AD15PM

Property Management

Building Defects
Lesson 8
 Learning Outcomes

• Recognise the main symptoms of common defects in

buildings.
• Distinguish between minor and serious building defects.
• Identify the proper diagnosis and prognosis of typical
building failures.
• Prescribe the appropriate methods of repair for common
building defects.

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 Introduction
To introduce a wide range of common defects which affect
the following elements:
•Walls
•Flat roofs
•Floors
•Finishes
•Components
•Materials

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Walls
 Common Building Defects
STRUCTURAL RELATED
Cracking
• Assessing cracking:
• Does the crack follow joints or does it pass
through the masonry unit?
• How wide is the crack?
• Does it appear new or old?
• Is the crack of consistent width or does it
widen?
• Are the cracks vertical or horizontal?
• To be monitored over a period of time
whether this movement varies with
change in temperature, moisture content
or variation in loading.

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 Common Building Defects
STRUCTURAL RELATED
Bowing / Leaning

• bowing, leaning or bulging

walls
• serious building defects
• caused by :-
 Failure of a structural tie or
restraint.
 Overloading.
 Vibration from traffic or
enclosed machinery.
 Chemical (sulphate) attack
within masonry joints.
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 Common Building Defects
STRUCTURAL RELATED
Bowing / Leaning
• Surveyor need to consider the specific
causes:
 The thickness: height ratio of the
wall
 Method of structural tying or
restraint.
 The extent that the wall is bulging or
out of plumb.
 The extent, size and location of
cracking.
 The number, size and position of
openings in the wall.

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 Common Building Defects
STRUCTURAL RELATED
Wall Tie Failure
• galvanised wall ties produced
prior to 1981 may have
insufficient protection when
used with mortars where
calcium chloride additives or
where black ash mortars have
been used.
• Poorly protected wall ties can
rust when exposed to moist
• aggressive environment
resulting in separate
independent movement of a 2
leafs cavity wall.
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 Common Building Defects
STRUCTURAL RELATED
Wall Tie Failure
• Typical wall tie failure :-
• Horizontal cracking approx. 5-12mm
wide
• Rust formation and staining on the
external face at tie locations – rusting
expands the affected mortar joints.
• Bulging of the outer leaf.

Confirmation of wall tie failure done by

intrusive inspection of the cavity
either by brick removal or use of a
fibre optic probe.

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 Common Building Defects
STRUCTURAL RELATED
Joint Failure
• arise due to chemical
reactions; overloading or
structural movement.
• The effectiveness of a wall
depends upon these mortar
joints
• Defect or failure has serious
implications for structural
integrity of the wall.

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 Common Building Defects
Chemical / Moisture RELATED
Staining / Soiling
• Arises from :-
 Chemical (sulphate) attack.
 Rising or penetrating moisture.
 Defective or contamination masonry units or mortar
materials.
 External contamination (atmospheric soot or dirt).
 Internal contamination (from internal processes).
 Condensation.
 Moulds, algae or fungus.

• affect a buildings’ aesthetics

• an indicator of a more serious, underlying defect
• care will be needed to identify the causes.

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 Common Building Defects
Moisture RELATED
Dampness & Thermal Bridging
 moisture can affect a wall either as
penetrating rain or as condensation at
thermal bridges.
 Defective cavity walls can cause
condensation at thermal bridges.
 Penetrating moisture and
condensation occurs as damp
patches on the external wall
 Remedial works often requires
extensive and intrusive re-
construction of large areas of the
external wall.

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 Common Building Defects

Moisture Related
Spalling / Crumbing

• arises due to wetting and

subsequent frost attack
• or due to chemical reaction
(moisture driven) within the brick
resulting in expansion and
spalling.

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 Common Building Defects
Moisture Related
Spalling / Crumbing
• Remedial actions require
• the removal and replacement of
the defective bricks or
• the application of a render or
• a rain-screen cladding to protect
the brickwork and mask the
physical damage.

• It will be a serious structural

issue when a large proportion
of the brickwork has eroded
most of the way through its
thickness.

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Flat Roofs
 Common Building Defects
Flat roofs
Flat roof waterproofing
 built-up bituminous membranes
 mastic asphalt
 metals (lead, copper, aluminium,
coated steel)
 liquid applied coating.

