Suryakanta 
DAMPNESS PREVENTION METHODS: The following are the precautions to be taken to prevent dampness in buildings, before applying the various techniques. The site should be located on high ground and well-drained soil to safe guard against foundation dampness All the exposed walls should be of sufficient thickness to safeguard against rain protection (minimum 30 cm) … Read more
PLASTERING The following topics are covered in this post. What is plastering? What are the requirements of good plaster? Different types of mortars for plastering Number of coats of plastering How to preparation of background before plastering? What are the recommended mortars mixes for different situation? What are the defects in plastering? What is plastering? … Read more
TYPES OF DEFECTS IN PLASTER This post describes 7 different categories of defects most frequently noticed in plaster (as mentioned below) Non-structural cracks Structural cracks Debonding Lack of hardness Grinning Expansion Popping The causes and repair methods for each are discussed below. 1. Non-structural cracks Crazing is a network of fine cracks, usually in a … Read more
AIR ENTRAINED CONCRETE A major advance in concrete technology in recent years is the introduction of tiny disconnected air bubbles into concrete called air entrainment. Air entrained concrete results from using either an air-entraining cement or an air-entraining admixture during mixing. Adding entrained air to concrete provides important benefits in both plastic and hardened concrete, … Read more
Requirements of Good Stairs A good stair should provide an easy, quick and safe mode of communication between the various floors of the building. General requirements of good stairs are as mentioned below. 1. Location It should preferably be located centrally, ensuring sufficient light and ventilation. 2. Width of Stair The width of stairs for … Read more
Shrinkage Of Concrete When concrete structures are not permanently water-saturated, it starts to lose moisture and starts to shrink from the time when the process of curing ceases. The 7 primary structural effects of shrinkage are as follow. 1. Joints Shrinkage of concrete between movement joints causes joints to open or makes it wider. Therefore … Read more
FLEXURAL STRENGTH TEST OF CONCRETE Objective To determine the Flexural Strength of Concrete, which comes into play when a road slab with inadequate sub-grade support is subjected to wheel loads and / or there are volume changes due to temperature / shrinking. Reference Standards IS: 516-1959 – Methods of tests for strength of concrete Equipment & … Read more
DEFECTS IN BRICKWORK EFFECTS OF WORKMANSHIP ON MASONRY STRENGTH Masonry has a very long tradition of building by craftsmen, without engineering supervision of the kind applied to reinforced concrete construction. Consequently, it is frequently regarded with some suspicion as a structural material and carries very much higher safety factors than concrete. There is, of course, … Read more
Quality Control in Concrete Construction Quality of concrete construction on site can be accomplished in three distinct stages as follow Quality control before concreting Quality control during concreting Quality control after construction Stage-1 (Quality Control Before Concreting) This stage of quality control consists of two steps. Checking of specification requirements regarding excavation, forms, reinforcement and … Read more
Engineering Properties of Aggregates Aggregates are used in concrete to provide economy in the cost of concrete. Aggregates act as filler only. These do not react with cement and water. But there are properties or characteristics of aggregate which influence the properties of resulting concrete mix. These are as follow. Composition Size & Shape Surface … Read more