Building Patholgy Flashcards
What typical building defect are you expect to see on a Victorian residential property?
I would expect to see rising damp timber decay wet rot dry rot asbestos roof issues structural movements
How would you identify rising damp in a property?
I would look for low-level tide marks
possibly musty smell
How would you identify condensation in a property?
I would look for visual signs, water droplets, and damp patches, peeling wallpaper and mould
If a property was suffering from dry rot, what might you expect to see?
I would expect to see cuboidal cracking, brown crumbly wood across the green, musty smell, the spreading of Spurs hi-fi
What is nail fatigue?
Nail fatigue occurs when there is corrosion of nails typically on all the properties and can cause slip toes
What are the problems associated with high alumina cement?
It was used after World War II for building quickly, a chemical reaction also known as conversion occurs and a gel is created which causes corrosion and cracking.
What is the cause of concrete carbonation?
CO2 in the atmosphere reacting with the calcium hydroxide in the cement
What testing can be done to test for concrete carbonation?
Laboratory test can be done and on site diet testing also known as fennel phenolphthalein
Explain how you test a masonry wall for the possible presence of damp and differentiate the differences between the types of damp to be present
I would look for rising damp, penetrative damp and damp from leaks
Moisture reading testing can be done
Salt testing can be done as well
PH test can be done for rising damp
Rising damp has high scopic salts and a consistent dab line
Penetrative damp has localised patching
When investigating structural cracking to brickwork caused by Jason trees what recognise standard would you refer to?
Bre digest 298
Give me some examples of high water content trees
Ash, oak, Poplar
What do you understand by the phrase tree root moisture extraction?
This is the process where the tree absorbs water from the soil through their system. This can reduce moisturing the soil and cause clays shrinkage.
Give me some examples of the likely causes of penetrating damp
Slipped tiles, blocked gullies, missing mortar, broken hoppers, defective chimney stacks, window and doorframe defects
What is the recommended moisture content range for bricks?
5 to 12%
In building pathology, you say there was rising damp in the bedrooms were these on the ground floor
So this was a terminology error. The bedrooms were on the second floor and the rising damp was actually damp rising with capillary reaction and it wasn’t the actual rising damp itself.
At whiskey shopping centre explain how the issue identified was the result of expansion
Caused cracking due to movement within the movement joint
What significance did the debonding at West Quay shopping centre of the expansion joints have?
There was movement in between the joints which caused debonding to the expansion joints
Whiskey shopping centre, why was the strengthening of existing concrete considered?
Ross scanning was carried out and existing O&M demonstrated the lack of reinforcement bar
I whiskey shopping centre why would the expansion joints need a new fire resistant product?
This was because the previous joint had deep ended and the expansion gap goes into a tenants demise so adequate fire protection is needed
In Hillingdon with the parapet wall, what was the significance of the storm in This defects?
The high winds of the storm contributed to the collapse however this was a long-term defect on further investigation
How did you arrive at the diagnosis for wall ties?
If there was evidence of existing failure of the wall ties and they were corroded, this was proved by carrying out borescope investigations
Remedial works of the parapet wall collapse
I advised my client to immediately check the rest of the parapet wall and in the long-term install aluminium powdered copings and removing of the existing parapets due to the building being demolished in three years time
What document or guidance could you use for wall tie failure?
Bre digest 401