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 Common Building Defects
Flat roofs
Rainwater penetration
•failure of
• Diagnosis - close inspection of the
 waterproof covering roof detailing / check if its
 the detailing at upstands condensation.
 flashing
•Due
• Remedy
 repair damaged waterproofing
 low slope  resealing of defective joints and
 standing water penetrate open upstands detailing
joints in the waterproofing or at  reinstatement of water bars or
lapped or standing seam joints sealant at lapped joints.
by capillary action.

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 Common Building Defects

Flat roofs
Ponding
• ineffective falls on flat or low pitch roofs.
• if the waterproof covering is intact, there is no risks for water penetration.

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 Common Building Defects
Flat roofs
Blistering/cracking of felts
• entrapped moisture (or air) below the outer waterproofing layers.
• due to :
• Water penetration or condensation.
• ageing felt i.e. elastic properties of the felt have deteriorated /unable to
accommodate temperature induced movement.

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 Common Building Defects
Flat roofs
Blistering/cracking of felts
• Remedy blisters can be split, drained and resealed, however the
source of moisture will need to be eliminated. Cracking felt is
approaching the end of its service life and should be replaced or
overlaid.

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 Common Building Defects
Flat roofs
Degradation of surface finish
• solar/UV degradation
Abrasion due to
• wind action on mineral or gravel
finish
• traffic (maintenance or service
personnel walking and dragging
equipment across a flat roof can
degrade the waterproof covering)
• Solvents, surfactants or oil based
contaminants used in maintaining
roof equipments can have a
abrasive effect.

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 Common Building Defects
Flat roofs

Remedy
• localised repairs, improved surface protection (granite chippings),
the application of a liquid applied coating or the provision of
designated walk-ways.

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 Common Building Defects
Flat roofs
Chocked rainwater outlets
• routine maintenance problem.
• can result in gutters backing up and flooding into the building.
• leading to overloading of the roof structure (for large choking).

Remedy is regular gutter and outlet cleaning, introduction of over-flow

pipes for discharge to ground especially for close proximity of trees .

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 Common Building Defects

Flat roofs
Interstitial condensation
• Arises from flat roof coverings
being an effective vapour barrier to
moist air
• high risk of condensation forming
either on the underside of the roof
covering or within the fabric of the
roof build-up.
• IMPACT - reduces the thermal
performance of the roof and can
reduce the service life of the roof
components.

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 Common Building Defects

Flat roofs
Interstitial condensation

Remedy
• complete refurbishment of the defective roof construction.
• Or ensure that there is an effective vapour barrier on the warm side of the
construction should reduce the risk of such defect.

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Floors
 Common Building Defects
Floors
Cracking
• occurs in solid ground bearing floors as
result of thermal, moisture or ground
induced movement
• may be related to sagging, arching or
uneven surfaces.
Sagging
• occurs in solid ground bearing floors
where the underlying ground compacts
or is eroded by ground water resulting
in reduced support to the overlying Remedy treatment requires extensive
floor. refurbishment of the structural aspects of
• suspended timber floor - sagging can the floor.
occur due to overloading of the floor or
when the span of the joists exceeds the
recommended effective load bearing
span for the timber section

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 Common Building Defects
Floors
Arching/bowing
• in solid ground bearing
floors - following water or
chemical induced expansion
of the underlying ground.
• happens in old buildings
which have been
constructed using green
timbers which have dried or
seasoned in a ‘hog’ shape.

Remedy - removing the ground

bearing floors.

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 Common Building Defects
Floors
Uneven/sloping surface
• occurs in both solid ground
bearing and suspended floors
• differential settlement or
subsidence over the building
area resulting in modified floor
levels.

Remedy requires extensive

reconstruction and ground
stabilisation.

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 Common Building Defects
Floors
Cracking of coverings/screeds
• due to drying out of the
screed causing detachment,
curling and cracking.

Surface Erosion
• due to trafficking of the floor
abrading the applied finish.

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 Common Building Defects
Floors
Dampness/sweating
• moisture entrapped within the
sub-floor or screed tends to dry
towards the warmer internal
environment and can result in
moisture forming behind
impervious floor coverings.

Remedy is by introducing a vapour

impermeable membrane or
DPC to reduce the risk of
moisture migration.

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Finishes
 Common Building Defects
Finishes
• Bossing- wet applied renders or plasters and adhesive fixed tiles can become
boss where there are areas of detachment or void adhesion. Boss area produce
a hollow sound.
• Spalling- areas of detachment of clay, gypsum or cement based materials as the
result of wetting and frost action causing in partial delamination. Spalled
materials will be obvious by localised areas of detachment, typically crudely
circular in shape.

