Read this article to know the Wall cracks repair methods and know all the facts. You will Also know about the reason of cracks first and then How to Repair. if you want to be ever before the house construction so the cracks problem would not developed on your wall or on your next project, stay with the blog till last.
How wall cracks appears?
Do you have house where you see the cracks on walls and it panicking you?
You definitely see on your House or on the Friends House.
Did you feel how the cracks made you awkward. Definitely you don’t want to see and looking for the remedies of wall cracks.
if you want remedies for the cracks, this blog will helpful for you through the practical approach.
Size of Cracks on Wall
Wall cracks creates the psychology problems in human being. presence of this will always catch eyes and great impact on the living style. Mainly the cracks are divided According to the size of width.
If cracks < 3 mm
it looks bad for the walls, but not harmful and acceptable.
If Cracks > 4 mm
This kind of crakes are dangerous and are not a stable for the house. it is better to repair it at earliest.
1. Diagonal Cracks in walls-Wide at the top and narrow at the bottom
Reason is being
a) Differential settlement of foundation
This happens because of uneven movement Of the house structure due to the loose bearing capacity of the soil.
b) Shrinkage of Clayey soil below the foundation
When you construct your building in the Cohesive soil (Chita mitti), it is important to notice the column digging trench is up to the hard strata of the soil.
cohesive soil absorb Moisture content cause shrinkage in the clay and it leads to settlement of the foundation.
So to avoid the cracks, the footing of the foundation must be strong enough to resist the settlement.
c) Structural Overload
In many parts of the world, building have the heavy beams & slabs and use heavy weight red bricks– this may cause overload and lead to settlement of structure of the buildings and diagonal cracks happens.
d) Wrong ratio of cement-motor taken at the time of construction
These kind of cracks developed due to not taking the cement: sand ratio correctly while the mortar is used for brick work or the plaster work.
e) Shrinkage Cracks
This kind of cracks develops on walls generally due to not proper curing after the completion of structure. make sure to watering the Brick wall for at least 7 Days.
2. Diagonal Cracks in Walls wide at the bottom and narrow at top
Main causes of these kind of cracks are following-
a) Differential settlement in foundation
Due to expansion of clay soil by absorption of moisture and temperature.
If the rain water seeps or if there is Drainage (nala) nearby- Water enter in the foundation below the Lintel and settlement of the foundation occurs.
Precautions
Following wall cracks repair measures can help you avoid this at earliest.
a) Stop moisture Entry
In Clayey soil, the Foundation should be taken as much as deep so to minimize the effect of moisture entry as much as possible.
b) Plinth protection & Drainage Pattern
Provide adequate Plinth protection and Drainage arrangement around the building to minimize the water entry in the foundation. to Prevent such seepage, The Damp Proof course (DPC) of 2.5 Inch is Provide above the beam.
Also, made arrangements to protection up to 2 to 3 feet all around the walls of the exterior. for protecting the walls from seepage, a thick layer of Cement should be laid (Doga) above the plaster wall.
Minimize The Cracks Even Before Construction
For the above 1 and 2 points Following wall cracks repair methods can be opt to minimize the cracks before construction.
A) Choose Uniform characteristics of soil
The land selection should be such that the building construction on the soil strata should be having uniform characteristic.
B) Avoid construction walls on filled up soil
most people start building construction from the upper layer of the lose soil. And also, many people first fill the land with soil and then start the digging work for column. that’s the wrong way to start footing work.
you should prefer digging the column footing up to the hard Strata of soil first and then construct plinth beam and then wall should be constructed. This systematic work prevents cracks in future.
C) Soil up to its OMC
(Optima moisture content)- in the Cohesive soil/clay soil land, ensure that the filled up soil is compacted uniformly at its O.M.C.
D) Avoid overloading
you should prefer the structural designer for structural designing and analysis of your new house before construction. that will help you avoid mistakes in the further work or nothing like cracks will develop.
E) Masonry work
Wall cracks should be avoiding proceeded with missionary work symmetrically and uniformly at all levels. meaning the Mason should follow the same pattern of bond. if they are following English bond, they should work on the English bond brick with the entire wall.
3. Vertical Crack- Cracks Developed in between structure & break work
It is due to improper locking of bricks joint and settlement due to loading.
Remedies-
A) Chicken mesh
Place a chicken mesh in between column face and brick face. Hold with nail and then do plastering work, it helps to prevent cracks.
B) Gape problem
Don’t make a gape in between column part and brick work otherwise due to the vibration, electric work when hit the wall with some kind of hammer, vertical cracks appears.
C) Mortar Thickness
In between column and brickwork – Don’t put much motor not more then 10 mm thick at the time of execution.
4. Window Cracks
These cracks developed due to the settlement and also due to wall load.
Precautions
- Provide RCC lintel at top of Window.
- Provide RCC band of thickness 75 mm or 100 mm below window during construction
- To remove such cracks, grouting is the another method to fill the window cracks.
Note– if window cracks gap is almost 1 inch- you should contact a Consultant And applying Retrofitting.
5. Plaster Crack
A) Cement Mortar Ratio
If cement motor combination is not properly taken then cracks develop in the Plaster.
B) Proper Curing
If plaster is not cured properly up to 7 to 10 days, cracks might be developed.
C) Mixing Unwanted Matters
If some materials like soil/garbage added in the motor, cracks might develop.
6. Important points for wall cracks repair-preventive measures
- Use Doctor fixit X-paste or shrink paste in roof cracks which is less than 3 mm.
- Do the plaster work properly-use best quality river sand that is not too much rough size or too much fine size.
- Keep good ratio of Cement + Sand for plastering and Chenai of wall.
- Provide DPC or RCC band at plinth level, window seal and lintel level.
- Also provide strictly chicken mesh on the joints of column, beams and brick wall before plaster as the preventive measure.
- Use good quality bricks in the house construction.
- External Grouting or Jacketing in case of the cracks size 20 mm to 70 mm.
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