How to Repair Cracks on Masonry Wall

Masonry walls are used in constructing buildings, boundaries and many other structures on site. This constitutes of blocking materials to erect walls. In the course of construction or after cracks may appear on the walls. This have to be corrected in order to have a stable structure. This can be caused by use of different materials with varying strengths. The other reason may be due to differential settlement of the building structure in the foundations.

When repairing cracks on a masonry wall, the type of structure must be taken into consideration. This is because the wall maybe non load bearing or load bearing. For the load bearing ones, its critical to access the level of cracking. The structure is checked from the floor level to the roof ring beam. This will ensure that all stones on the fault line are identified. In non the load bearing, assessment is done and correction is done superficially.

The repair of cracks in masonry walls commences by raking out the mortar or plaster. This is done to a depth of two inches. All vertical and horizontal joints are exposed along the fault line. Hoop Iron is then cut and laid course wise. The strip is placed at the deepest end of the joint. It is placed on top of the crack one block length on both sides. For severe damage, each course is raked out. A steel bar is used of minimum ten millimeters diameter.

When the crack in masonry is being repaired, rich concrete is added to the joint. After the concrete slurry fills the joint, it is allowed to dry for one day. The wall is then plastered again. the plaster mix should not exceed one part cement and two parts sand. This is to balance the material strengths to avoid cracking again on plaster. After the plaster is completed, it is allowed to dry. It should be cured for two weeks before any decorations.

Recommend : Body Moisturizing Pile Load Test Best Buy Laptops

Concrete Foundation Repair - What You Need to Know to Keep Your Structure Strong

There are a number of instances where a concrete foundation repair is necessary in order to maintain the structural integrity of a building.

These could be a partial collapse of the building, as a result of water intrusion or an earthquake, or damages caused by overloading a structural deck or slab, or a failure of the foundation due to an improper installation.

In any instance where it appears the concrete footings need to be repaired, a detailed evaluation of the problem, followed by repair recommendations from a structural engineer, is the first step.

Most likely, the building or structure exhibited some signs, or there were indications that pointed to a problem with the concrete foundation.

Typical signs could be a sagging roof line, cracks in the plaster or stucco, or the building is unstable under certain loads.

In the worst-case scenario, a building might be red-tagged, and the inhabitants would have to vacate until the building inspector released the building as safe.

Once the structural engineer has generated a set of repair plans, a licensed concrete contractor will be employed to perform the repairs.

The contractor will start by excavating in order to expose the damaged sections of the foundation, and depending on the extent of the repairs, shoring may be needed to support one, or more sections of the building while the repairs are accomplished.

With the shoring in place, the damaged foundations can be removed using a jack hammer, or heavy equipment if necessary.

A typical concrete foundation repair will include embed rebar dowels, that are installed into the adjacent, undamaged concrete using a commercial, two-part epoxy.

Depending on the type of concrete foundation that's in place, it may be necessary to cut the adjacent concrete slab in order to remove the damaged section of foundation.

A smooth saw cut will allow for embed dowels to be installed per the engineer's specifications.

In addition, the repair will require embed dowels at either end of existing foundation.

The next step will be to install forms for the new section of foundation, and install the steel rebar in the footing.

The rebar is either tied or welded to the dowels to form the continuous reinforcing system.

Once the forms and rebar have been inspected, the foundation concrete can be poured in place, and the anchor bolts and structural hold-downs can be located in the fresh concrete.

When the concrete has initially set, the forms can be stripped and the excavation can be hand back-filled.

However, the back-fill cannot be compacted until the concrete has cured to a specified strength.

With many commercial buildings, samples of the concrete are sent to a lab for testing, and the test reports will indicate at what point the concrete foundation will sustain a load.

When the concrete has achieved the specified strength, the back-fill can be compacted, and any walls or other parts of the structure that were removed can be replaced.

My Links : Body Moisturizing Mascara & Eyelash Netbooks Hair Styling Iron