7.

3 Defects and Restoration Method

7.3.1 Settlement
Being beside the sea and near to the swamp, the soft earth under
the

building

is exposed

to

tremendous

stress,

causing

consolidation. According to the datum line, there was slight

uneven settlement happening to the building. Uneven settlement
of building may cause safety concern that may lead to the premise
no longer safe to be occupied. Movement of the foundations and
footing will cause columns to shift vertically, causing walls to crack
and openings such as doors and windows to malfunction.

Plate 7.42: Datum line to show settlement on the left elevation of Bilik
Beristirehat.

The only way seem to repair this issue is through hydraulic jacking
or piercing. (Freeman, 1995) Steel posts are driven through
unstable soil and hydraulic jacks are used to raise or stabilize
concrete slabs affected by changes in the underlying soil. Once
raised, the beam is held to elevation by a specially designed
spread footing and pier. The footing is set deep enough so that it
will be independent of variations in soil moisture. It is also
designed to adequately distribute the load without creating
unnecessary bulk or mass. The pier is tied into the footing with

Plate 7.43: Hydraulic jacking.

steel and supports the foundation beam.

146

7.3.2 Parasitic Plants Growth

A parasitic oak fern plant can be seen growing wrong side up
through the opening the roof gutters. Fern plant prefers shady and
warm and moist area which explains a lot why the plant is creeping
beneath the roof to avoid direct sunlight as well as to obtain
moisture from the drenched gutter using its hairy rhizome root.
Plate 7.44: Parasitic oak fern plant on gutter.

Another stag-horn ferns or bird's nest fern can be observed

growing healthily out of the overlapping gap of the Bilik Beristirehat
roof. The roof may develop through the gap of the terracotta tiles
and causing water leakage in the building. (Mabberley, 1997)
Lack of proper maintenance is the main reason for its growth and
the plants may cause wood to decompose if not exterminated
immediately. The only way to treat this issue is to avoid and extract
the plants as early as possible through frequent inspection and
maintenance of every corners of the building.

Plate 7.45: Birds nest fern plant on roof.

147

7.3.3

Biological

Deterioration

&

Damage

to

Wooden

Components
Damage done by soft-root fungi on the external door located on
the third garden wall. (Cohen, 1981) The fungus secrete cellulose
to break down the fiber in the wooden door, especially the lower
part as it is situated to the fungi infested garden ground as well as

Plate 7.46: Decayed garden door.

longer exposure to moisture being the lowest point of the vertical

panel.
Other notable wooden components going through decay include
the wooden windows, wooden roof ornamentation, exterior doors
and suspended timber flooring at the first floor.
Although they are all made of hard wood like cengal, but they still

Plate 7.47: Damaged windows with a

missing piece.

risk the attack of fungi if not maintained properly and frequently.

The solutions to this matter include replace all deteriorating
wooden parts with a completely new one and code all wooden
parts with a layer of paint, shellac or varnish to protect it against
abrasion, weather condition and fungi attack. The restoration
process may risk the loss of original details to the building if not
done professionally.

Plate 7.48: Deterioration of wooden

ornamentation.

148

7.3.4 Salt Attack and Rising Damp

The problem of salt attack is closely related to rising damp. The
moisture from the rising damp can either make the salts in the
building material itself soluble or the ground water that contains
salt dissolve into wall of the building.

This moisture then

evaporated on the surface leaving the salt residues behind. High

salt concentrations in masonry walls may cause extensive fretting
and crumbling of the lower parts of walls.

Plate 7.49: Cocoon treatment and Westox

Cocoon.

Restoration progress can be seen on the stripped brick walls

which are getting ready to carry out cocoon treatment and
chemical damp-proof injection course. The cocoon layer which is
a poultice medium designed specifically to remove salts
associated with rising damp from masonry walls is applied for two
to six weeks. Pressure injection chemical damp-proof courses with
salt retarder additive are injected to the lower part of all walls and

Plate 7.50: Pressure injection process done by

contractor.

columns to prevent rising damp. Later, the walls will be plastered.

Plate 7.51: Injection machine and Westox Injection Fluid product.

149

7.3.5 Broken Roof Tiles

The terracotta roof tiles are brittle and fragile which can be seen
from the figure when measuring activity was carried out on the roof.
Without the insulation layer, the broken tiles will expose the interior
to water leakage, weather condition and enter of pest such as
birds or bats. The water leakage and animal dropping will cause
biological deterioration on the first floors wooden flooring.

Plate 7.52: Broken roof tiles near the roof

lantern.

A harder and stronger material of roof tile can replace the old ones
without changing to design so that the authenticity of the building
can be maintained.
7.4.6 Degrading Paint
Paint can be seen cracking and flaking off, exposing the previous
paint color as well as the concrete base, affecting the aesthetic of

Plate 7.53: Piles of new tiles kept in the store

room.

the building. The remove all of the paint by scraping or using a

heat gun, sand the surface until smooth and even, prime, and
repaint with a quality latex paint.

Plate 7.54: Current white paint with seen

through old yellow paint.

150