Department of Technical Education

Andhra Pradesh
Name of the faculty : P. Suryanarayana Reddy
Designation : HCES
Branch : Civil Engineering
Institute : Govt Polytechnic Anantapur
Year/Semester : VI Semester
Subject : Maintenance of Buildings
Subject Code : C 606C
Topic : Maintenance Problems in
Buildings and their Solutions
Duration : 100 minutes
Sub Topic : Leakage of Roofs
Teaching Aids : PPT, Animations and Notes
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 Objectives

On completion of this period, you will be able to

• Explain the causes for leakage of roofs and remedial

measures

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 Recap

In the last class, we have discussed about

• Removal of stains from floors

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 Leakage of Roofs

Causes of leakage in RCC roofs

• Voids in concrete on account of

1. Harsh or poorly designed mix

2. Poor placement and compaction

3. Excess water cement ratio

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Causes of leakage in RCC roofs (contd..)

• Excess of fine aggregate consisting of very fine sand

• Improper curing

• Thermal expansions

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Causes of leakage in RCC roofs (contd..)

• Early removal of formwork

• Formation of Physical disruption (cracks)

• Improper slope provided for draining rain water

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Causes of leakage in RCC roofs (contd..)

• Although any good concrete is proof against percolation

and seepage, it is more difficult to make concrete proof

against passage of capillary moisture and water vapor

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 Repairs

• The use of membrane water proofing (heavy tar paper

or tarred felt) on the exposed side is only sure way of

preventing capillary dampness on the dry side of the

concrete

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Repairs (contd..)

• Cement base paints, water proofers and water

repelling agents in the form of ready made paints and

powder are also used which are available under different

commercial names

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 Repairs (contd..)

• When cement base paints are applied on the roof slab,

it forms into a thin Portland cement grout, with the solid

content of cement 65 to 100 percent

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Repairs (contd..)

Optional secondary constituents are

• Hydrated lime not exceeding 25 per cent

• Calcium or aluminum stearate under 1 percent

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Repairs (contd..)

• Hygroscopic salts like calcium or sodium chloride not

exceeding 5 percent

• Titanium oxide (Tio2) of Zinc Sulphide (ZnS) not

exceeding 5 percent

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Repairs (contd..)

• These compounds with the prescribed quantities can be

mixed with ordinary Portland cement for application on the

RCC roof surfaces

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Repairs (contd..)

• With proper precautions as to composition, mixing,

application and curing, Portland Cement paints are

durable and satisfactory

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Repairs (contd..)

• The Ferro cement technology in which a chicken mesh

is placed and plastered with rich cement mortar is also

now a days became familiar in leak arresting of roofs

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 Fig.1
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 Exposure of Reinforcement - Spalling

• Removal of concrete cover from bottom of the reinforced

concrete member is called spalling

• The reinforcement is exposed due to spalling

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Exposure of Reinforcement – Spalling (contd..)

• Exposure of reinforcement at the bottom of the RCC

slabs and beams is mainly due to

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Corrosion of Reinforcement

• Thermal expansion or sudden changes in temperature

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 Corrosion of Reinforcement (contd..)

• When the reinforcing bars corrode, they in turn swell up

in volume and throw away the covering concrete and

becomes absolutely bare

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 Corrosion of Reinforcement (contd..)

• Steel rusts in the presence of air and moisture

• This action proceeds more rapidly in the presence of

acids in the moisture and in the presence of certain salts

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 Corrosion of Reinforcement (contd..)

• A highly polluted industrial atmosphere will often give

rise to specially corrosive conditions because of the

presence of sulphur acids derived from the combustion of

coal

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 Corrosion of Reinforcement (contd..)

• Sea-water exposure has similar effect due to the

chlorides present

• Penetration of moisture through porous concrete

causes rusting of reinforcement

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Corrosion of Reinforcement (contd..)

• Excessive fine sands lead to general weakness in

concrete on account of the high water-cement ratio

• This makes the concrete porous and allows moisture

to penetrate

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 Remedial Measures

• The essential conditions for the protection of the steel in

reinforcement concrete are

• The concrete cover over the bars, every where must be

sufficiently thick not less than the one specified by IS codes

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Remedial Measures (contd..)

• The concrete mix must be dense and care must be

taken to avoid local weak spots at construction joints

• Shrinkage of the concrete must be controlled and

distributed by suitably designed reinforcement

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 Remedial Measures (contd..)

• The spalled area should be scarified by hand chipping or by

compressed air chippers to a depth of at least 20mm

• The area should be wetted and kept moist for at least 14

hours

• Free water should be removed if it collects in the low spots

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 Remedial Measures (contd..)

• Slabs requiring major strengthening should be provided

with a mat of reinforcing bars

• Studs 4 mm or 6 mm thick should be shot into the scarified

slab but left projecting a distance that permits the mat to be

held in exact position

• The bars are painted with any of the anticorrosive paints

available in the market

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 Remedial Measures (contd..)

• The supporting bars should be welded to the top of the

studs, and the top layer of the mat should be fastened to the

supporting bars

• For this type of mat, the covering of concrete must be at

least 50mm thick

• The concrete with coarse aggregate of screenings or chips

less than 10mm size 1:1 ½ is used as cover at the bottom of

the slab. (Micro Concrete)

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 Remedial Measures (contd..)
• Concrete with low slump not exceeding 50 mm is prepared
and ejected through Gunniting

Fig.2 The Gunniting equipment

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 Summary

In this class, we have discussed about

• Leakage of roofs and repair techniques

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 Quiz

1. The reason for leakage of RCC roofs is

a) Improper concrete mix

b) Improper placing and compaction

c) Improper slope provided for drainage on

the roof

d) All the above

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2. Spalling of concrete in RCC roofs is due to

a) Corrosion of reinforcement

b) Thermal expansion and contraction

c) Both (a) and (b)

d) None of the above

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3. Corrosion of Steel RCC members is due to

a) Presence of moisture

b) Exposure to Sea water

c) Sulphur acids from industries

d) All the above

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4. Leaking roofs can be repaired by

a) Membrane water proofing

b) Cement Base Paints

c) Ferro Cement Technology

d) All the above

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 Frequently Asked Questions

1) Explain the causes and repairs involved in the leakage

of roofs?

2) Explain the corrosion reinforcement and spalling of

concrete in RCC members and suggest the remedial

measures?

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Thank You !

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