acids,alkalies, organic material, minerals, and salts.
of individual squares, regardless of whether
Drinking wateris usually acceptable. Do not use seawater.
they are of stones or blocks. In the meantime,
3. Low absorption of moisture is the best assurance
it gives some grip between the pieces.
against efflores-cence. Cast-in-place concrete will
Rotted mortar can be expelled persuasively
have maximum watertightnesswhen made with properly
by the utilization of a mechanical plate or
graded aggregates, an adequate cementcontent, a low
deliberately raked out by utilizing a blade or
water-cement ratio, and thorough curing
spike physically.