International Journal of

Advanced Structures and Geotechnical Engineering

ISSN 2319-5347, Vol. 04, No. 01, January 2015

Building cracks – causes and remedies

GRISHMA THAGUNNA
Department of Civil Engineering, Western Region Campus, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Building cracks are most common type of problem in any type of building. So, it is important to
understand the cause and the measures to be taken for prevention. Though cracks in concrete cannot be
prevented entirely but they can be controlled by using adequate material and technique of construction and
considering design criteria. We all dream of a house structurally safe and aesthetically beautiful but it is not so
easy. Due to some faulty steps during construction or some unavoidable reasons different type of cracks starts to
appear on various structural and non- structural parts of the building with the passage of time. It is not necessary
that all type of cracks require serious attention but there are some typical types of crack (active cracks) that are
structurally hazardous. So, timely identification of such cracks and adopting preventive measures is essential.
This research work briefly describes about various direct and indirect observation methods using simple as well
as sophisticated instruments to deal with such problems. It insights the process how cracks leads to ultimate
structural failure. It also explains various causes of crack and their respective remedial measures. From this
research it is found that building cracks has direct and indirect impacts. And also, it is found that building cracks
do not cause structural problem in direct way but it facilitates the activities which ultimately cause the problem.
Hence this research work come up with conclusion that different type of crack call for different repair technique
depending upon cause and intensity of problem that’s why it is essential to find answers of questions like why
they are formed? And how they can be analyzed and prevented?

Keywords: Building cracks, structural failure, concrete, repair technique

Introduction:
The actual tendency in civil engineering is to extend properly preparing the subgrade, assuring that the
the live-cycle of large scale structures. Due to limited concrete is not too wet, utilizing reinforcement where
or even reduced resources for new constructions it is needed, and by properly placing and spacing crack
necessary to use and rely on existing structures, control joints and expansion joints. However,
which in many countries are coming to age. This sometimes cracks happen in spite of any precautions
tendency has two consequences: i) More frequent and taken.
more rigorous monitoring is required and ii)
Concepts and strategies to maintain and to improve The American Concrete Institute addresses this
existing structures have to be developed. One of the issue in ACI 302.1-04. “Even with the best floor
main sources of information in monitoring concrete designs and proper construction, it is unrealistic to
structures is crack, indicating weak zones and acting expect crack-free and curl-free floors.
forces. But up to now there is no system available Consequently, every owner should be advised by
which allows to measure and analyze cracks both the designer and contractor that it is normal to
objective, precise and repeatable (Stratmann et. al. expect some amount of cracking and curling on
2008). every project, and that such occurrence does not
If they are active, they show some movement necessarily reflect adversely on either the adequacy
in direction, width or depth over a measured period of the floor’s design or the quality of its
of time. If the cracks are dormant, they remain construction.”
unchanged. Some dormant cracks are of no danger,
but if left unrepaired, cracks provide channels for The cracks may be classified on the basis of their
moisture penetration, which can lead to future activeness, time of occurrence, their width and the
damage. There are two types of crack depending on components of building on which they are developed.
the time of occurrence i.e. plastic concrete crack and On the basis of activeness cracks are of two type;
hardened concrete crack. active crack and dormant crack.
Cracking caused in plastic concrete (plastic concrete
Cracks in concrete are extremely common but often crack) occurs most commonly on the exposed
misunderstood. When an owner sees a crack in his surfaces of freshly placed floors and slabs or other
slab or wall, especially if the concrete is relatively elements with large surface areas when they are
new, he automatically assumes there’s something subjected to a very rapid loss of moisture caused by
wrong. This is not always the case. Some types of low humidity and wind or high temperature or both.
cracks are inevitable. The best that a contractor can Drying shrinkage cracking (hardened concrete crack)
do is to try to control the cracking. This is done by is commonly associated with the loss of moisture

IJASGE 040105 Copyright © 2015 BASHA RESEARCH CENTRE. All rights reserved
 GRISHMA THAGUNNA