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 Common Building Defects
Finishes
• Staining- can arise due to a raft of reasons and results in discolouration of the
surface finish.
• Lifting- delamination or detachment due to moisture or rapid drying action.

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 Common Building Defects
Finishes
• Peeling-curling of surface finish due to shrinkage (typically ageing) and
delamination from substance.
• Crazing/cracking- surface effect resulting from drying shrinkage movement. Can
also be the result of chemical reaction.
• Blistering- localised surface detachment or distortion as the result of permeating
moisture becoming trapped behind impervious finish. Blistering often terminates
in splitting, curling and peeling.

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 Common Building Defects
Finishes
• Mould growth- bacterial staining on finishes as the result of moist conditions. A
food source, e.g. wall paper paste, adhesive.
• Pattern staining- differential surface staining resulting from dirt deposition as a
result of variation in moisture content or temperature across a surface.
Occurrence on masonry walls where the mortar joints are highlighted.

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Components
 Common Building Defects

Components
• Decay- deterioration or rot resulting from the action of
bacteria or fungi. Affects organic materials, e.g. timber
and stone, and usually arises due to increased
moisture content.

• Corrosion- the breakdown of, typically, metal

components, by chemical action with the presence of
oxygen and water, however salts or acidic compounds
in solution can accelerate the process. Rusting, pitting
and cracking can occur.

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 Common Building Defects

Components
• Inadequate fit- this can result from poor initial
workmanship or can arise during the service life of a
component due to expansion or contraction of the
component or the surrounding structure.

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 Common Building Defects

Components
• Lack of weathering- this can arise due to lack of applied
protection, e.g. painting or staining; ineffective water
proofing, e.g. drips, water bars or seals; can arise due
to poor architectural protection e.g. ineffective
overhangs at eaves or narrow cavities.

• Insufficient fire resistance- building regulations require

some building elements and components to attain a
recommended fire resistance. This will require
specialist advise or detailed specification information.
Fire escape routes should meet the fire rating
requirements.

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 Common Building Defects

Components
• Inadequate security - poorly fitting doors and windows;
ineffective ironmongery and poor workmanship can
lead to deficient security. Unoccupied buildings under
refurbishment should also be free form theft and
losses.

• Inadequate safety- the components utilised within a

building need to be fit for purpose and safe to use. The
building user should not be at risk from unsafe products
or systems.

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 Common Building Defects

Components
• Squeaking stairs/floors - timber components , e.g.
joists, bearers, floor boards, dry and shrink resulting in
small gaps and clearance between the individual
components. The squeaking occurs as the components
rub against each other and the nail fixings. Remedy is
by packing below the joists to reduce gaps and by re-
fixing the floor boards to accommodate the re-sized
components.

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Materials
 Common Building Defects

Issues with materials

• Incompatibility- arises when materials react
aggressively with each other leading to deterioration or
rotting.

• Deleterious materials-
• Definition: materials or components which can
cause harm or damage to health or may cause
deteriorate affecting performance.
• Problems: many traditional building materials have
subsequently been identified as being hazardous to
health.

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 Common Building Defects

Issues with materials

• Deleterious materials-
• Assessment- any works to building requires to have
a detailed risk assessment of the perceived risks
and a method statement which identifies a safe
procedure for undertaking these works.
• Main types- asbestos; glass fibre insulation; high
alumina cement; urea formaldehyde foam; lead;
galvanised steel.

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 Common Building Defects
Issues with materials - Incompatibility
• Incompatibility of materials
Types •Chemical reaction.
•Bi-metallic reaction.
•Moisture sensitivity.
•Different modulus properties.
•Plasticiser migration.

Causal factors •Increased moisture content.

•Close proximity.
•Dissimilar metals.
•Increased movement due to moisture (drying) or temperature.

Typical examples •Efflorescence arising from sulphates in brickwork staining

adjoining components,
•Corrosion or pitting of aluminium sheeting fixed using stainless
steel anchors.
•Peeling or folding of liquid applied coating on elastic substrate.
•Embrittlement of uPVC cabling close to plastics insulation.

Avoidance measures •Keep dry and ventilated.

•Utilise separation membranes.
•Use compatible materials.

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 Conclusion

1. To identify the main defects; discusses their possible

causes and proposes remedial actions.

2. In practice defects and issues identified on site will

not be as quite as easy as the text book. There may
be a number of causes and it is only with experience
that a surveyor can prioritise and diagnose
effectively.

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