CAUSES OF CRACKS IN STRUCTURES

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. 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 observations that caused the crack in the building. From the reports, it is observed that an Axial load of 269.10KN caused the crack of the building, as result from soil report indicated that the safe bearing capacity the footing for Sample A can carry safely is 209.30KN while that Sample B can carry safely is 130KN. This implies that the imposed load on the foundation is greater than the resisting force which caused the crack on the structure.