from the cement paste constituent producing a Thermal variations in the internal walls and
corresponding decrease in volume, coupled with intermediate floors are not much and thus do not
restraint by the subgrade or adjacent structural cause cracking. It is mainly the external walls
members. especially thin walls exposed to direct solar radiation
According to IS: 456 2000, the surface width of crack and the roof which are subject to substantial thermal
should not exceed 0.3mm in members where variation that are liable to cracking.
cracking is not harmful and does not have any serious
adverse effects upon the preservation of reinforcing 3. Corrosion of Reinforcement
steel, nor upon the durability of the structures .In the A properly designed and constructed concrete is
members where cracking in tensile zone is harmful initially water-tight and the reinforcement steel
either because they are exposed to moisture or in within it is well protected by a physical barrier of
contact of soil or ground water, an upper limit of concrete cover which has low permeability and high
0.2mm is suggested for maximum width of crack. For density. Concrete also gives steel within it a chemical
particularly aggressive environment such as the protection. Steel will not corrode as long as concrete
‘severe’ category, the assessed surface width of crack around it is impervious and does not allow moisture
should not in generally exceed 0.1mm. or chlorides to penetrate within the cover area. Steel
corrosion will also not occur as long as concrete
Cracking in reinforced concrete structures of various surrounding it is alkaline in nature having a high pH
types can be divided into two main groups: value.
Concrete normally provides excellent protection to
1. Non-structural cracks: reinforcing steel. Notwithstanding this, there are
These type of crack occur mostly due to internally large number of cases in which corrosion of
induced stresses in building material and normally do reinforcement has caused damage to concrete
not endanger safety but may look unsightly, create structures within a few years from the time of
impression of faulty work or give feeling of construction resulting in loss of mass, stiffness and
instability. Crack on wall, parapet wall, driveway are bond in concrete and therefore concrete repair
called non-structural cracks. becomes inevitable as considerable loss of strength
takes place.
2. Structural cracks:
Structural cracks results from incorrect design, faulty 4. Moisture Movement:
construction or overloading and may endanger the The common cause of cracking in concrete is
safety of a building. The cracks in beam, column, shrinkage due to drying. This type of shrinkage is
slab and footing are considered as structural cracks. caused by the loss of moisture from the cement paste
constituent, which can shrink by as much as 1% per
Causes: unit length. These moisture-induced volume changes
1. Permeability of concrete. are a characteristic of concrete. If the shrinkage of
As deterioration process in concrete begins with concrete could take place without any restraint, the
penetration of various aggressive agents, low concrete would not crack. It is the combination of
permeability is the key to its durability. Concrete shrinkage and restraint, which is usually provided by
permeability is controlled by factors like water- another part of the structure or by the subgrade that
cement ratio, degree of hydration/curing, air voids causes tensile stresses to develop. When the tensile
due to deficient compaction, micro-cracks due to stresses of concrete are exceeded, it will crack.
loading and cyclic exposure to thermal variations. Cracks may propagate at much lower stresses than
The permeability of the concrete is a direct function are required to cause crack initiation.
of the porosity and interconnection of pores of the Most of the building materials with pores in their
cement paste. structure in the form of intermolecular space expand
on absorbing moisture and shrink on drying. These
2. Thermal movement: movements are cyclic in nature and are caused by
Thermal movement is one of the most potent causes increase or decrease in inter pore pressure with
of cracking in buildings. All materials more or less moisture changes. Initial shrinkage occurs in all
expand on heating and contract on cooling. The building materials that are cement/lime based such as
thermal movement in a component depends on a concrete, mortar, masonry and plasters. Generally
number of factors such as temperature variations, heavy aggregate concrete shows less shrinkage than
dimensions, coefficient of thermal expansion and light weight aggregate concrete.
some other physical properties of materials. The
coefficient of thermal expansion of brickwork in the 5. Creep
vertical direction is fifty percent greater than that in Concrete when subjected to sustained loading
the horizontal direction, because there is no restraint exhibits a gradual and slow time dependent
to movement in the vertical direction. deformation known as creep. Creep increases with
increase in water and cement content, water cement

International Journal of Advanced Structures and Geotechnical Engineering

ISSN 2319-5347, Vol. 04, No. 01, January 2015, pp 16-20
 Building cracks – causes and remedies

