Construction assignment 2. - Photograph (1) show damage caused to the outside of a building due to a fault in loading.

University Degree Architecture, Building and Planning

Daniel McNelis KK13

Construction assignment 2.

Photograph (1) show damage caused to the outside of a building due to a fault in loading. Looking in more detail the photograph (2) shows extensive cracks on the exterior of a seeming prominent building. Cracks of this kind can appear for a number of reasons. Loading in construction needs to be supported in several ways such as the support of dead weight-the building itself, live or imposed weight and external pressures such as the force of the wind. Movement in the ground must also be guarded against, such as the swelling, shrinking or freezing of subsoil. Externally where this building has its faults, pressures have been put on open spaces in the masonry construction such as windows and doors. It is often assumed that brick won’t be crushed under pressure but as photograph (2) illustrates, given enough pressure brick will crack clean through.

From the photos it appears that where this building has its main defect is the loading of external walls in relation to spaces and gaps within them. The strong looking lintel appears to hold its own, however the increased stress and pressure is not being spread effectively as loading on masonry must remain vertical, whereas here it seems sideways thrust has caused the brickwork to crack.

To rectify this defect it is clear something must be done to more effectively spread loading to the foundations of the building. I believe it is due to a material failure and structural failure ...

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To rectify this defect it is clear something must be done to more effectively spread loading to the foundations of the building. I believe it is due to a material failure and structural failure of the lintel design that has caused the main damage. Therefore to fix the problem I would look to replace and perhaps enlarge the lintel and improve support from such features as the pillars shown, which are probably considered more for decoration than support and loading.

Photograph (1)

Photograph (2)

Dealing with moisture and the very changeable climate of the UK is a demanding requirement of architectural design and construction. In the UK we design buildings to deal with 75mm of precipitation per hour; however this is not always successful. The photographs (3) and (4) illustrate an example where a building's preparations against moisture have somewhat fallen short.

The dark stripes and patches running down from the roof are called pattern staining and result from water running from the roof onto the brick work below and causing it to stain, this can be due to the water darkening the colour of the brick being wet or a deeper penetration where the acidic nature of the rain causes a stain. Here the moisture has not only made contact with the brick work but has indeed penetrated its surface and in time may actually weaken the masonry of the house.

The problem here results from a lack of proper flashings or coping, which is designed to guard the joints on a building where the structure is weakened to moisture attack. For example; the join between the roof and walls. Photo (3) shows this penetration may have been present for some time as the building is also under some kind of fungal attack and ill equip to deal with capillary action or air pressure.

To rectify this problem and relieve the defect a greater defence of flashings and coping is needed to guard the vulnerable points of the building such as joints. The formation of some overhang device on the roof would avoid drips of water falling onto the walls surface vertically. Lamination or protection of the walls from lateral precipitation would also help relieve pressure from moisture attack.

Photograph (3)

Photograph (4)