ratio and temperature. It decreases with increase in result in poor quality construction. In addition,
humidity of surrounding atmosphere and age of inadequate skills and poor experience of the
material at the time of loading. Use of admixtures contractor, ultimately causes deterioration of the
and pozzolona in concrete increases creep, amount of building.
creep in steel increases with rise in temperature.
8. Poor Maintenance
6. Poor Construction practices. A structure needs to be maintained after a lapse of
The construction industry has in general fallen prey certain period from its construction completion.
to non-technical persons most of whom have little or Some structures may need a very early look into their
no knowledge of correct construction practices. There deterioration problems, while others can sustain
is a general lack of good construction practices either themselves very well for many years depending on
due to ignorance, carelessness, greed or negligence. the quality of design and construction. But early
Or worse still, a combination of all of these. For a identification of probable problems and correcting
healthy building it is absolutely necessary for the them within time is wise idea rather.
construction agency and the owner to ensure good
quality materials selection and good construction 9. Movement due to Chemical reactions.
practices. All the way to building completion every The concrete may crack as a result of expansive
step must be properly supervised and controlled reactions between aggregate containing active silica
without cutting corners. and alkali derived from cement hydration. The alkali
Some of the main causes for poor construction silica reaction results in the formation of swelling
practices and inadequate quality of buildings are gel, which tends to draw water from other portions of
given below: concrete. This causes local expansion results in
 Improper selection of materials. cracks in the structure.
 Selection of poor quality cheap materials.
 Inadequate and improper proportioning of 10. Indiscriminate addition and alterations.
mix constituents of concrete, mortar etc. There have been some building collapses in our
 Inadequate control on various steps of country due to indiscriminate additions and
concrete production such as batching, alterations done by interior decorators at the instance
mixing, transporting, placing, finishing and of their clients. Generally, the first target of
curing modifications is the balcony. Due to the requirement
 Inadequate quality control and supervision to occupy more floor area, balconies are generally
causing large voids (honey combs) and enclosed and modified for different usages. Balconies
cracks resulting in leakages and ultimately and canopies are generally cantilever RCC slabs. Due
causing faster deterioration of concrete. to additional loading they deflect and develop cracks.
 Improper construction joints between As the steel reinforcement in these slabs have less
subsequent concrete pours or between concrete cover and the balcony and canopy slab is
concrete framework and masonry. exposed to more aggressive external environment,
 Addition of excess water in concrete and corrosion of steel reinforcement takes place and
repairs become necessary.
mortar mixes.
 Poor quality of plumbing and sanitation
materials and practices.
11. Foundation settlement
The place where concrete commonly subsides is near
7. Poor structural design and specifications
a house. Whether the home is built on a basement or
Very often, the building loses its durability on the
crawlspace, the over-dig is subsequently backfilled.
blue print itself or at the time of preparation of
Unless the backfill material is compacted in lifts as
specifications for concrete materials, concrete and
the over-dig is filled, it will settle over time. This
various other related parameters.
settling will cause any concrete poured atop it to
It is of crucial that the designer and specifier must
settle along with it. The other reasons for foundation
first consider the environmental conditions existing
to settle are change in moisture content of soil below
around the building site. It is also equally important
or around the foundation, overload of super structure
to do geotechnical (soil) investigations to determine
and decay of organic matters present in subsoil.
the type of foundations, the type of concrete
Uniform settlement up to some tolerance does not
materials to be used in concrete and the grade of
cause the problem but differential settlement is
concrete depending on chemicals present in ground
something that results in severe crack problem.
water and subsoil.
It is critical for the structural designer and architect to
Remedies
know whether the agency proposed to carry out the
The remedial measures to deal with crack are of two
construction has the requisite skills and experience to
types; one is to prevent crack and another to cure
execute their designs. Often complicated designs
crack. As per the saying “Prevention is better than
with dense reinforcement steel in slender sections

International Journal of Advanced Structures and Geotechnical Engineering

ISSN 2319-5347, Vol. 04, No. 01, January 2015, pp 16-20
 GRISHMA THAGUNNA

cure” we should always try to avoid such problem by The important points to be considered in this
using adequate construction material and technique, step are-
proper design, and efficient supervision. -structural or non-structural crack
The things to be taken care of to avoid crack can be -crack details i.e. orientation, location,
listed as: length, width, depth, shape, frequency, age
 Check for predicted extreme temperature -crack location within a member
variance during the first 24 hours of -environmental exposure condition
expected placement -type of member
 Review the mix design to ensure the mix is -appearance
using the lowest water content for
workability/performance purposes.  Form hypothesis i.e., possible cause
Excessive water in the mix may contribute Depending on observations made the basic
to the possibility of shrinkage. idea of possible causes are made with the
 Review the mix design to ensure the help of expert’s opinion.
maximum size of course aggregate is used.  Test the hypothesis by performing tests,
This will help to minimize the water used in making calculations, making more extensive
the mix. observation
 Review the mix design to ensure the The surface cracks are detected by dye
contractor is familiar with finishing penetration method, using optical
technique for the cementitious material in comparator or by visual inspection and some
the mix. Cementitious materials may simple measurement.
increase or decrease the rate of bleed water The sub surface cracks that do not show on
migration to the surface. This, in turn, may the surface are detected by ultrasonic wave
shorten or lengthen the window of time for method, magnetic particle method, electric
ease of finish ability potential method and using Digital Rissmess
 During the pre-placement meeting; review System (DRS)
the plan for subgrade preparation. The  Analyze the results and iterate if necessary
subgrade should be properly compacted at  Form conclusion
required moisture content. This preparation
will ensure the subgrade will be able to The various techniques to cure crack are as below:
uniformly support the slab as well as not
draw moisture form the slab during Epoxy injection
placement Cracks as narrow as 0.002 in. (0.05 mm) can be
 Have a plan in place for curing the concrete bonded by the injection of epoxy. The technique
for the specified period. This curing plan generally consists of establishing entry and venting
should include steps for both initial curing ports at close intervals along the cracks, sealing the
of the concrete during placement while in a crack on exposed surfaces, and injecting the epoxy
plastic state as well as after concrete has under pressure. Epoxy injection has been
hardened. successfully used in the repair of cracks in buildings,
 There are chemical admixtures that may bridges, dams, and other types of concrete structures
help to reduce the amount of drying (ACI 503R). However, unless the cause of the
shrinkage. cracking has been corrected, it will probably recur
 There are synthetic fibers that may help near the original crack. If the cause of the cracks
control the extent of early drying shrinkage cannot be removed, then two options are available.
crack
 Construction on expansion/contraction joints Routing and sealing
so that temperature effect can be neutralized. Routing and sealing of cracks can be used in
conditions requiring remedial repair and where
If buildings are built without considering above structural repair is not necessary. This method
mentioned measures it is obvious that different types involves enlarging the crack along its exposed face
of crack will start to appear sooner or later. Hence in and filling and sealing it with a suitable joint sealant.
such case the cracks are required to be cured before This is a common technique for crack treatment and
they cause serious problem. It is very important to is relatively simple in comparison to the procedures
read the characteristics of crack and analyze carefully and the training required for epoxy injection. The
by experts in order to come up with most effective procedure is most applicable to approximately flat
and sustainable solution to deal with different horizontal surfaces such as floors and pavements.
concrete crack problem. The scientific method of However, routing and sealing can be accomplished
determining cause of cracking is: on vertical surfaces (with a non-sag sealant) as well
 State problem as on curved surfaces (pipes, piles and pole).
 Make observation:

International Journal of Advanced Structures and Geotechnical Engineering

ISSN 2319-5347, Vol. 04, No. 01, January 2015, pp 16-20
 Building cracks – causes and remedies

Stitching Conclusion:
Stitching involves drilling holes on both sides of the This research work concludes that though it is
crack and grouting in U-shaped metal units with impossible to guarantee against cracking yet attempts
short legs (staples or stitching dogs) that span the can be made to minimize development of crack. And
crack. Stitching may be used when tensile strength also, not all type of crack requires same level of
must be reestablished across major cracks. The attention. The potential causes of crack can be
stitching procedure consists of drilling holes on both controlled if proper consideration is given to
sides of the crack, cleaning the holes, and anchoring construction material and technique to be used. In
the legs of the staples in the holes, with either a non- case of existing cracks, after detail study and analysis
shrink grout or an epoxy resin-based bonding system of crack parameters, most appropriate method of
correction should be adopted for effective and
Drilling and plugging efficient repair of crack.
Drilling and plugging a crack consists of drilling
down the length of the crack and grouting it to form a
key. This technique is only applicable when cracks References:
run in reasonable straight lines and are accessible at
one end. This method is most often used to repair [1] Kashyzadeh, K. R., Kesheh, N. A. (2012) Study
vertical cracks in retaining walls. A hole [typically 2 type of Cracks in construction and its
to 3 in. (50 to 75 mm) in diameter] should be drilled, controlling. www.ijetae.com
centered on and following the crack. [2] Water, V.S. a paper on Why concrete crack.
[3] Er. Rajput R.K. Engineering Materials, New
Gravity Filling Delhi, S.Chand. 2012.
Low viscosity monomers and resins can be used to [4] Mishra, G. The constructor civil engineering
seal cracks with surface widths of 0.001 to 0.08 in. home (web blog post).Retrived 25 July 2014
(0.03 to 2 mm) by gravity filling. High-molecular- from www.theconstructor.org
weight methacrylate, urethanes, and some low [5] Fowler, D. Cause and cures of cracking in
viscosity epoxies have been used successfully. The concrete. Paper presented at Foundation
lower the viscosity, the finer the cracks that can be Performance Association.2008.
filled. The typical procedure is to clean the surface by [6] Friedman, D. A paper on How to identify,
air blasting and/or water blasting. Wet surfaces evaluate and repair shrinkage cracks in poured
should be permitted to dry several days to obtain the concrete.2007
best crack filling. [7] Roberts, C.C. A paper on Evaluating cracks in
buildings.
Overlay and surface treatments [8] IS code: 456-2000
Fine surface cracks in structural slabs and pavements [9] www.concretenetwork.com
may be repaired using either a bonded overlay or [10] www.anythingconcrete.com
surface treatment if there will not be further [11] www.civildigital.com
significant movement across the cracks. Unbounded
overlays may be used to cover, but not necessarily
repair a slab. Overlays and surface treatments can be
appropriate for cracks caused by one-time
occurrences and which do not completely penetrate
the slab.
 Surface treatment
 Overlays

International Journal of Advanced Structures and Geotechnical Engineering

ISSN 2319-5347, Vol. 04, No. 01, January 2015, pp 16-20